Electrial permits and who does the work

I thought I would pose this questions here as it seems there is always another side to the story and hoping someone can possible share…

So I bought a house in the city, I want to add a room to the basement. I wanted to do this right so I went city hall to get the permits, I find out that I can not pull the permit for the electrical. I understand that we are dealing with some serious stuff and it is important to have it done correctly. I for one could not do it but a friend of mine who is a journey man (15 years of experience) could defiently run my outlets and put in a couple lights.

So the question… In the end the company I am going to hire will most likely send the journeyman out and then the inspector will come and make sure everything is done to code which is great, but why can’t I just hire who I want and as long as it meets code should it matter?

Can someone please shine some light on this (pun intended) Obviously my friend would give me a really great deal. wouldn’t these types of requirements just discourge people from actually getting permits?

Thanks in advance…
John

A homeowner can pull their own electrical permit as long as they complete the work themselves. They cannot work on someone elses home, and still need to have all the inspections. You should be able to pull this yourself and I don’t really understand why.

Your friend, being a Journeyman, has the capabilies to wire the house for you, but, being a Journeyman cannot technically do it. A Masters license is required to own a business, and working for himself is technically a business.

If you want to pull the permit, have him do the work for no pay, and then drop some cash on the floor, maybe he would pick it up for you, and you would not have to sweep it up

Both parties are covered, and you have things done correctly.

But, if you are saying that the contractor who is doing the remaining work does not want you to pull the electircal permit yourself, that is a different story.

EDIT: On reread, I see you reside in WI. I do not know if codes are the same in your area, so some of this may be incorrect.

Each WI municipality can superceed state and national codes; requiring a permit to be applied for by a Master Electrician and not the home owner. The philosophy is who caries the responsibility when it is not done correctly. If you look at most (not all) building inspectors, approve things as “conditional” ; meaning approved only if the contractor actually did it correctly because they are not going to take the time to actually look at everything. Sounds harsh towards some inspectors….but its reality. I’ve been in this business a very long time. Builders complain about good inspectors because they take forever and look at every single stink’n nail, and yet sit in a daze of confusion that the next inspector can do a rough inspection on a 4000 sqft ranch that goes for $$1.4 million in a half hour???? Sometimes it doesn’t make sense.

Thanks for the responses guys. So what I see is it really doesn’t make sense and for some reason the city decided to do it this way. I was in the town prior to this house and didn’t even need a permit or an inspection when I was done so you can imagine I was surprised when I found out I can’t even pull a permit for my own home. (I moved less then a mile total ) I am sure this will hopefully help with better quality reparis being done in the area but in my case the same person will most likley be doing the work just at a drastically different price or maybe it tends to have a lot of people just hide the work they are doing.

Maybe to spin the question a bit – why even get a permit? will they ever know I did it? can’t I say it was this way when I bought it?

Not pulling a permit can open you to liability if there is a future problem after you sell the home

So they gottcha coming or going… There’s some fine print for ya!

Just another reason not to live in Wisconsin. The electrical code is a national code (I am a general contractor liciensed in both Mn and Sd) In both these states the home owner CAN pull the permit and an inspector makes sure the work is done to code, that is all that matters, doesnt matter who does it just that it is done right. Crazy? I dont know Wisc law but I cant believe you have to hire an electrical contractor to do work as that could be very expensive.

Having done a fair amount of remodeling on my home in MN both contracted and by myself my findings from contractors, building inspectors and assessors are:

1) Cities and Counties use Permits for 2-main reasons. 1st to try amd make sure all work is done to the same building code and protect the public/future owners. 2nd reason is to know whom has remodeled and thus increased the vaule of their home so that the Assessors office can then visit, Increase your Vaule and they collect more Property Tax Dollars from you. some Minnesota cities have their own tougher rules on what and how much work you can do yourself depending upon the use of the structure.

2) Electrical in Minnesota is a different animal. Most area’s (Cities & Counties) rely on State Inspectors. However, some area’s through and ordinance can take over the Electrical for the City/County and hire a Private Firm to do these inspections. My dealing by doing my own electrical work were very good.

As far as to pull a permit or not consider your Homeowners Insurance Companies: If, you have a Fire, someone falls or breaks a bone, thus filing a claim, the Insurance Company may check the records to see if this was an original building or addition since you bought the property. If they determine through some means that you remodeled without a Permit and that workmanship may have caused a problem associated with the claim, they can refuse to cover as not being up to code. Then you are personally liable and may have to fight a friend in Court.

Yes, the permits can be a hassle, but I believe in the long run well worth it for some peace of mind. On the other hand, even though the Approve your work as being correct does not release you of much of any Liability.

Good Luck and hope everything turns out great.