I read two separate discussion forum threads this week with a similar question/situation. The question, should a new addition such as a bathroom be permitted? In the DIY world many folks take on projects without benefit of a professional state sanctioned license. Is it necessary to go to the local building authority to have the job permitted, inspected therefore legally sanctioned and thus insured as to it’s correctness? In the responses, not only from me but from some 50+ other responders, was YES with not one radical dissenter venturing the opinion that no permit be sought.
Here are the basic scenarios as put forth by the threads.
1. Family of six has located and wishes to buy their dream home, a reasonably priced 5 bedroom 2 ½ bath home on 5 beautiful acres of land. The problem is on researching the home and having it professionally inspected its discovered that the house was originally built as a 2 bedroom 1 bath home with the standard septic system for that size house. The buyers only question was could they live with that size septic tank without problems after all the sellers were living with it. Well the answer isn’t a simple yes as the buyer was soon to discover. The additions had never been permitted and if discovered by the local building authority the seller could be forced to either bring the additions and the septic system in conformance with current code, tear it all down and/or pay a huge monetary fine. If not disclosed the seller would bear a huge liability to the buyer. If disclosed to the buyer and accepted the buyer then bears the same responsibility if the additions are discovered or when they were to have the need to sell the property at a later date. This is truly a no win situation. The seller cannot now sell the property for the great price originally negotiated because of the liability of the non-permitted work and the prospective buyer, now being informed of the fault, cannot or certainly should not proceed with the deal. As t o the original question can you live comfortably in a 5 bedroom 2 ½ bath home with a 2 bedroom 1 bath septic tank? Not for long without constant pumping and care or living with the resulting problems of a backed up septic tank.
2. A home owner wants to add a basement bathroom to an existing finished area and doesn’t understand why he should have to permit. His only fear is not that the bathroom will be incorrectly installed but that he will be “ratted out” by a neighbor. This writer received 18+ responses to his first thread, every one of them telling him that the job should be permitted and why. Not satisfied with anyone of those answers he then goes to another discussion forum and asks the question again and received another 8+ responses in favor of permitting. Will he pull the permit and do the job legally? My guess is NO. For all the same reasons as in the first thread, this job should be permitted. Most states require full disclosure on the transfer of property when sold. Additionally if the new bathroom is discovered by the building authority, regardless of how long it has existed, he can be made to open up the walls and prove that it is in code and/be forced to completely remove the entire bathroom. No where did the homeowner even consider whether the addition of the new bathroom would tax his existing septic system. He would finally discover that when the system backs up from being over used and all of his effluent comes pouring out from the lowest point in his plumbing system which in all likelihood would be the new bathroom. Sort of poetic justice HUH?
The bottom line; Yes a permit can cost you a few extra bucks and can slow down your pace while waiting for the inspector but the permit and resulting inspections can be considered insurance against future problems and liabilities
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