Time limit for getting work inspected?

tigereye

Not sure how exactly to phrase this. Getting ready to do some electrical work around the house (as I've mentioned in a couple of threads). I know that the work needs to be inspected before being energized, but am wondering if it has to be inspected within a certain timeframe after being started or if the rough and final inspections have to occur within a certain timeframe?

I anticipate completing the work over the next several months (starting with a couple of sub panels) then moving on to new circuits and finally work on existing circuits.

Not sure if I should work like that and get it all inspected at once or get things inspected as I go along.

Thanks,

Mike

Scuba_Dave

Here the electric Inspector said that their permits are only good for 6 months
Building Inspector said as long as work is ongoing/not finished the permit is still considered open

Check with you local Inspectors

vsheetz

Yup, can vary with your building department and what flexability they can provide. Talk to them, you'll probably find them accomodating and helpful. I like to have a onsite pre-inspection to ensure I understand the steps to be done and what they are looking for each step. Makes things easier for everyone. Then as one inspection is done I verify what the next step is, etc.

AndrewF

Around here, I was given 12 months to close the permit out, unless it was continuous progress, then it could take longer.

__________________
-Andrew
DIY hobbiest

steve1234

Here (nor cal) a signature every 6 months was required to keep my permit active. If there was only one thing to sign off...then 6 months.

tpolk

if you have plans they will usually sign off on completed sections if you are looking to close up walls and not add more

baum

for me it is 1 year. so i could "buy" time i actually had the rough-in work almost completed before i pulled the permit.

frenchelectrican

I know majorty of my area in Wisconsin is limited to 6 months for resdenteail permit for commercal it will varies a bit but useally 4 months { I am not kidding they cut it short so keep any screw up to minuim }{ very large projects will allowed max of 12 months otherwise 4 to 6 months is most common }

For general construction IIRC a year. but if you let it expired and you will have to get new permit and you will have to update with new codes when you renew the permit.

In France it is 6 to 9 months depending on the area you are in.

Merci,Marc

sdsester

Get permits? Permits and fees keep your inspectors at work. Certain amount of cynicism involved in this statement but I give a lot of credit to the team here much as I love hate them at times.

If you are thinking of doing major work and then calling in the inspectors after having done it under cover of darkness? And then striking the permit?

And by the way, are you an electrician that can sign off on the work? I would suggest you talk with one before you get too far into this. In Illinois, you cannot, and should not, just do all the work yourself and then call in those who will have to sign off of on it and the inspectors when it is done. You will be walking into a nightmare.

The electricians I use on projects know what I can do and what I know better than to try to do on my own. They are so frightfully busy so don't care if I do wire runs, wire up outlets and switches and so forth. Just leave them hanging so they can quick check things if they want. Spending a little money with them early on saves so much aggravation and they have great ideas about better ways to do things. One hopes they are up on the code and since electrical is not my specialty I am not. They are known by the inspectors known to all of us in the business here. The electricians I use, of course, do all the hot connection work for me.

Could I hook wires to the subpanel even when hot? Snap breakers in place? Been bridging fuse boxes with antique, real copper pennies since I was a kid. Just kidding!

It is just not worth doing so myself and messing with the inspection process here anymore. Too costly in time and money. Just for an inspector to stick an outlet tester in a perfectly wired outlet here is up to like $25 each if it has not been signed off on by a real electrician.

Know your limits in this rewiring your house whether actually yours or placed on you.

The inspectors here are actually decent people. Of course they can be a little abrupt and nasty at times. The department is understaffed but they usually get out as quickly as they can to known quantities that have filed permits. They will even let you argue with them about fine points of things. Sneak up on em though? With a DIY wiring project at the very end? They will be checking every outlet and asking you to yank them out of the wall and definitely will be checking for connection flaws.

LOL