MG, the property owner is the one who is responsible for proper permitting, not the hired help and definitely not a retailer.
Does a homeowner in SD HAVE to pull a permit to replace a window or door? really???
that can be hubby weekend job for those who know what they are doing…
We dont have to pull permits for such small fixups up here.
menloparkmom, I can’t speak for SD, but in my little town lots of stuff you would never think needing a permit is on that list. I guess the system is supposed to protect the homeowner… Guess how many permits my neighbors pulled when they took down their trees or replaced roofs or put lampposts by the end of their driveways? 
In San Diego you do not have to pull a permit if you are installing a new roof, shingles only. You only have to pull a permit if you have to install new plywood structural sheathing under the shingles. This brings up the question of Historical Review. One of the key features of a historical or architecturally significant home is roof lines and roof material. So, I’m trying to figure out how they would stop anyone from tearing off original Spanish clay tiles and putting on a cheap asphalt shingle roof??
It’s all about the contractor lobby and other industry lobby. The contractor’s lobby in California is onerous. They make you sign a million disclaimers while trying to pull a permit as an owner. It would scare anyone to death who was trying to build their own fence or something.
Today I hauled a large load of fencing materials to the project. And, I have a friend who just finished a high end remodel on their home in the Wooded Area of Point Loma and we swung by there and got all of his leftover building materials. I also was gifted 8 large boxes of extremely expensive white hand made subway (why anyone would pay for expensive subway???) that I am excited to have because it is really lovely.
We finished staining 120 pieces of fencing and getting the fence installed. Still have to do some top and bottom trim pieces tomorrow. That was 50 ft of fencing just across the middle portion of the eastern boundary. I decided to go with a medium brown tone to neutralize with the roof coloring. We are also going to stain the portion of a neighbor’s newer fence at the back of the property and the giant orange garage monstrosity that is on the property line. Hope the medium brown will neutralize that big wall a little bit.
Also, the team started at 6:30am this morning and pulled all of the old ducting out of the entire attic. We thought that was going to take a long time but it only took 1 1/2 hrs.
“MG, the property owner is the one who is responsible for proper permitting, not the hired help and definitely not a retailer.”
I meant the Home Depot installer. Here when I have trees cut down, a roof replaced or stuff done in side that requires a permit the installer pulls the permit.
The folks who installed our new gas furnace/HVAC pulled the permits. I had to sign them, but they did all the paperwork, etc.
On this project there is a full history of permits pulled for several repairs including water heater replacement, new furnace, new roof, etc. Each of these permits were pulled by the installer. At some point the owners had beige vinyl windows installed in many windows. No permit. So I don’t think these owners would have known anything about needing a permit and I know they didn’t install the windows themselves.
The neighbors, I assume, are happy you are staining their fence!
Where will those subway tiles go?
Do you need to ask the neighbors on the lot line if you can paint your side of their rusty orange shed?
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Many contractors do permitting as part of their work because (a) it is more efficient because they have done it many times and have a buddy in the city permit office and (ii) by saying " we apply for a permit in your behalf" they can charge a whole dang more $$$ for the same tree they can take down without a permit.
If a neighbor rats you out to the city that there was no permit done for the XYZ job, as a property owner you cannot point your finger to the contractor and say that they did not do it. Tough, the city will say. So it pays off to be nice to the neighbors.
I just had some exterior doors installed. The contract clearly stated that the owner was responsible for pulling the permits. If the inspectors discover an unpermitted project they will lock it down until the permits are approved which can take up to two weeks. The workers will not have access to any tools on the jobsite. It’s not something you want to do to anyone you want to do future business with.
BTW the permit for kitchen and bath remodel cost $710. Our city workers retire with very generous pensions.
I wish a kitchen and bath remodel permit was only $710:) I bet it would be at least $1,500 here. On top of that they charge a $1,000 recycling bond. Then they give you a list of things that you have to take to recycling places that are at least an hour away. But the list is frustrating. It only lists items like clean unpainted wood, metal, greenery. Anything demoed out of a kitchen or bath doesn’t fit into the categories. Its just not worth it from a business perspective when you might have about 4 Pcs of copper or angle valves and a bunch of old cabinets and flooring that cannot be recycled.
For example, we called up the City Waste Management about the huge mound of old painted wood that we took down from the back patio cover. We cannot recycle painted wood, so it all had to go into the dumpster. I have no idea why they cannot make some kind of mulch out of it, but I guess the wood has to be ‘clean’ for them to grind it up for mulch
Painting fences/garages… it is generally accepted practice that, when a fence is built on a boundary, each owner can paint their side of the fence however they want. To be nice we stained both sides of the new fence going across the middle property above us. I didn’t want to just slap up a raw fence on their side, I wanted to be nice and at least stain it so it would not rot and look horrible on their side. Since I am meticulous about staining each piece, especially sides, top and bottom… there was some stain lapping over the back side of each plank. It would have looked horrible just to screw them all on. Painting the large garage wall on our boundary falls into the same category. They are never going to see that side of the garage.
Again, I just want to thank you for posting all the pictures and all the explanations and answering all our questions. This process is bewildering to me, but it is nice to watch a pro at work.
Haven’t decided where the subway tiles will go. It is possible I will install them in a herringbone pattern as a kitchen backsplash. Or, maybe a tub surround
We are not moving along very swiftly right now. My carpenter came down with the flu and I also came down with the flu. There is only one guy working yesterday and today. And, we ran out of stain so cannot finish the painting of the entire fence.
I have to get my sorry butt over to project today because SDGE is coming to pick up the old refrigerator. They offer a $50 rebate to pick up old refrigerators and I’ve been waiting for my scheduled pickup. The laundry washing machine is going to my roofer who does me a lot of favors and the dryer is going to one of the workers whose wife wants a new dryer. We are trying to sell the gas range and dishwasher on Craigslist. It really is a lot of work we go through to try to recycle the appliances.
Take care of yourself, CB!
I’m sorry Coralbrook. Your health is the most important thing this week.