7 Common DIY Mistakes (5)

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

23 Oct 2007 08:59 AM

What common do it yourself (DIY) mistake can really get you into trouble? You could be hit with fines, lose weeks or months of time, or even lose your home sale if you have your house on the market. Don't let it happen to you.

The fifth most common DIY mistake has to do with permits. I am always surprised at home many homeowners don't realize that they need to apply for and have permits granted for many renovation and remodeling projects. Overlooking permits can ruin your project and set you up for some expensive challenges.

Permit requirements will vary by town, township, borough, city or county, depending where you live. I'll just refer to everything as town to make it easier. One town may require you to get a permit to install new windows or divide a existing room into one, while another town may not. And different towns have different standards and requirements for how things should be done. Our old town, for example, required any kitchen renovation work to include GFI outlets, while our current town does not.

The best thing to do is to contact your town's planning commission, or town hall and ask what is required. You'll fill out an application, pay a small fee and be given the permit. Any professional that you hire for work should do this automatically for you. When you are doing it yourself, don't neglect this step.

If you neglect to get a permit, you can run into trouble three ways. The first is getting a stop work order and a fine from your town, the second is losing a home sale when an inspection reveals that proper permits were not obtained, and the third is the expense of having to redo the work or dismantle your renovation.

Give yourself plenty of time to obtain permits. They can take longer than you might think. You don't want to waste time and money on your project waiting for a permit to come.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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