Advice/Experience with Permits for Electrical in Shop after the fact?

[Steve Peterson]

"Hypothetically" installed garage wiring with conduit could easily disappear before a house ever gets put up for sale. That is the one of the great things about conduit. The other is that you can usually add additional circuits.

In my area, the inspectors rarely look closely if they know that a competent contractor did the work. If it looks like it was installed by an amateur, then they may check every detail. They probably decide the outcome within 5 seconds of entering the site, so make sure it looks professionally installed.

Steve

[Wade Lippman]

I have had two recent experience that might be relevant...

1) I had a standby generator installed. I had to call the company repeatedly to get it inspected; apparently they hadn't planned on it. The inspector told me there should have been a permit, it was too late for that now; but the town would get a copy of the inspection if they wanted to do anything about it. They didn't. The company does a lot of installs.

2) I had a mudroom added on in my garage with lighting and outlets. The contractor was a former building inspector; he thought getting a permit and inspection was unnecessary, but did it because I insisted on it. The building inspector who came out said it was proper, but most people wouldn't have bothered.

Of course I am out in the sticks. Perhaps it is completely different in urban areas.

[Steve Meliza]

Here is an example of what a home inspector will look for and find when buying or selling a home. The top photo is in the garage where the walls were covered with 3/8" particleboard, someone knocked a hole in it for an outlet then ran a UF cable over to the only other outlet in the garage. The visit from the electrician to fix these and some other issues was $1000 which is a lot more costly than getting a permit and doing the work correctly in the first place.

Home Inspection.jpg

[Lee Schierer]

Just go down to the permit office, pull a permit, wait a few days and call for an inspection. If the work was done properly, you will pass inspection and you are home free.

[John Lankers]

Just go down to the permit office, pull a permit, wait a few days and call for an inspection. If the work was done properly, you will pass inspection and you are home free.

Exactly, and in many areas you can pull a permit online.

[Prashun Patel]

I did the exact same thing: modified, then squirmed for a couple years about whether/how to get it inspected.

My township inspector was friendly. I went into the office in person with my hat in hand, and came clean. He really appreciated the honesty. They came out, inspected, had me swap out a couple breakers (I was using the double ones and my town doesn't like those) and he was happy to approve me.

I felt so much better having done that.