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Keyser Söze

On 3/4/16 7:11 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 3/4/2016 6:54 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 4 Mar 2016 18:32:31 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

That's one advantage of living where I do. We don't have building
permits. Maybe for commercial property but for residence and farms,
no...

Why is that an advantage?

Because people are responsible for their own destiny?
If Tim's house burns down, why is that anybody else's business?

You can't be serious. How about the people who may someday buy Tim's
house full of unpermited and un-inspected for basic safety purposes?
(Not doubting Tim ... just using him as an example since he said
permits are not required where he lives for residential buildings).

How about unsuspecting guests that may be staying in a DIYurselfer abode
full of "modifications"?

There are certainly many things a homeowner should and can do without
a permit. But major changes ... structural or electrical ... should
require a permit and a followup inspection for code and safety.

I have been through this process myself several times and my wife
built over 100 houses. Trust me the permit and inspection process is
just a feel good program that employs a lot of bureaucrats. I used to
have plenty of time to do inspections because I only did 1 or 2 a day
but I still knew I was not able to check everything or even a
significant percentage of everything. Your typical muni inspector
leaves the shop with 20 or 30 cards in his pocket, spread out over a
county. He is not really looking at much.
The guys I was inspecting were always shocked at the stuff I looked at
but it was really more curiosity than inspecting. I did embarrass them
a few times, seeing stuff they walked by every day and never noticed.
I was working on a lot of pretty interesting projects tho.

I guess you are special. But most inspectors know what they are looking
for since they do it on a regular basis and they get to know who does
good work and who doesn't. My son-in-law is a licensed electrician with
his own business. The inspectors in the towns he does work have gotten
to know him and the type of work he does. They can tell with just a
cursory inspection his work is to code and is done correctly.

It's loonytarianism rearing its anti-civilization head. Really,