Unlicensed electrical work OK under $500 in CA?

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peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
Yes. Absolutely. It's just common sense.

I'm pretty sure if you burned leaves in the middle of San Francisco you'd have the fire department on you in no time, regardless of whose property you did it on. That's just !@#$% dangerous anywhere in the middle of this city.

Also, even if you keep it contained, the smoke doesn't stop at your property line.

San Francisco also restricts where you are allowed to have a charcoal BBQs as well, for similar reasons.

Different places are different, I realize that. This is why these type of ordinances should mostly be left to the most local jurisdictions. But there's no overriding principle that you can do whatever you want just because it's on your property. Far from it.


Ahh...San Francisco, where you need a permit to breathe. That's hardly a benchmark of what a free nation should be like.

Bottom line, people should be allowed to do any type of trade work on their homes. I know I certainly do and I don't call inspectors and get permits for it either.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
But there's no overriding principle that you can do whatever you want just because it's on your property. Far from it.

Luckily there still is in many places, it a very sad thing we are moving away from it.

Next will be outlawing work on your own car. Cant change the oil, we might spill it. Can't work on the brakes we might do it wrong.
 

DarylH

Member
Location
San Marcos, CA
I thought Carlsbad used to have a $200 parts and labor exemption which included minor electrical work. Just checked again and I now see a $1000 limit, but electrical exemption now appears limited to basically plugging in cords to existing permanent outlets.

I moved a couple of years ago about a mile and a half over the Carlsbad city line to what is unincorporated San Diego County. Looks like a permit is required for pretty much anything electrical.

Wonder how many people they've busted for swapping out a standard outlet to GFCI without a permit? :happyno:
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
I thought Carlsbad used to have a $200 parts and labor exemption which included minor electrical work. Just checked again and I now see a $1000 limit, but electrical exemption now appears limited to basically plugging in cords to existing permanent outlets.

I moved a couple of years ago about a mile and a half over the Carlsbad city line to what is unincorporated San Diego County. Looks like a permit is required for pretty much anything electrical.

Wonder how many people they've busted for swapping out a standard outlet to GFCI without a permit? :happyno:


I'm familiar with your area as I used to have friends in Carlsbad and visited them often. I remember very well the building boom going on there and I toured many of the housing tracts while under construction. It really is a parallel universe in California where you need a permit to breathe but then you have mostly day laborers and migrants (many illegal, some not) building, plumbing and wiring the houses. The quality of the electrical work I saw in those new homes was absolutely horrendous and the fact that it passed any kind of inspection demonstrated to me the permitting process was just a formality and had little to nothing to do with safety.
 

romex jockey

Senior Member
Location
Vermont
Occupation
electrician
That sounds really cool and intellectual, but it's just mumbo jumbo.

Do tell.....

I don't wish to exist in a system that allows it's 'safety oversight' to utilize DIY debaucheries to their statistical benefit, while my trade takes it in the shorts with idiot codes, marketing predators, and insurance cabal 'mumbo jumbo'

Do you?

These are the same folks who trot about claiming 'we don't put a $$ on safety' ....:)




~RJ~
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
Do tell.....

I don't wish to exist in a system that allows it's 'safety oversight' to utilize DIY debaucheries to their statistical benefit, while my trade takes it in the shorts with idiot codes, marketing predators, and insurance cabal 'mumbo jumbo'

Do you?

These are the same folks who trot about claiming 'we don't put a $$ on safety' ....:)




~RJ~

I still have no idea what you're saying. Are you for or against DIY?
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Do tell.....

I don't wish to exist in a system that allows it's 'safety oversight' to utilize DIY debaucheries to their statistical benefit, while my trade takes it in the shorts with idiot codes, marketing predators, and insurance cabal 'mumbo jumbo'

Do you?

These are the same folks who trot about claiming 'we don't put a $$ on safety' ....:)




~RJ~

Again I point out that I saw you post on another forum about building your own place.

Did you hire each trade out or did you do it yourself?
 

jaggedben

Senior Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
Solar and Energy Storage Installer
Ahh...San Francisco, where you need a permit to breathe. ...

No, you need a permit to create smoke which inhibits other people breathing. I'd say you really missed the mark there.

If you don't want to have to respect your neighbors then by all means don't live in a city. Indeed that is still an option.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
No, you need a permit to create smoke which inhibits other people breathing. I'd say you really missed the mark there.

If you don't want to have to respect your neighbors then by all means don't live in a city. Indeed that is still an option.

And if you don't want neighbors that are overly sensitive don't live in San Fran.
 

romex jockey

Senior Member
Location
Vermont
Occupation
electrician
Again I point out that I saw you post on another forum about building your own place.

Did you hire each trade out or did you do it yourself?

Again, there is no licensure or certification required to be a carpenter or GC here, the same goes for being an HI (usually retired GC')

So one would simply be hiring an 'experienced DIY'

What this amounts to is far greater than a $500 handyman gamble ,this is sane by comparison to $50 or $500K levels of what flys here, inclusive of your 'buyer beware' HI's , who wouldn't know a building code were they to choke on one.

Where one would insist on a benchmark is the point....

Now,
Perhaps you could write a reasonable response ,lest that all amount to pearls before swine

~RJ~
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
No, you need a permit to create smoke which inhibits other people breathing. I'd say you really missed the mark there.

If you don't want to have to respect your neighbors then by all means don't live in a city. Indeed that is still an option.

So basically if you're a cry baby and a wimp, San Francisco is the place to be. :thumbsup:
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
Again, there is no licensure or certification required to be a carpenter or GC here, the same goes for being an HI (usually retired GC')

So one would simply be hiring an 'experienced DIY'

What this amounts to is far greater than a $500 handyman gamble ,this is sane by comparison to $50 or $500K levels of what flys here, inclusive of your 'buyer beware' HI's , who wouldn't know a building code were they to choke on one.

Where one would insist on a benchmark is the point....

Now,
Perhaps you could write a reasonable response ,lest that all amount to pearls before swine

~RJ~

More gibberish.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Again, there is no licensure or certification required to be a carpenter or GC here, the same goes for being an HI (usually retired GC')

So one would simply be hiring an 'experienced DIY'

What this amounts to is far greater than a $500 handyman gamble ,this is sane by comparison to $50 or $500K levels of what flys here, inclusive of your 'buyer beware' HI's , who wouldn't know a building code were they to choke on one.

Where one would insist on a benchmark is the point....

Now,
Perhaps you could write a reasonable response ,lest that all amount to pearls before swine

~RJ~

In clear English you are doing the work yourself so you are not putting your money where your mouth is.
 
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