Permit or not to Permit

[Strathead]

Shoot I thought that if the work was inside or in the back not visible from the road and you weren't in a marked vehicle a permit wasn't required:slaphead:

OTOH if your strategy is to ask the building department they are going to say you need a permit for everything you do.

 

[FionaZuppa]

Where do you draw the line on the NEC getting involved in the design/build process? Shall we all run everything in EMT or RMC because Chicago thinks it's a good idea? Make everyone use LL5 wire for fire alarm because New York City likes it? The NEC is a consensus standard meant to keep people from getting crisp and buildings from burning down. Regardless of the permit issue, it's still supposed to be done to code. Code adoption is political enough, there's no need to offer politicians another soap box to pontificate from.

right, code is code. permit or no permit, has to be done to code, whatever that code is in local jurisdiction. an appendix to NEC for "what does not need an inspection" does not preclude the codes.

so if i swap a outlet the new one should be UL listed and used in application per label, but no inspection should be needed. sounds like other locales are saying they want to inspect a outlet swap, which is silly.

having a single appendix as reference, one that is logical and makes sense just makes it easier for say town officials to not have to write their own stuff (as an option), or as my town does, they use mostly national standards and then write addendum's as needed to accommodate very specific things. town officials are then persuaded by citizens and trade professionals to use the appendix as a guideline if they so wish to pursue such.

 

[mwm1752]

Shoot I thought that if the work was inside or in the back not visible from the road and you weren't in a marked vehicle a permit wasn't required:slaphead:


I believe that was in the 71 NEC Handbook

 

[mgookin]

The biggest problem with a uniform requirement for permits is that not all jurisdictions have building departments. That does not diminish the requirement to follow code just like when there is a building department but a permit is not required.

If a building department says no permit is required to replace a light switch, you still need to follow code when replacing that light switch.

If there is no buildng department and you want to build a single family home, a state law may still require compliance with an electric code. The fact that nobody is inspecting it does not diminish the requirement for the builder to follow the code.

 

[kwired]

The biggest problem with a uniform requirement for permits is that not all jurisdictions have building departments. That does not diminish the requirement to follow code just like when there is a building department but a permit is not required.

If a building department says no permit is required to replace a light switch, you still need to follow code when replacing that light switch.

If there is no buildng department and you want to build a single family home, a state law may still require compliance with an electric code. The fact that nobody is inspecting it does not diminish the requirement for the builder to follow the code.

Bottom line is NEC is the rules, not the enforcement of the rules.

An analogy would be referees in sporting events. There are written rules to the game, the referees are there to enforce those rules. How they enforce those rules is usually controlled by a party that is separate then the rules of the game, and may throw in an occasional change just like NEC amendments. Example would be in many high school sports the rules of the game are written by a national high school association organization, but officiating is governed differently in different states and regions. NCAA is nationwide, but you will still see minor differences in officiating at times from region to region, but on the college level there is more then just the NCAA for leagues and there are differences in each league even though it is the same basic game being played.