Morb
Nov 19, 2008, 06:51 PM
Hi all,
My friend has a new attached garage he installed, and is doing the wiring. In New Hampshire, the homeowner can pull his own electrical permit. He went to the town office and filled out the permit, and he had the basics... outlets and lighting. The inspector looked it over and said he needed a heat detector. Not a problem, but when he told the inspector he didn't have electric smokes in the house, just battery powered ones, he got real testy and told him he had to install a full system, electrically installed and interlocked on each level and bedroom, tied into the new garage. He said he would not sign off without this additional work done. This seems wrong to me. Can an electrical inspector force you to install a new system? What about being grandfathered? I know about the rule in building renovations that if you remodel over 40% (?) of the dwelling, you have to bring up the rest of the building up to code, but this is a single car garage, nowhere near 20%, never mind over 40%. Please help, as he is very upset. This is not a cheap job, and he has already spent a lot of money. No wonder people avoid permitting work! He wants to upgrade down the road, but he just doesn't have the money. Any advice? Thanks in advance!
Dave
My friend has a new attached garage he installed, and is doing the wiring. In New Hampshire, the homeowner can pull his own electrical permit. He went to the town office and filled out the permit, and he had the basics... outlets and lighting. The inspector looked it over and said he needed a heat detector. Not a problem, but when he told the inspector he didn't have electric smokes in the house, just battery powered ones, he got real testy and told him he had to install a full system, electrically installed and interlocked on each level and bedroom, tied into the new garage. He said he would not sign off without this additional work done. This seems wrong to me. Can an electrical inspector force you to install a new system? What about being grandfathered? I know about the rule in building renovations that if you remodel over 40% (?) of the dwelling, you have to bring up the rest of the building up to code, but this is a single car garage, nowhere near 20%, never mind over 40%. Please help, as he is very upset. This is not a cheap job, and he has already spent a lot of money. No wonder people avoid permitting work! He wants to upgrade down the road, but he just doesn't have the money. Any advice? Thanks in advance!
Dave