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November 12, 2007
Is a permit needed to re-do the Electrical in a 4 story 2-fam brownstone
Recent purchaser here and we're doing quite a bit of work restoring and renovating our new home. Clearly there was a handyman that previously lived here, because the jimmyrigged electrical wiring we found as we removed dropped ceilings etc are shocking.
Do we need a permit or filing for upgrading the electrical right through the house? Can we use an unlicensed electrician, that we trust?
Comments
No. Nope. No way. No how. No ever.
Don't even think about it--not so much from a safety POV, but the risk of getting caught and in the crosshairs of the DOB
Posted by: guest at November 12, 2007 8:04 PM
From personal experience, I'd never use an unlicensed electrician for a big job like this - BUT I don't agree about the permit. I don't think there's much chance of getting busted on something that's purely internal.
That being said, could just be that I've been lucky ;-)
Posted by: Johnny at November 12, 2007 8:36 PM
Please don't risk your family's safety... not worth it.
Posted by: bren at November 12, 2007 10:30 PM
Please use a licensed electrician. The licensed electricial will be in touch with con ed for all the required inspections.
Posted by: guest at November 13, 2007 8:51 AM
RE: permits. If you are doing maintenance work such as replacing existing copper with like materials and/or moving boxes within rooms etc, you do not need a permit. If you are adding services (as in new construction or reno of old that has electrical scope) or upgrading your main service panel, then you need a permit.
RE: licensed vs. unlicensed. Ideally, because of the obvious liability issues, you should use a licensed electrician but if you are doing maintenance work (see above definition), you are not required to do so. Caveat emptor in that instance. However, if you are doing work that requires permits and inspection, you must use a licensed so that they can file plans and pull permits with the DOB.
Posted by: guest at November 13, 2007 10:31 AM
keep in mind that the electrical code is constantly being upgraded and not even all of the licensed electricians are always up to date on every change. This doesn't mean they aren't good, it just means the code is complex.
However, the inspectors are. If you pull a permit it acts as a check on your electrician to make sure they did everything right.
Just the fact that they know that someone will be looking over their work will prevent them from taking shortcuts.
And just in case they aren't up on the latest code requirements, the inspector will give you piece of mind that the job was done right.
Posted by: guest at November 13, 2007 3:56 PM
You know what? All of the above is good advice. It is the advice I would give if I was giving advice. However, when I re-wired my place, I paid big bucks to have a licensed electrician bring 220 in from the street and up to a new panel box. I did the rest myself, I did the rest to code, I did the rest of the entire apartment for 40 percent of what I paid the licensed guy. Building inspector came by once, left a post-it note asking me to call to set up an appointment. I didn't and we repeated the exercise one more time; never heard from them again. Just saying. You really should get a licensed electrician.
Posted by: guest at November 13, 2007 6:15 PM
Just to be clear, if an unlicensed professional performs work that traditionally comes under the scope of a licensed trade and said work fails, your home owner's insurance can easily justify voiding any damage claim if said damage can be attributed to said failure. I'm just saying. Same sentiment applies for plumbing and structural work. That said, all decisions are based not only on money but also on acceptable risk. Me, I'm doing all sorts of work myself on my current reno.
Posted by: guest at November 14, 2007 8:42 AM
8:42, I think we're saying the same thing--6:15
Posted by: guest at November 14, 2007 3:57 PM
I'm not sure if a permit is needed but I did work on my home and i had Christopher Jon Electrical come to my home and they told me eveything that i could do and even had Con- Ed come out too. they we're wonderful
Posted by: guest at November 16, 2007 3:03 PM
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