If it don’t smell, don’t ask, don’t tell.

And you did it yourself, you didn’t hire anyone to do it. How many people change their own stoves in less posh areas?

It’s amazing that you even thought to ask us for permission here…

Define “qualified.”

Someone may have done this kind of work abroad for years, had the ability to do it safely, but doesn’t have the formal schooling and/or apprenticeship required to become licensed in CA. We’re talking bureaucracy here, not rationality.

For you own peace of mind, you might give your gas utility a call for a free inspection. They will take a look at all gas appliances for proper operation. Nice service.

A quick call to your permit office will give you the correct answer. I’d verify to keep your insurance folks happy.

Remember the reason behind the permit. Safety. Those building codes are written from the blood of others. They are there for your protection.

Lots of well intentioned people, handymen or owners may make serious mistakes risking life safety. Permits help prevent this.

Some building codes are written with the blood of others.

Others are made to make money for cities and union workers.

I’m fine with zoning, etc, but some other requirements are excessive.

Ideally, I’d support requiring inspections (but not necessarily licensed installers) for things like modifying gas plumbing beyond the flex hose to the stove.

If the person doing the work is bonded and can pass inspection, union-driven licensing requirements tend to be excessive.

[quote=FlyerInHi]
The only issue you might have with Insurance or the city is you do work that requires a permit without getting one. You don’t need permit to change out a stove. But you do need a permit to replace a water heater.[/quote]

Looks like I did an ‘un-permitted’ water heater replacement over 1 year ago 8-P. Ironically, it was replaced about 5 years before that by a licensed contractor – who FORGOT THE SACRIFICIAL ANODE! He also didn’t know how to correctly attach the overtemp/pressure release valve (he connected it to where the sacrificial anode goes, instead of the correct location on the side at the top.).

Another interesting side effect is the replacement (un-permitted) water heater replacement is producing hotter water with less energy and is a much larger water heater than its predecessor – and this newest replacement cost us much less to boot – both heaters were same basic ‘style’ of heater. What is strange is the yellow sticker on the newer one shows that it actually burns a bit more energy to heat the water than its predecessor. I wonder if some of the manufacturers are gaming the gas consumption (therms) by designing their water heater to be unable to heat to a standard reference temperature for doing accurate fuel consumption calculations.

NOTE: Useful tools for doing the replacement if the water heater is located on the required elevated pedestal in a garage – a long arm engine hoist and straps/ropes to make a sling. It makes it a piece of cake!

And yes, some of the regulations get kind of excessive, almost nany-state’sh.