Unpermitted work on older homes

[RichardJamesEsquire]

A- No body cares about you…its about the innocent people you let into your home as well as the fact that water main breaks are not bizarre events in San Diego or anywhere. There are no backflow preventors on houses and the domestic water in your home will go back into the mains.

B- Now that doctors and lawyers are a dime a dozen all of us, including you, should be very conscious of the need to remain relevant. We are all much closer to being underemployed and undervalued than we realise.

C- I hope your personality in person is not as ugly as your online one.

Yes that is a good point about licensing, you do need 5 years in a trade (that is not very long in my opinion). So yes not anyone can become a contractor only people with relative experience. I see that as a good thing. The bar for getting a contractors lic. in CA is very low and the quality of the work shows, even after the fact that you can get away with just about anything here as we have no freezing to destroy pipes.

I’ve worked overseas. We build things different here, better in my opinion, and foreigners are not familiar with our building materials and codes. Much of the work done by Eastern Europeans just off the boat I have witnessed has been or will have to be torn out and redone.

birmingplumb- I’ve spent some time with your younger son, he’s awesome. You must be a great dad and a great guy.

[spdrun]

A – it would take a really f**king bizarre chain of events to pressurize a domestic water system enough to force water back into the mains. Yeah, pressure will drop after a main break, possibly causing backflow, but that’s why you’re supposed to run your water to flush the system after an event of that type.

Toxic contamination is also very unlikely if you’re using parts approved for domestic water use.

B – I’m very conscious of that. That’s why I’m buying enough rental property to support myself in addition to my regular business within the next two years, then possibly dumping the business and going to grad school.

C – I’ve seen work done by Eastern Europeans in London. On par with good quality work by union/licensed tradesmen in the US. And IMHO, both new and renovated construction are better there than in the US.

Conversely, I’ve seen horrific electrical work by union/licensed electricians in NYC. Things like stuffing a J-box so full of wires that the lid couldn’t be installed, not bonding grounds where needed, and installing BX cable without bushings. Not to mention low-voltage abominations, like FORGETTING to run an audio feed, only discovered after the wall was closed up.

Another common example: installing an A/C unit in an A/C closet and entirely neglecting to install air return ducting or grilles. Door of A/C closet SLAMMED whenever the A/C was running, followed by a strained whistling sound. Needless to say, not much cooling was obtained.

D – as far as my personality, I speak my mind and have ZERO qualms about doing so. Don’t like it? Go talk to someone else who’ll tell you the fairy tale you want to hear 🙂

[bearishgurl]

Back to the OP. zzz, I wouldn’t focus on this too much, considering the age of the properties you are considering. Do the best you can with the City microfiche at the Planning Dept but don’t get too caught up in the fact that an existing garage is too close to the back fence. Obviously, some of this (unpermitted) work is “grandfathered.” I doubt anyone down there will give you a rough time over a rear patio “room addition” slapped up in 1953 without a permit.

Are you concerned because you plan to gut and remodel the interior of a Craftsman or perhaps legally add onto one? If so, I question why someone would be looking at properties this age where the room proportions and their original built-ins lend to the whole authenticity of a Craftsman. I could see adding a walk-in closet, interior laundry room or master bath using the existing space but I don’t think it’s prudent to stray too much from the original footprint or the house’s character might be lost (which is the entire reason for buying it in the first place). The buyer would be better off buying a larger Craftsman to begin with, such as those which can be found in Burlingame, South Park, Mission Hills and the Morley Field area.

If I was in escrow on a property in those zip codes, I would hire Parra Bldg consultants to inspect it during escrow. They have decades of experience in your areas of choice and will tell you much more than you thought to ask about a property. I would highly recommend following them everywhere on the property on inspection day.

http://parrabuildingconsultants.com/

What you REALLY want to know is if any part of the foundation is cracked and if there is any evidence of mold under the subfloor, behind the baseboards or on the inside of the stemwalls. These problems are expensive to fix. Don’t worry too much about an antiquated termite-eaten detached garage or cracked driveway strips, stair stoops and patios. This can all be fixed to today’s standards. Look for a 65-70 ft wide lot or alley access. If you are fortunate, you may find both of these in a property you are interested in!

Good luck, zzz!

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