Bill N1eY wrote:
> I have talked with one of the local guys that has been involved in
> errecting the towers for several hams. He has done installations since
> at least the late '70's here in Eastern Mass. He has done modern towers
> and SteppIR's. He told me not to bother with the permit.
>
> I went into the town hall and I tried to talk with the building
> inspector. First of all half of the guys around here are part time
> stick men. They do house framing. They know NOTHING about towers. I
> suspect they shall go into an absolute panic like my local inspector
> did. The whole idea of an inspection is to guarantee that homeowner is
> not being abused by a contractor.
Not precisely, at least here in CA. The inspector here makes sure
you've actually complied with the relevant code.
You don't need a permit in
> Massachusetts to pull your own house wiring regardless of the statements
> made by some wire inspectors.
Most states have exceptions for owners doing work on their residence.
You might need a permit, but often you don't have to have it done by a
licensed contractor or certified electrician. You'd still need to get
it inspected.
In CA, these days, all a contractor's license means is that they've got
a business and that they have a bond, know the rules about contracts,
debt collection, etc. Nothing about professional qualifications, per
se. Electrical work has to be done by certified electricians (i.e.
someone who has done the X hours of training and work experience,
etc.).. that's independent of being a licensed contractor. Oddly, as a
electrical PE, I cannot legally do the wiring I design. (Thank you IBEW
for the latter...)
The guy wanted me to pay for a mass PE to
> stamp the plans; the mass PE wanted to perform soil studies and watch me
> errect the tower.
Well.. that IS the P.E.'s call.. it's his or her license on the line.
One can shop around.
>
> I think that you might be able to see how much money a permit might end
> up costing in addition to the permit fee. When your tax bill is $4,000
> for a 700 ft sq house like a majority of the homes in my town, then I
> might understand why you would not want to bother with a tower permit.
Here in CA, you'd get stuck for taxes on the additional value of the
work being permitted. For instance, my patio cover needed a permit, as
did a new gas line for a barbeque, but the hardscape and rest of the
work didn't. So the tax bill went up by about $50/yr (1% of the $5k for
the cover and gas line). A $10k tower installation would result in
$100/yr bump in taxes (on top of a typical $4-5k/yr for a $400k-$500k
house). Fortunately, they don't reassess the value of the house when
you do this, unless it's a truly significant change in the premises.
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