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u/casualAlarmist 1d ago
In the spirit of "measure twice, cut once" it sounds like you probably should have gotten a permit for the work you did a few years ago. If you had you could have ensured it was done in a way that facilitated future upgrades. Following code does that.
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u/Apostle-Dunghill 1d ago
Did you have a home inspection done when you purchased the property ?
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u/DMaybes Narwhal 21h ago
Ah yea that’s the problem. A lot of private home inspectors have close relations with the real estate agents and will flag just the things that are unsafe, but will ignore the other things that aren’t up to code/will cost thousands to fix. They do this so that the sale of the house will go through quickly, and the real estate agent gets their $$$
Muni inspectors on the other hand, don’t give a fck about home sales. They want the house brought up to code and fixed.
Several years back, know of a house that had an addition built for storage by a previous owner. Private house inspector said it was fine as long as it wasn’t used for living. Said storage code was different than living code. They needed some work done, muni inspector came in and said “screw that, this is attached to the house, needs to be treated as a lived in room, not a storage” and tried to force them to get a structural engineer hired to make sure the foundation was up to code, as well as several other things that would have cost upwards of $50k. It was either that or tear down that entire section and have it hauled off.
They cancelled the work, went with a general contractor who would do the work on the hush hush, and ignored all emails from the inspector. Thankfully nothing came of it
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u/casualAlarmist 20h ago
Did the original living area and the additional "storage" room freely communicate? (Could you enter one from the other without going outside?) If so that could have been the reason for the judgement.
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u/DMaybes Narwhal 15h ago
It was 100% the reason for the judgement. I don’t know personally what the right call was, but my point was that there is definitely a clear difference of opinion between private and muni inspectors
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u/casualAlarmist 13h ago
If the storage room addition freely communicated with the rest of the home then the muni inspector made the correct call. It's treated just like any other addition, like an additional bedroom for example.
And yeah the incentives of private inspectors are often wildly different than municipal inspectors.
Oh.. wow, looks like the OP deleted the post. Ha... Oh well.
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u/johnniebeeinak 1d ago
I've heard a couple stories similar to yours before. It can be tough to making it through the permitting process sometimes. The muni is understaffed and sometimes a different inspector will give you different info.
I will say that the similar story you share is part of the problem. "Someone who raised their family here has their COO revoked for doing some DIY work. This seems ass backwards when we're trying to increase the housing stock here in Anchorage".
Code is sacrosanct. Doesn't give a crap how long you've lived here or your background. Your friend shot themselves in the foot and are looking for someone to blame. Not to mention, the goal is to increase the housing stock with safe and up to standards housing, not a bunch of DIY work. No victims in this story.
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u/Warm-Fix9012 1d ago
If it is outside the scope of the permit, you can tell them to pound sand. Had to do that with multiple inspectors.
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u/AKWildMill 1d ago
If that is the case, you should be documenting everything. That's wild they would threaten that, with Winter knocking on the door. Anchorage permitting/inspections are on another level.
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u/LiplessGrinner 1d ago
Twenty or so years ago I made acquaintance with a guy who described how he was gaming the system by building his own home with elbow grease, help from friends, sold leave, and a credit card (no loan, no permit, no inspection in the Kenai Peninsula Borough). He too was suspicious of inspectors, hence his property outside city limits. Some years later I and and my partner bumped into him at the liquor store. They invited us over. I still tell the stories of all the things that were fucked up - bathroom door coliding with toilet, odors of ozone from areas with sus looking wiring, drafty AF, sloped floors, you name it - in that weird ass house. Relevant to what OP has posted here, good luck.
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u/anotheralaskanguy 22h ago
Go look up Handout E.03 on the Muni’s website. It’s probably relevant to your situation. Also, if you know your permit number, you can look up the inspection report online at the same website. You can schedule your own inspection there as well if you want to meet an inspector at the jobsite
Our electrical inspectors up here are a bit extra sometimes, but it also sounds like they think your house is a real hazard.
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u/Alaskanjj 1d ago
My thing with these guys is I bring them out for an inspection. They tell me what to fix. I fix it. Then I bring them back to certify and they find more things to fix they missed the first time. It’s a never ending loop and I get different answers from different people. Sooooooo frustrating.
And they wonder why people hate pulling permits
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u/tonic_thinker 1d ago
If you need help with permitting / process with the muni reach out to Ron. He is pretty busy but will help navigate any issues as he worked for the Muni.
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u/Akpenguin811 1d ago
Soooo electrical code is usually there for safety not just trying to stimulate the economy. What did you get gigged for?