Work without a permit, get burned

Several weeks ago we responded to a reader's question about possibly removing a fireplace in her 1920s Oakland house.

She made it clear she was going to hire this job out, but wanted our opinion on what we thought of the idea. We gave her the pros and cons as we saw them and also gave her a primer on what might be involved should she decide to take the plunge.

We pointed out that it would be a lot of work to not only demolish the fireplace but also replace the void she'd create. Pretty general advice, we thought.

But it struck a nerve with another of our readers, architect Neil Rains. Here, edited for space, is his view:

"Thank you for your Sweat Equity columns. They are generally enlightening, sometimes entertaining and, I'm sure, helpful and supportive to those who write to you.

"I am dismayed by your lack of informing your readers about the legal requirement for obtaining building permits prior to beginning work! On Sept. 13, you wrote about the possibility of removing a fireplace but did not suggest that a permit would be required to do the work. A permit is required for almost any alteration of this type.

"Following is verbatim from the 2004 California Building Code (language from the 2007 code now in effect is virtually the same):

"106.1: Permits Required. Except as specified in Section 106.2, no building or structure regulated by this code shall be erected, constructed, enlarged, altered, repaired, moved, improved, removed, converted or demolished unless a separate permit for each building or structure has first been obtained from the building official.

"Clearly, the writer for the fireplace (and many other alterations mentioned in your columns) would require a permit prior to beginning work.

"Most local building departments have technicians who are sympathetic toward homeowners attempting to do such work and are happy to walk them through the process and provide valuable assistance such as required wood size and spacing to support given loads, electrical, plumbing and mechanical requirements and energy conservation requirements.

"Those who think it is a hassle to go through the process of obtaining a permit before the work is done should try doing it after the work is done. Almost all cities will require complete plans of the illegal work, engineering (if required) and enough uncovering of work to confirm that work conforms with code requirements. Non-conforming work must, of course, be removed and made to conform.

"As an architect and retired building official, I couldn't begin to tell you in this letter of even a few of the frustrations and heartaches I have witnessed sitting across the counter from people who have done work without permits. ...CONTINUED

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