Permit inspection process? Sp. VA Beach if possible

[snosurfa7]

Anybody gone through the "mechanical permit" inspection process in Virginia Beach? Or similar process elsewhere?

I think I need to get a final inspection. I know the stove was installed to code - I am pretty thorough and double-checked through the stove's clearances to make sure they were sufficient and on top of that, a professional company did the actual install. But I get nervous about any sort of inspection - I think a lot of time it is a way for the city just to make more money. I don't even mind paying the money I just don't want some guy to come by and see the stove 11" from drywall and freak out even though I have double-walled pipe and a heat shield in place meeting jotul's standards (which I think are UL/ULC anyway right?)

thanks

 

[firefighterjake]

Anybody gone through the "mechanical permit" inspection process in Virginia Beach? Or similar process elsewhere?

I think I need to get a final inspection. I know the stove was installed to code - I am pretty thorough and double-checked through the stove's clearances to make sure they were sufficient and on top of that, a professional company did the actual install. But I get nervous about any sort of inspection - I think a lot of time it is a way for the city just to make more money. I don't even mind paying the money I just don't want some guy to come by and see the stove 11" from drywall and freak out even though I have double-walled pipe and a heat shield in place meeting jotul's standards (which I think are UL/ULC anyway right?)

thanks

I guess there's two ways of looking at an inspection -- some folks could view it just as a way for a City to make money . . . or if the inspection is done properly by a trained professional it's a way of making sure the fellas who installed the stove didn't forget anything or make a mistake (just another way to insure things were done correctly.)

If things were done correctly -- according to code and specs of Jotul -- you shouldn't have anything to worry about. It is a little odd to see a stove so close to walls, but if the inspector has been trained and has been around for any length of time he or she will know that clearances can and have been significantly reduced and are very safe. My advice: don't borrow trouble . . . chances are this will be a non-event.

 

[BrotherBart]

You aren't gonna find an inspector that is too experienced with wood stove installations in Virginia Beach. Just make sure that everything is in accordance with the manual in case he/she asks for it. They probably will just glance at the stove and sign off on the permit. The localities around here have been laying off building inspectors in droves so the ones that are left are probably having to keep moving pretty fast.

 

[Slow1]

As a bit of an anal engineer (QA engineer) I tend to get very into inspections. So I was rather nervous about our inspection as well. When the guy came and did ours I was actually rather disappointed that he didn't do much after he looked around and asked a couple basic questions and I almost wanted to get onto him to pull out his tape measure and earn his pay. Luckily I kept my mouth shut as I know nothing good comes from annoying anyone who has the authority to deny you what you want. My point being is that I expect that in most cases a good inspector probably can spot risky installations rather quickly and then dig into the details as needed. If they can tell you did it by the book and had it done by someone professional (and if they happen to know that company/individual and are familiar with their work) it can go even quicker.

 

[snosurfa7]

Dang, so I called the city and they said I also needed a building permit just to put a freakin hole in my roof. But the job is already done. So if even if the mechanical/wood stove inspector comes out to take a look he might just ask for that building permit, which I don't have, for which they want drawn to scale plans before the work was done. I thought about the stove permit but never even thought to obtain a building permit because I wasn't building anything.

Now I don't know what to do. I hired the stove company,paid a good bit of money for delivery and install, though I assumed they would take care of permits if needed. I didn't even think to check because it was such a minor install - it's not like I'm building anything new.

Has anyone ever run into this - when they have installed a stove and had to go backwards through the permit process? Aw man...I have a new stove and am afraid to burn in it - stupid VA Beach I love it here but I hate the city they have way too many anal nit-picky laws i.e. can not even have a gravel driveway apron must be concrete even in you live in the backwoods swamp areas...

 

[BrotherBart]

According to the website only a final inspection is required so for all intents and purposes you could apply for the permit and then call them in a couple of weeks and say that the work is finished and get the final inspection.

 

[snosurfa7]

According to the website only a final inspection is required so for all intents and purposes you could apply for the permit and then call them in a couple of weeks and say that the work is finished and get the final inspection.

That is exactly what I was going to do - except now they want a building permit too with drawn to scale rough-in plans...I don't know, my insurance company doesn't care, and if I ever have to sell the house and it becomes an issue its not that hard to take a chimney down and patch a hole...I know regulations are there to protect, to an extent - but come on you are telling I can't cut a small hole in my roof without permission that is just excessive government regulation right there

 

[BrotherBart]

I know. Part of my staff used to support the department that did building permits and inspections in a Virginia county. The woman that supported them and waited on them hand and foot had the year from hell with them over permits and inspections when she had a new house built. I can't imagine what it would have been like for somebody they didn't know.

 

[Badfish740]

That is exactly what I was going to do - except now they want a building permit too with drawn to scale rough-in plans...I don't know, my insurance company doesn't care, and if I ever have to sell the house and it becomes an issue its not that hard to take a chimney down and patch a hole...I know regulations are there to protect, to an extent - but come on you are telling I can't cut a small hole in my roof without permission that is just excessive government regulation right there

If you don't consider taking down a chimney and patching a hole in the roof that hard, why not just pull the permit? Trust me, the insurance company will care a great deal about how you went about installing everything if they ever have to pay out on a loss. I'm in the process of installing my Englander add-on and chimney myself. When I called my town construction official he merely asked for the furnace manual (to verify clearances, etc...), so I gave him the following:

Furnace installation/user manual
Chimney installation/user manual with relevant parts highlighted and flagged
Sketch of chimney installation plan with notations on clearances, etc...
Sketch of furnace installation plan with notations on clearances and an additional detail of the ceiling protection in the basement.

I then packaged this all up with the permit application in a manila envelope nice and neat and hand delivered it to borough hall. My application was approved in one day and now I just need final inspection once I finish the install. I kept copies of everything I gave the inspector and I'm also documenting the install with pictures, taking care to pay special attention to clearances and whatnot. Once I'm finished with the install and I get the signed final approval the manuals, sketches, approved permit, and pictures will all go in the safe deposit box with the deed to the house and the like. This way if the unthinkable ever does happen the insurance company will have a very hard time arguing that the furnace caused or substantially contributed to the fire.

 

[snosurfa7]

I guess you are right...but I called and talked with my insurance company (USAA) and they don't want any permits etc...in fact they didn't want to know anything except the wood stove's value so they could replace it in the event of a loss. So I figure I had documentation that a Class A contractor installed my chimney; documentation of the materials used with photos to back it up; also photos documenting appropriate clearances etc.

I'm just so sick of all the extra junk VA Beach makes you do all the extra taxes all the extra permits its totally overkill, ways to make jobs for people who can't go out and make a living otherwise. It is a big deal for me to relocate the hole; I'm sure I can figure it out but that takes time, more money, more tools, more materials, more wasted days off laboring away at something not that fun in my opinion. I love to work on things but I prefer motorized machinery, I'll do the house but only to save money here and there.

I have no problem with the mechanical permit; they were being real hard up about to detail sketches and all of this other stuff they wanted for the building permit just to cut a hole in the roof sheesh...

That is exactly what I was going to do - except now they want a building permit too with drawn to scale rough-in plans...I don't know, my insurance company doesn't care, and if I ever have to sell the house and it becomes an issue its not that hard to take a chimney down and patch a hole...I know regulations are there to protect, to an extent - but come on you are telling I can't cut a small hole in my roof without permission that is just excessive government regulation right there

If you don't consider taking down a chimney and patching a hole in the roof that hard, why not just pull the permit? Trust me, the insurance company will care a great deal about how you went about installing everything if they ever have to pay out on a loss. I'm in the process of installing my Englander add-on and chimney myself. When I called my town construction official he merely asked for the furnace manual (to verify clearances, etc...), so I gave him the following:

Furnace installation/user manual
Chimney installation/user manual with relevant parts highlighted and flagged
Sketch of chimney installation plan with notations on clearances, etc...
Sketch of furnace installation plan with notations on clearances and an additional detail of the ceiling protection in the basement.

I then packaged this all up with the permit application in a manila envelope nice and neat and hand delivered it to borough hall. My application was approved in one day and now I just need final inspection once I finish the install. I kept copies of everything I gave the inspector and I'm also documenting the install with pictures, taking care to pay special attention to clearances and whatnot. Once I'm finished with the install and I get the signed final approval the manuals, sketches, approved permit, and pictures will all go in the safe deposit box with the deed to the house and the like. This way if the unthinkable ever does happen the insurance company will have a very hard time arguing that the furnace caused or substantially contributed to the fire.

 

[Berone]

A scale drawing is easy, and they probably don't want the whole house, just the part that pertains to the penetration. Unless they want that stamped by an engineer or architect you can do it on a piece of graph paper. Since they won't do a preliminary inspection to look at your roof without the hole, all you have to do is the drawing and pull the permit. Then call them to say the work is done and you need the final inspection. If they don't approve where you put the chimney then you have a different problem.

 

[snosurfa7]

Just as an update I went ahead and got the permit. Happy I did, inspector just checked clearances, signed off, and that was it. A big burden off my shoulders for now. Now I'm legal to burn! And I brought the manual with the installation down to city hall and they looked at it saying I in fact did NOT need a building permit since all I was doing was penetrating the attic and was not building a chimney in the traditional sense, per se...

 

[firefighterjake]

Just as an update I went ahead and got the permit. Happy I did, inspector just checked clearances, signed off, and that was it. A big burden off my shoulders for now. Now I'm legal to burn! And I brought the manual with the installation down to city hall and they looked at it saying I in fact did NOT need a building permit since all I was doing was penetrating the attic and was not building a chimney in the traditional sense, per se...

Glad to hear it . . . as I suspected . . . pretty much a non-event . . . and now you're "legal" should the insurance company ever question anything about the install.