Maine Plumbing HELP!
Does anyone have experience with plumbing laws in Maine? plumbing is being kept the same above the trap. We are simply putting in new toilet, vanity, and shower. We found Kennebunkport plumbing code that states what we are doing is fine to do on our own; however, town inspector says due to rental... A licensed plumber needs to install. Does this seem right? any help is greatly appreciated.
Sounds about right. With that said, I would venture a guess that the majority of jobs similar to what you described are carried out in ME with unlicensed guys.
How would you get caught if you didn't get a permit?
Same issue with electrical work. A home owner in Maine can pull a permit from state to wire up his own house, then have a state inspector look the work over, the inspector signs off on work and the power company will connect service (new construction). I was planning on going this route with a duplex I built a while back, then I learned that due to the commercial nature of the structure I needed an electrician to do everything. It added $5k or so to the project.
Personally, for the kind of work you're doing and if this is a single family home, I would do it myself.
Will an inspector be coming by for any reason in the future?
To obtain an occupancy permit a final inspection is done. They would look for record of who pulled permit to do work. Again, the confusion to me is that the code litteraly tells us what we are doing does not meed someone licensed but supposedly the issue is that it's for rental purposes. However, assessor office can't explain why there is a difference, nor can we find seperate rules to justify this. We believe it's because we're from out of town they are being a bit strict.
Hey Matthew Hitchcock down here in Houston,Tx if the home you are doing work on is your primary residence and your license matches the address you can pull a home owners permit. If you don't live in it you cannot pull a permit, even if its your home and the tax assessors office shows you as being the owner. Happened to me.
Perhaps that is what is going on with you. Hope it works out for you!
Santos
I think Santos Collantes is correct . If this is not your "primary" residence then technically you cannot pull the permit yourself.
Happened on a few flips for a friend of mine. Tried to pull the permit himself because he owned it but because it was an investment property he could not.
However in Maine if you are just "replacing" fixtures not moving anything plumbing then technically you don't need a permit.