Can I DIY? (West New York, 2 Family, Owner Occupied)

Question

Hey all,

Purchasing a 2 family (owner occupied) in Guttenberg and would like to know what work can be done without a permit? I may not do some of this work myself, but have some great handymen that can do the work at a lower cost.

I was also a bit confused by the "other than dwellings" classification in this Ordinary Maintenance/Minor Work doc: https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/codes/alerts/pdfs/OM_MW_03052018.pdf

Worth adding that I will have my contractor license in NJ sometime in August.

Here are some things I was hoping to do:

1. Renovating existing bathroom including reworking existing plumbing.

2. Replace Hot Water Heater

3. Renovate Kitchen including redoing the sink plumbing.

4. Replace return and supply steam pipes for radiators with PEX, run in-wall.

5. Adding a door to close off a section of the hallway. See pic attached.

6. Line chimney

7. Replace some bathroom plumbing in basement.

Thanks for the help.

Kevin Hill · Answer

You need permits for everything except the door. Don’t cut corners. I would only use a licensed plumber. If you have a dripping faucet, leaky toilet etc, those are handyman type repairs.

Try to think of the permits and inspections as making sure the work was done right to ensure safety and having future headaches.

Richard Singh · Answer

That makes sense, thanks for the alignment here.

Can I DIY? (West New York, 2 Family, Owner Occupied)

2 Replies