Where Few Homeowners Dare to Tread

In 2003 my family moved into a scary fixer upper in East Nashville. The 1920's bungalow had potential, but it was under many layers of bad remodeling and neglect.

Determined to do things right, I went where few homeowners dare to tread- Metro Codes.

Yes, I actually applied for the appropriate permits and had all the inspections done. Having passed my final inspection, today was the glorious day to go pick up the Use and Occupancy permit that says that the house is ready to be lived in.

It's a great feeling, but I must take a moment to make a couple observations:

1. Most homeowners will not have the stomach for the process. It's not that it's so difficult, it's just unknown- What do you need a permit for? What is 'up to code' anyway? What inspections will I need to have? How do I order the inspections? Who can I call to ask questions? The system seems obviously designed to dissuade homeowners from acquiring permits, but probably doing the work anyway, right?

2. The inspections are somewhat lacking. I'm not necessarily complaining here :) , but I stayed awake a night going over the renovations in my head hoping I had done everything right and then the inspector barely took a look before passing my work. Again- It's fine with me, but it's very easy to see how shoddy work can get through the system, especially if it looks good on the surface.

3. One good thing to mention- The codes dept. has greatly improved their accessibility. When first got my permit in 2003, it was impossible to reach anyone by phone. You just had to go downtown to ask even a simple questions. Now, they have posted phone numbers for everyone in the department online so you can usually reach someone by phone. The couple of times that I've left messages, I got calls back the next morning, which is great.

At the end, I'm glad I jumped through all of the hoops. Since I was selling the home, I certainly didn't want anything to come up later about me not having all the right permits for the work I did. It also helped my confidence along the way.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com