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It requires a license though, otherwise it's illegal in most places. Youtube can't help with that.

by lutorm 3y ago

kibwen 3y ago
> It requires a license though, otherwise it's illegal in most places. Youtube can't help with that. Are you actually sure about this? Everywhere I've ever checked, it's been legal for a person to work on the wiring in their own home, without needing to be licensed.
- lutorm 3y ago
  Here in HI you are not allowed to do electrical or plumbing work unless licensed, your own home or not.
- lostapathy 3y ago
  I think Chicago and maybe all of Cook County Illinois are a notable exception to that, and with goofy, overbearing codes to top it off.
  - allenrb 3y ago
    That’s where I live and to my knowledge, this is true. We haven’t got a monopoly though. Lived in Atlanta for many years and once asked around a bit. Pretty sure I could not legally do so much as replace a receptacle by myself. From what I can tell, it is usually more rural areas where it’s legal to do your own work and then have it inspected. Ridiculous. Needless to say, I’ve done plenty of electrical work over the years. Would have loved to have some of it inspected, but that wasn’t allowed.
    - lostapathy 3y ago
      Exactly this - over-regulation keeps people from using the safety mechanisms at all. My other favorite example is gun background checks. If I want to sell a gun to a guy in my neighborhood that I don't really know, there's no practical way to do it such that he gets the background check you get when you buy from a dealer. Completely ridiculous.
- natoliniak 3y ago
  In Boston it is illegal. Plumbing as well. I tried to hire a plumber and electrician to do simple bathroom rewire and could not find a willing contractor - job too small. "Call us in a couple of months, maybe we will squeeze you in" was a typical response. So, I did it myself, according to code but without pulling the permit. I had not other choice.
rootusrootus 3y ago
Rarely true, you can almost always work on your own house. You can't work on anyone else's. And you should still pull permits, though it seems like most people skip it, especially for small stuff.
- quesera 3y ago
  This very much varies by municipality. In the coastal big cities where I've lived, you cannot pull electrical permits without a license. And you cannot do electrical work without a permit. Same for plumbing, which is even less justifiable, I think.
  - mikeyouse 3y ago
    I think the only restriction I've seen in the coastal cities I've lived in is the type of structure.. if you have a detached single-family home, you can almost always do you own electrical as long as it's inspected. It's either that strict or les so for SF (https://sf.gov/apply-electrical-permit https://sf.gov/apply-electrical-permit), Seattle (https://www.seattle.gov/sdci/permits/permits-we-issue-(a-z)/electrical-permit https://www.seattle.gov/sdci/permits/permits-we-issue-(a-z)/...), Portland (https://www.portland.gov/bds/residential-permitting/residential-electrical-permits https://www.portland.gov/bds/residential-permitting/resident...), etc.
    - quesera 3y ago
      Ah good point. On the west coast, I've been thwarted by class of building (and this is reasonable I guess). On the east coast (New England), many cities and towns don't even make an exception for owner-occupied, detached SFH buildings. Thou absolutely shalt not. My favorite permitting office experience was in another, shall we say lower-density, part of the country. I wanted to put a subpanel in the barn for a workshop. "Would I need a license for that?" The guy behind the desk asked me how big of a panel I wanted, what size and type of wire I was going to use, distance from the existing service, size of existing service. He was satisfied with my answers and said "Nah. You're good. Give me a call if you want me to swing by and take a look when you're done, but it sounds like you're fine.". I was in and out of there in like three minutes.

It requires a license though, otherwise it's illegal in most places. Youtube can't help with that.

by lutorm 3y ago

It requires a license though, otherwise it's illegal in most places. Youtube can't help with that.

> It requires a license though, otherwise it's illegal in most places. Youtube can't help with that. Are you actually sure about this? Everywhere I've ever checked, it's been legal for a person to work on the wiring in their own home, without needing to be licensed.

lutorm 3y ago
Here in HI you are not allowed to do electrical or plumbing work unless licensed, your own home or not.
lostapathy 3y ago
I think Chicago and maybe all of Cook County Illinois are a notable exception to that, and with goofy, overbearing codes to top it off.
- allenrb 3y ago
  That’s where I live and to my knowledge, this is true. We haven’t got a monopoly though. Lived in Atlanta for many years and once asked around a bit. Pretty sure I could not legally do so much as replace a receptacle by myself. From what I can tell, it is usually more rural areas where it’s legal to do your own work and then have it inspected. Ridiculous. Needless to say, I’ve done plenty of electrical work over the years. Would have loved to have some of it inspected, but that wasn’t allowed.
  - lostapathy 3y ago
    Exactly this - over-regulation keeps people from using the safety mechanisms at all. My other favorite example is gun background checks. If I want to sell a gun to a guy in my neighborhood that I don't really know, there's no practical way to do it such that he gets the background check you get when you buy from a dealer. Completely ridiculous.
natoliniak 3y ago
In Boston it is illegal. Plumbing as well. I tried to hire a plumber and electrician to do simple bathroom rewire and could not find a willing contractor - job too small. "Call us in a couple of months, maybe we will squeeze you in" was a typical response. So, I did it myself, according to code but without pulling the permit. I had not other choice.

rootusrootus 3y ago

Rarely true, you can almost always work on your own house. You can't work on anyone else's. And you should still pull permits, though it seems like most people skip it, especially for small stuff.

quesera 3y ago
This very much varies by municipality. In the coastal big cities where I've lived, you cannot pull electrical permits without a license. And you cannot do electrical work without a permit. Same for plumbing, which is even less justifiable, I think.
- mikeyouse 3y ago
  I think the only restriction I've seen in the coastal cities I've lived in is the type of structure.. if you have a detached single-family home, you can almost always do you own electrical as long as it's inspected. It's either that strict or les so for SF (https://sf.gov/apply-electrical-permit https://sf.gov/apply-electrical-permit), Seattle (https://www.seattle.gov/sdci/permits/permits-we-issue-(a-z)/electrical-permit https://www.seattle.gov/sdci/permits/permits-we-issue-(a-z)/...), Portland (https://www.portland.gov/bds/residential-permitting/residential-electrical-permits https://www.portland.gov/bds/residential-permitting/resident...), etc.
  - quesera 3y ago
    Ah good point. On the west coast, I've been thwarted by class of building (and this is reasonable I guess). On the east coast (New England), many cities and towns don't even make an exception for owner-occupied, detached SFH buildings. Thou absolutely shalt not. My favorite permitting office experience was in another, shall we say lower-density, part of the country. I wanted to put a subpanel in the barn for a workshop. "Would I need a license for that?" The guy behind the desk asked me how big of a panel I wanted, what size and type of wire I was going to use, distance from the existing service, size of existing service. He was satisfied with my answers and said "Nah. You're good. Give me a call if you want me to swing by and take a look when you're done, but it sounds like you're fine.". I was in and out of there in like three minutes.