How to Plan a Remodel and Apply for a Building Permit as a Homeowner

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Check out more videos from this remodel here- kzbin.info/aero/PLKeoAfcTZa1GYKkq_uzSFbj0u_q5A-uRs&si=0DwIYDFx_xWMc4tZ Subscribe to my channel- bit.ly/SubscribeToTheFixer Thanks for watching! 😃

[@codysoyland]

Thank you for showing this -- not a lot of content on KZbin on pulling permits but it's less intimidating after seeing this.

[@brentmchenry9273]

One of the best educational how-to videos... not many people put enough thought (or arguments) into their home remodel planning

[@n3rdygrl]

4:38 I totally get this. My husband and I spent over an hour standing in the linoleum aisle at home depot "discussing" our preferences. I wanted a very dark brown wood look, and everything he chose had orange tones that made me feel ill just to look at in the store. I figured out that he was looking at square foot cost, and I was choosing by looks. I also came to the conclusion that he just might be color blind.

[@younghorseVRH]

Really enjoyed this episode. Very informative. Very thorough and detailed. Love your channel! Blessings.❤️🙏🏾

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Great to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@Aepek]

19:50 2nd vid I’ve watched of yours and that NES collection w/ crc tv is sick👍🏻

[@leewillers4621]

Thank you so much Matt! My husband hates when I tell him “Matt said…”😂. I love your videos and the detail you always go into.❤❤❤

[@darb024]

I’ve been wondering about the remodel. Glad to hear you have a plan and hopefully we’ll be seeing the work soon! Thanks for showing us the process!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

The next videos I post will be the remodel! 😀 Thanks for watching!

[@nathanlockhart3758]

Enough about permits and stuff… can I come over and play some old school Nintendo games with you!?!? 🤓😂

[@TheSpud1129]

dude - I literally saw the same thing! wow. Brings me back to my childhood! I'm probably a bit older than he is - but still...I'll rock old school.

[@RebelAlliance42]

I love pocket doors, I hate how much real-estate other doors take up, and they get in the way. Excellent choice.

[@JohnGorman355]

I'm from Philadelphia and building permits are issued through our City Licenses and Inspections Department. Whats unique about L & I is that they have a web page where you can type in an address of a home or business and it will tell you if a building permit has ever been issued to that location and it will provide the type of construction that the permit covers !

[@sgwsteve1665]

What you got going on with your channel is such a good idea man. You explain stuff very well, and do amazing work

[@AnnaYV]

I wasn’t one that asked for this type of video but I found it really enjoyable and interesting. I’m from the UK 🇬🇧 so things are different here, but it always fascinates me seeing how people do things in different places in the world. Been here since the master bedroom remodel in the old place, think it was when u used to just do time lapses. Thanks for all yours and your family’s hard work to give us quality content 🥳 can’t wait to see the new place get refreshed 🥳🥳 bring on the projects 💪

[@nothingtoseehere93]

Thanks for the tips I always like seeing your videos. I always skip permits for interior work because the town doesn’t need to know and I know what I’m doing. It’s just an excuse for them to tax me more

[@ede8193]

Thanks Matt, very cool video on all the steps for getting a permit. Looking forward to seeing all this new remodel

[@nothingtoseehere93]

Hoping to see some serious remodels down to the studs and modernizing the house. Ever consider trimless drywall? Looks super modern

[@jodifinnegan4453]

Great video. I love the plans for the dinning room remodel! Wow, you'll be getting so much use out of a room that was hardly used. I can't wait to see it!

[@letstrend]

Oh wow dude. You have a really large original NES Collection. Can you do a video on that? That would be cool!

[@chrisglenn2096]

Yeah bro, he’s holding out on us! Even got the CRT tv!!

[@letstrend]

@@chrisglenn2096 Yeah if he's got an NES collection like that then he's got other gamer things. And a lot of other gamer things too!! That punk is holding out on us for sure! Cough it up bub!

[@deannaoverstreet4146]

Thanks for sharing! Can’t wait to watch !

[@deborahhaynes8361]

Oh boy! Ready gooooo! I'm looking forward to your posts

[@GeorgeKennedy-u4r]

I like that whole wall of pegboard down there. Lots of space to hang tools.

[@sulbyen]

I have been looking forward to the start of remodeling the new house. Do you plan on tearing down to the studs like previous remodel?

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Hey! So happy you have stuck around. Really, if i don't run into any big issues there will be no need to gut. The house was built in 1993 so everything should be much more up to date than my old house. (1946). Thanks for checking out the video!

[@TravisHansenMN]

@17:20 That’s quite the NES collection! Wow

[@dohnie6962]

Yay! So excited! Thank you for letting us know. :) Hi from Czechia

[@nils-erikolsson3539]

bot

[@dohnie6962]

@@nils-erikolsson3539 what haha 😂

[@robertramirez4457]

Love your NES collection and diggin the proton pack

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thanks! 😀👍

[@nolongeramused8135]

My personal project is repainting the entire interior because nearly 20 years after we bought it most of it still the same color of "blah" the builder slapped on the walls and ceilings. Literally, 100% of the house the same color (Sherwin Williams "Biscuit"). The problem is that my wife can't commit to a color unless she's actually seen someone else do it first, so even though the old paint is really showing its age she just wants a new coat of the same color. So far I've managed to get four rooms repainted, with a fifth one to be done in three weeks when she travels to Boston. After that I get to go crazy with the crawlspace remodel.

[@pascalbriand9987]

2 days later!!! in Australia it takes 6-12 months to get a sign of life from the council. love your Nintendo game collection!!

[@shadegarden7375]

Great advice and ideas!!

[@loisdoucette141]

Oooh ! Thanks I watch faithfully 😊. I'm excited to see what's coming .

[@AlexeiTetenov]

Thank you for sharing!

[@IMOO1896]

The glass po kept door is a great idea

[@jennifermartinus4929]

Wow, I’m looking forward to this. 👍 ❤️

[@acdallas6356]

Love me some paperwork! Thanks for this interesting video and Let The Work Begin!!! 😺

[@Hosty_Tim]

Very interesting, thank you Matt!

[@lynnew5619]

Interesting. Your systems are quite different from the UK. 👍

[@maryquinn3982]

Her Matt Very interesting Looking forward to seeing the work Bet you can’t wait to get new ceilings on those rooms - getting rid of the swirls 😂 How did the removing of the moos on the shed go after the initial treatment - I may have missed the update?

[@noobyxviii]

cant wait for the remodel video notifications making me spend hours on your channel again lol

[@i0606]

thats a sick NES/SNES collection lol. where was that at the old house?

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

😀 Thanks! It was tucked away in rubbermaid containers in the basement for 6.5 out of the 7 years we lived there. Now it can finally shine!

[@nothingtoseehere93]

You should put this in sketchup to make it easier to visualize it and you get all your measurements and stuff

[@courgettee]

New to the channel, do you have a video explaining how you got all this knowledge?

[@gregs7918]

The fees and permits are about the same in Connecticut. Our town is always reasonable, but hear some towns can be difficult. I never had any issues with inspections and it seems like the town does not care once the fee is paid. An insurance claim on non-permitted modifications could be a huge problem, so I am with you on getting a permit.

[@AlexeiTetenov]

Insurance is a scam!

[@brentmchenry9273]

Sweet video game collection and memorabilia, btw

[@jsaysyay]

honestly an extremely important video for this entire genre of videos, nice! and yeah of course you need to see how you feel there, be actually certain and as an aside i'd PLEAD with anyone to please for the love of whatever get a permit, someone before us did stuff without a permit and proper inspections etc, and it very literally almost k*llеd my mom and i, and almost destroyed our family home. like as you said, the permit is literally there to protect the homeowner

[@jodo3k]

I was looking for exactly this content and again, you did not fail me. I do have a question though... I'm looking at renovating/living-in a house just like your previous house in a MA town probably not far from where you are. How did you handle the permits renovating rooms as you go? You did a little structural, a little electrical, etc in almost every room you touched. Did you get permits each time and get inspected for each joist and electrical change? Or somehow combine it all into one permit? I'd love more info on how to handle the logistics of renovating as you go. thanks!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Hey! Great question. I pulled permits for everything and as long as you have a plan and let the inspector know, they will come out a few times. Sometimes they will even let you just send pictures of certain things during the process. It is best to just go down to the town hall with a plan and have a chat with them since every town is different. Hope this helps!

[@jodo3k]

@@TheFixerHomeRepair Certainly does help. Get organized, have a plan with drawings/docs, make friends lol. I can do that.

[@919liz]

Good information...nice to see Massachusetts state seal...minute men..

[@vickigreen2981]

Neat ideas! Can’t wait!

[@dianadunham6691]

Great tips!

[@shanaproctor100]

Looking forward to this!

[@Pallidus_Rider]

The Fixer 👍

[@Riversbend710]

Interesting onformation.

[@lindacsmith13]

very exciting

[@BobbieJeanM]

My personal experience has been that there’s always more involved than it seems at the beginning. The longer you take initially thinking things through, the less running around like a chicken without its head in the end. Another way to get a feel for the size of a space is to put up cardboard walls.

[@marchu50]

Nice video

[@sonarun]

I am impressed with all of the NES games. It’s like I am watching The Wizard . Haha.

[@chrisw443]

Buddy wheres the vintage game collection video, thats one helluva collection in the background!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Maybe one of these days! 😁😁

[@g3garage]

Is that an unlicensed nuclear accelerator I see hanging on the wall behind you? Lol Great video.

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Just in case I need to clean up the town. 😉😀 Funny story, I built that back in 2007 out of stuff I had in my basement. It weighs about 60lbs. It lights up and I put a vacuum motor in it so it at least makes a sound when you flip the switch. I also took apart an old cd player and attached it so I could play the soundtrack. It was a fun little build when I was in my 20's, single with no kids. 😂😂

[@g3garage]

@@TheFixerHomeRepair Then you truly come by all this naturally! Great work!

[@davewhite4706]

Thank you for talking about the permit process. I've recently pulled a permit in British Columbia and it seemed very intimidating to start with but everyone I've spoken with at the council has been very helpful. The only down side is our process is quite slow and it costs a few hundred dollars every time you apply. Great job, I look forward to watching your remodel progress!

[@pitsnipe5559]

And now you have just one of the many reasons I no longer live in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts. The biggest one being, IT SNOWS! 😮

[@emiller7040]

Do you really need permits to move walls around without adding square footage? That's crazy!

[@retireearly7223]

Sure…load bearing walls need inspection, adding electrical outlets on new walls need inspection, etc.

[@krazymammaw3040]

Please share the results love watching this stuff I live in a bi level and unfortunately I want to flip living room in front of house move w bedrooms to back of house but it being a bi - level there is these things called stairs in my way I thought of taking wall out of one bedroom completly and making it the living room and the otherside where living room is in to a huge dining room and add more cabinets a nice size pantry and a big island it would still have 3 bedrooms but one would be in our wall out basement it already there I have always hated this house the way it is set up and we have done alot already but I want my living room looking out front not back of house sounds crazy right but I always wanted my living facing the street view not backyard view we have 3 acres and a pond you now look out of from living room but 8 want living room out front I know just move right ? But this property is awesome I just want lr in front

[@TheTootsieroll23]

Will you be doing additions in the future, or remodeling of a tiny shed? -tfs ♥️ u vlogs

[@TheTootsieroll23]

Also 😮the video game 🎮 collection setup in the background. 🤩

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Hey! My wife and I have been talking about maybe doing something with our shed... It has power and really I don't need power in a shed but it would be nice if we maybe finished the inside or turned it into a tiki bar kinda thing.

[@GeorgeKennedy-u4r]

In my city in Floriduh they would DEFINATELY fine you (more $$ for the town to waste) If you do something w/o a permit. They actually cruise the rubbish piles on collection day looking for an old toilet or sink that someone replaced w/o a permit so they can fine them. All about the MONEY. Also, if you pull a permit (yourself or a contractor), the city does their best to find some small reason to fail the first inspection so they can charge a reinspection fee (happened to many). When I had a new ac put in, the contractor sent a tech to sit in my driveway to wait for the inspector to show. Sure enough the inspector was going to fail inspection for a small hole that wasn't completely sealed around the line set, but the tech sealed it right away so it would pass. One demerit for the city inspector.

[@lindaroyal8161]

Good to see you, it's been a while. This will be a fun series to watch, I always love your room project series. Nice to see you taking on projects at your new house. I'm a homeowner in Florida, small town in Pasco County. Our permits are pulled from the city. Being a homeowner, we are allowed to act as General Contractor and pull our own permits and hire who we want for the work. I enclosed a sunroom, several years ago, new windows and walls. Because it was structural, new walls, I had to have it inspected and a permit. Same unit, several years before that, did a remodel on the bathroom and didn't pull any permits. I didn't change the structure, put all fixtures in the same place, mostly cosmetic with new insulation. This was great information, especially seeing you go page by page on the application and sketch for the plans.

[@Thecoffee_broad]

This video has great information. As someone who works for a building department in a Massachusetts town, I don’t think people realize that building permits are not really optional. Some towns are more strict than others but if you’re doing a lot of non-permitted work, usually the inspector WILL find out. You wouldn’t BELIEVE the amount of phone calls we get from nosey neighbors and we can’t ignore them.

[@j.c.linden]

I would be cautious about making more small spaces and closing off doors. There coat closet would be essentially too small to function. Instead of so many divisions, why can't a mud room just be part of the pantry. Instead of adding walls, why not just make the pantry a bi fold door situation that opens in to the same space . Trying to cram a walk in pantry is going to feel REALLY confining. Closing off opening to the front hall will make that are much more confined feeling as well as darker.

[@yourbrokenoven]

If I hire someone to do work, such as replacing a roof, how do I know they've pulled a permit?

[@Thecoffee_broad]

Call the building department and ask. Also you should have a permit hanging somewhere on your home (front door/window) so it’s visible from the street.

[@BrianBarbera-o9k]

hello the fixer it has been a while I hope you are doing alright you your wife your kid I hope there doing okay too best of wishes of your new house and a happy 7 months.

[@mfman2]

Would they flag it if you underestimated the costs?

[@SierraOne]

Time to make some dust!

[@judithcatlett8518]

Looking forward to your new chapter. Btw, I enjoyed the smaller jobs.

[@anaellefire7114]

Not going to lie, I was really hoping you'd turn the permit around and have it say something like "I can do what I want" like Ron Swanson on Parks and Rec 😂

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

🤣🤣

[@CrabOfDoom]

Permitted work is also worth doing correctly, as non-permitted work can have ramifications on your property value & taxes and insurance costs & coverage, and if there isn't a paper trail of accountability for anything that might go wrong with your work (and worse, go wrong & affect a neighbor's property, like a spreading electrical fire or damage to shared water pipes,) you can be in BIG trouble. If there's a legal means of covering your butt, TAKE IT--get the permits. Weigh how much you want the remodel vs. how much you don't want higher property taxes, in your initial pros and cons; not when you're fined or in jail for tax evasion.

[@jim-Infinity]

interesting

[@anthonyb8405]

ill pass on the permits... the less the town knows the better. Unless I'm adding an addition, they DONT need to know about some interior walls being moved/added. But great video and subtle flex on the NES collection 😜

[@bobmilleit1976]

It was like that when I bought it

[@alanyoder7629]

Same here. My house, my business. The only time I got a permit was for the new roof. Won’t do that again.

[@SaltySeed]

Only thing I do permits for are things others can see, electrical and load bearing. My area is very strict and wants permits for EVERYTHING even new wall coverings or replacing interior doors. It's a bit much esp since they don't even inspect it. Literally only inspections are roof, load bearing, foundation, electrical, additions and plumbing. If your not inspecting I'm not paying. 😂

[@cantgetright742]

Ut oh. Looks like we’re gonna be gettin in deep soon.

[@backpain4ever505]

why not get rid of the hallway, have the garage door open into a bigger mudroom, make the mudroom closet bigger, bigger pantry. keep the door to the reading room. i know you know what you’re doing, just brainstorming.

[@joha7484]

💪💪💪💪💪❤❤❤❤❤

[@ivanwill]

And to be clear, you lost the fights, right? We all know how this works 😂 Ps: seriously, looking forward to the remodel(s) and videos. Let’s do this 👊🏾

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

😂😂

[@nothingtoseehere93]

Why exactly do they charge more depending on your cost? It’s not like they are going to be doing any extra work lmao. What a racket

[@stargateproductions]

In my area, most folks don't bother with a permit as the process is difficult. I don't recommend you do this though.

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Yeah, that is one thing I don't understand... all towns should make it as easy as possible or this is what is going to happen. People just won't do them. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@GeorgeKennedy-u4r]

In my house just about the ONLY thing I don't do wrong (so I'm told) is wipe my but.

[@saulgoodman2018]

Did you really need a permit for that?

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Yup! 😩

[@shadegarden7375]

Domino effect….

[@topper009]

The worst possible use of space is a hallway. You already have the front hallway which you obviously need to keep, so it is not good close off that door to add another unnecessary hallway just to lead to a new door. Plus, in terms of quietness, the kids are over by the front door way less than the back door/kitchen/bathroom area. You could just do a transom window to let light into the mud room and have way extra room for benches and storage there, leave the current dining room door (or move it closer to the front door/window side, then have the entire back wall for books. Also, I would rather go to jail than ask the government permission to change my own house. Communists

[@ahummerich2751]

Why didn’t you just find a different place?

[@gethprime7781]

permits lul

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

🙊

[@balamont1150]

Blah, blah, blah!!!

[@johnnylobster2749]

Hi From Rhode Island 😊, wanting to put a 12 x 14 sunroom off the back , we need a variance ,We live in Warwick , The city is no help unless you are building a 200 room Hotel 🏨 They should put a little help to the homeowners that have lived in the city all there live ,to help with all the bull shit paper work .