Permit Requirements For Spa

[looking_for_spa]

Folks,

I am getting a Spa which will be installed in a week's time. I know different cities have different permit requirements - however I was told by the electrician that "usually" no one bothers about permits (I am in San Jose, CA). He will be pulling a 220V/50Amp dedicated line for the tub connections. The spa itself does not need any permit as it is considered an appliance.

Is this true in general? Whats the downside of not getting a permit - any experiences?

Thanks!

[waldorbigbill]

Keep this in mind if you don't get permit and don't have it inspected if there is a problem and your insurance company might not cover because it wasn't done correctly.

[104 Degrees]

Folks,

I am getting a Spa which will be installed in a week's time. I know different cities have different permit requirements - however I was told by the electrician that "usually" no one bothers about permits (I am in San Jose, CA). He will be pulling a 220V/50Amp dedicated line for the tub connections. The spa itself does not need any permit as it is considered an appliance.

Is this true in general? Whats the downside of not getting a permit - any experiences?

Thanks!

Any children in your area??

[looking_for_spa]

Any children in your area??

Well, my kids are 8 & 11 years old and they are both swimmers ...

waldorbigbill - thanks for pointing that out about the insurance ...

[waldorbigbill]

I would question other electrician about do you need a permit. I know here in Jersey they all say they want to get them because it falls back on them if something happen. I also feel any legit company will do everything by the books and not cut corners. for $50 bucks for the cost of permit I'd make him get it. sure it's kinda wasted money but it will be inspected and you know the job is up to code it's for your protection.

[104 Degrees]

Well, my kids are 8 & 11 years old and they are both swimmers ...

waldorbigbill - thanks for pointing that out about the insurance ...

I'm talking about other children in your area. your area might want you to do something to protect your tub with fencing so childrend dont drown.

[Pathfinder]

All electrical you will need a permit. Call you local building planning office to find out if you do or not every city is different. When contractors say you dont need permits you should always be suspect and find out yourself.

[looking_for_spa]

All electrical you will need a permit. Call you local building planning office to find out if you do or not every city is different. When contractors say you dont need permits you should always be suspect and find out yourself.

So he is saying you do need a permit ideally but most people dont go thru the hassle and skips it! He has left it upto me to pursue it or not. I would do the right thing and in the process of finding out the details.

As regards children, I plan to use the cover all the time when the tub is not in use ...

[Pathfinder]

I would really get the permit yourself have it inspected and dont pay for it until it passes inspection. Insurance is everything these days you are dealing with your main panel if the contractor screws up and you have nothing to say it was done properly you will be the one holding the bill to fix w/e went wrong

[Dr. Spa]

I think it would be more like, if it's discovered it wasn't done up to code you may have a problem.

That said, in my area, if the wiring job takes say 4 hours, you can spend another 4 hours just getting the permit (I'm including driving time, parking time, standing in line time etc.) and then spend another 4 to 6 hours waiting around for the inspector to show up and inspect the job. Now a 4 hour job turns into 12 hours. Who's paying for this time?

You might consider pulling the permit yourself, having the electrician do the work, then waiting yourself for the inspection. Oh, there's also the possibility of the value of your home increasing due to this work (quite possibly increasing a lot more than you might expect) and your property tax going up.

[looking_for_spa]

I think it would be more like, if it's discovered it wasn't done up to code you may have a problem.

That said, in my area, if the wiring job takes say 4 hours, you can spend another 4 hours just getting the permit (I'm including driving time, parking time, standing in line time etc.) and then spend another 4 to 6 hours waiting around for the inspector to show up and inspect the job. Now a 4 hour job turns into 12 hours. Who's paying for this time?

You might consider pulling the permit yourself, having the electrician do the work, then waiting yourself for the inspection. Oh, there's also the possibility of the value of your home increasing due to this work (quite possibly increasing a lot more than you might expect) and your property tax going up.

You are right - the electricain is asking for $100/hr for spending time related to inspection!

I am thinking of pulling the permit myself and getting it done. Here we have permits avl online which saves the drive time!

The property value may not be impacted as the spa is "portable"?!