by A major milestone was reached this week. I filed for and obtained my plumbing (far right) and electrical (yellow) permits! I was very nervous about this for some odd reason. I thought I would be grilled with questions I didn’t have a clue about, but all went relatively smoothly. The electric was approved on the first try. My plumbing was denied on the first try because I did not bring a drain and vent diagram with me, but a quick call to my father resolved that. He made one out for me and I returned the next day and got approval.
In preparation for the electric rough-in I elected to hire JTL Electric, Inc, Ohio licensed and City of Cincinnati registered contractor, to install my new, 200 amp electrical panel. That brings me one step closer to temporary electric in my house. Unfortunately their work failed inspection due to his hanging the weatherhead piece below the insulator (yeah Greek to me too). He had to correct this before IBI Cincinnati would send release to Duke Energy. That delayed power at least two more days, so now I probably won’t have for the weekend as I hoped. Once turned on, no more lugging a generator back and forth and no more back-up battery changes on my SimpliSafe alarm system, yeah.
My father felt they should have placed a piece of plywood behind the panel before attaching it to the wall. When I inquired about that I was told code doesn’t require it, but if I wanted it I’d have to pay an additional $125. Needless to say I won’t be using their services for the remainder of this project. So glad I pulled my own permit, so I’m not beholden to any one company. Let this be a lesson to all my followers.
While the electric is progressing, I am bracing myself for another budget hit in regards to plumbing. I was prepared to have the stolen water meter replaced when I learned I have lead water pipes feeding to my house. Since a “disturbance of the line has occurred” I am required to replace the lead service line. Greater Cincinnati Water Works has a cost-sharing program if I elect to use one of their contractors to do the work, up to $1500. The cost-sharing program also has payment program option that will allow the unpaid balance to be applied to my property tax bill and paid semi-annually over a time period of 5 to 10 years. Holding my breath in waiting on the return call from GCWW. With that program, the lead may end up being a blessing in disguise.
Congrats on the permits!