//Quick answer
- Permitted: fee (varies by city), inspection, signed record.
- Unpermitted: no fee, no inspection, no record, and the resale and insurance exposure that comes with that.
- Done-Rite pulls the permit when one is required on every job.
01Definition
What does a permit include?
Authorization from the building department, an inspection at the stage where the work can be seen, corrections if anything is flagged, and a sign-off that becomes part of the property's record. The fee varies by city and by the job.
What does skipping it include?
Nobody outside the installer looks at the work. There is no record. If the work was fine, nothing happens until a buyer's inspector, an adjuster or a home inspection asks about it. If the work was not fine, the first sign is the failure.
02Which fits
When does the permit pay for itself?
At resale, when the water heater, repipe or sewer replacement has a record instead of a question. At an insurance claim, when the adjuster asks. On the day the inspector catches an undersized gas line or a venting problem that would otherwise have stayed hidden.
When is a permit not required?
Drain cleaning, hydro jetting, camera inspection, leak detection and most fixture repairs generally do not need one. Water heaters, tankless, sewer replacement, trenchless, repipes and gas work usually or always do. The building department for your address decides.
//What it costs
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Permit fee | Varies by city and job | Set by each building department. Passed through on the invoice. |
| Inspection | Included in the permit process | Scheduled and met by Done-Rite. |
Done-Rite does not publish fee schedules it has not verified.
//Side by side
Permitted work
- Inspected by the building department
- Record for resale and insurance
- Outside check on gas and venting
- Fee varies by city
- An inspection visit to schedule
Unpermitted work
- No fee today
- No inspection, no record
- Resale and insurance exposure
- Safety mistakes stay hidden
03What goes wrong
What is the honest cost of each column?
Permitted: the fee, the inspection visit, and occasionally a correction. Unpermitted: a possible retroactive permit and inspection at resale, a harder insurance conversation, and on gas and venting, a safety risk nobody checked. The fee is the smaller number.
04Proof
- When a job needs a permit, Done-Rite pulls it and schedules the inspection.
- California CSLB C-36 licence #998069. Licensed, bonded and insured, with workers compensation.
- Six plumbers averaging more than 9 years in the trade each, plus a General Manager with 25+ years.
- Independent and family-owned in Orange County since 2014. Not a franchise.
05Action
Book it permitted
Done-Rite pulls the permit when one is required and schedules the inspection as part of the job. No trip charge.
//Please read
Educational guidance, not legal advice. Permit and code requirements are set by the building department with jurisdiction over your address and change on adoption cycles. Confirm current requirements with your city's building department before acting on anything here. Done-Rite pulls the permit when a job requires one.
Authority cited: the California Residential Code as adopted by your city, and California Business and Professions Code section 7030.5 (licence display). Reviewed by Dee Alkouri, General Manager, Done-Rite Plumbing & Rooter. Re-review trigger: any code adoption cycle or a change in Done-Rite's permit practice.
//Keep going
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//Terms used in this guide
Where this applies
Done-Rite runs these calls across Orange County from its shop in Anaheim, CA, with no trip charge in any city it serves.
Common questions
If you are unsure, it is best to give us a call. There are many things that require a permit that you wouldn't think of.
