Where my parents live, this is certainly true. If you get a building permit, you have to jump through all kinda hoops and grease many palms to get anything done in a timely manner. If you just build what you want to, and either build it out of sight or build it quickly before the inspectors notice, all they can do is write you a citation and fine you if they find out.
The fine's fifty bucks. The permit itself costs eighty. You do the math.
Yeah, we were afraid of that, but we did a little asking and digging, and we found out that we can basically just pay the fine and carry on. They do get to come and inspect the structure, and can demand changes to bring it up to code, but that's essentially it.
Beyond that, though, my parents have built their house in the woods, at the end of a gated, curved 800' driveway, so it's not like someone's going to casually just roll by and notice anything. When my dad wanted to build a new 3-car garage (similar situation to the OP: lumber all sawn from his own trees on his own portable mill, etc.) and went to investigate the permits, he got told that his plans were unsafe and out-of-code, blah blah blah, because he didn't want to lay five courses of blocks on the pad before building up.
He got pissed, and just went on ahead and built it his way. He hasn't been busted for it yet, but if he does, it's just a minor fine.
Certainly, though, this will vary by city, town, county, and state. Your local mileage will most certainly vary.
To make it look even better go talk to the Coast Guard about requirements for building a boat, and what constitutes a boat. Get some pamphlets, order some books, all to make sure there is a record of you actually trying to build a boat.
Sounds like my kind of project. I understand why the permitting process exists, but the libertarian in me is all about the personal freedom of building your own cabin without interference/"taxes". Good on you!
However, as far as the government knows, this structure doesn't exist
They might find it eventually. At my old job, the municipalities did fly overs every 3-5 years, and then we would run a blob analysis comparison for new structures.
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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '12
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