Getting busted for converted garage during solar final inspection ?

[Sunking]

The denial would come during the approval stage based on the structural drawings submitted by your contractor. If they don't meet current code the plan checker would not approve the design.

That is the way it works. The Inspecter can only look at what the permit application was applied and approved for. Inspectors are under paid, lazy, and busy. Last thing they want to do is any extra work for free.

[smooth28la]

Since the internal garage modification was never submitted for approval, city would approve the permit based on the original unmodified garage drawing?

That's why I think the 'trouble' will probably come at the final inspection process when the inspection personally noticed something different about the garage.

[SoCalsolar]

Your Contractor ought

Your Contractor ought to submit structural drawings of whats actually onsite. The city might be able to pull original drawings but that is very unlikely. If the contractor fudges the drawings that is a bad sign and big risk for them.

[smooth28la]

Does the contractor's drawing need to include the interior of the building or just the exterior's which are affected by the solar panel?

[inetdog]

I guess I am not making myself clear.

The Inspectors cannot say a thing about work in the past. If they did would open them up to millions of Law Suits for repairs. They will not give a crap about the garage even if they know it was not permitted and will fall down. Not their problem.

Here is why and this has happened million of times. Joe Blow buys a house from another owner. The house was permitted and inspected during original construction. After a few years the the new owner finds the basement is full of water, or the foundation cracks, whatever the case may be. New home owner calls a contractor for repairs. Contractor finds the house did not meet code. Owner ask city to re-inspect and condemn house. Not going to happen because if they did the city is on hook for the repairs.

No AHJ has the authority to look at previous work on a private residential home. It is against the law to do so. All they can inspect is what the job permit as applied. Everything is Grand Fathered out. They are not allowed to go outside the scope of the permit. Only thing they could do, bur does not apply because the garage is not occupied space is look at the structure of the roof to determine if it can support the weight. If that were the case your Contractor would have had a Structural PE (Professional Engineer) come out an dlook and certify the permit drawings. Since the building is not occupied, there is no structural requirement in the permit. They do not care if it falls as they have liability invested. It is your problem if it does.

That is what your contractor has been trying to tell you. The city does not give a crap and cannot do anything about it.

Actually, Dereck, I think that you may be missing an important nuance of the OP's situation. What was done to the garage was not a mechanical or structural code violation, it was, IMO, a zoning code violation. There is a limited amount of grandfathering in zoning codes, but not for work that was done in the past in violation of the code at that time.
The electrical inspector may well not have jurisdiction to enforce zoning regulations, but his buddy at the code enforcement office is just a phone call away.
So, getting back to probabilities, i would say that openly trying to keep the electrical inspector out of the garage is more likely to raise a red flag compared to just hoping he is not having a bad day and deciding to call in another inspector.
In the other thread, the panels being mounted on a non-existent building was a little hard for the plan checkers to ignore.

Possibly the worst case outcome for the OP would be that he would have to unseal the garage door and drive a car in to prove that it is still a garage.

[smooth28la]

Ya it would be impossible to park my car in the garage as front 1/3 is now a storage area, which is separated by a drywall to the recreational/home theater area (2/3 of the original garage).

Looks like my dream of having a solar system may never happen!

On the other hand, I had called the fire department to check on possible gas leak from my gas dryer. THEY come into the home theater area where the washer/dryer are.. luckily they didn't bother calling the city about the unathorized garage alteration (whew!)

[pleppik]

I would be very cautious about listening to any blanket statements on this thread about what inspectors can and cannot (or will not) do. I am not an expert in this area of the law (nor any other area of the law), but it seems to me that this is something which is likely to vary considerably from city to city, and may be very dependent on the kind of violation you have and how much the city cares about enforcing it.

If I was in your shoes, there's a couple things I might try:

1. Call the city inspector's office and (without identifying yourself) explain the problem in general terms and ask if this will cause an issue or not.
2. Call the city and tell them that you only just realized that the prior owner did this conversion without proper permits and ask if there's a process for retroactively getting approval.

The permitting process exists to try to avoid a lot of different kinds of problems, from fire prevention to parking to property tax assessment to not disturbing the neighbors. Depending on what kinds of problems your garage has, your city might be very lenient or very harsh. If there are no safety violations (electrical, fire, etc.) in your garage conversion, and you live in a fairly reasonable city, they may just make you pay a fee and ask you to get signatures from your neighbors that they're OK with this.

If you can clear this up fairly reasonably, then you know it won't be an issue for any other permits you may need in the future.

[SoCalsolar]

Most Solar Installs Require

Most solar installs require an engineers stamp on the structural integrity of your roof. This typically includes drawings or the rafters and trusses that support your roof. The extent of the interior required is likely to only include the rafters and trusses of your garage and attic.

[HX_Guy]

Most solar installs require an engineers stamp on the structural integrity of your roof. This typically includes drawings or the rafters and trusses that support your roof. The extent of the interior required is likely to only include the rafters and trusses of your garage and attic.

Here an engineers stamp on structural integrity of the roof is only needed if the calculated load of the panels/racking exceeds a certain amount.

[inetdog]

1. Call the city inspector's office and (without identifying yourself) explain the problem in general terms and ask if this will cause an issue or not.
2. Call the city and tell them that you only just realized that the prior owner did this conversion without proper permits and ask if there's a process for retroactively getting approval.

One problem with your second suggestion is that if the modification was well built you may be able to get a retroactive permit, although you may have to open up some walls so that the inspector can view the framing and wiring. And you can hope that there are plans in existence somewhere.

But if the problem is a zoning rule that requires a working garage, the process for getting a variance from that zoning is usually much harder than the building permit or may not be available at all.
Instead of tearing out the interior of the converted garage you might be able to substitute a new garage or carport somewhere else on the lot.

[dat]

In my case just three weeks ago, the inspector climbed to the top of the roof, went to my backyard to the main panel, but he did not step one step inside my house.

[Dumbcluck]

There is no set way things happen. It all depends on where you are and who shows up. There are no laws against writing violations for pre existing Unpermitted work. In my area they make you tear it out. Garages are notorious for having Unpermitted work because it's not intended as a living space and lots of people try to use them for rental income.
It's alsopossible depending on where you live that you may not be able to place pv panels up there. Lots of variables to consider and the more research you do will only help you to make your final decision.
I would think it best to use more efficient panels and group them all together on the main roof. Just my 2 cents

[inetdog]

And keep in mind that an orientation other than due south facing can still deliver a good amount of power, so if the limitation on number of panels is based on your south facing roof area, you may have other options.

In particular if you have Time of Use electric rates, west facing panels maximize your generation during the highest rate time period.

[J.P.M.]

And keep in mind that an orientation other than due south facing can still deliver a good amount of power, so if the limitation on number of panels is based on your south facing roof area, you may have other options.

In particular if you have Time of Use electric rates, west facing panels maximize your generation during the highest rate time period.

Respectfully, Every situation is different but I'd wager most of the time an off south facing sort of in a westward direction, maybe an azimuth about 200 to 210 deg. will probably get more bang for the buck than strictly west facing.

[PVAndy]

Inspectors are not allowed to inspect work outside the scope of the permit. None woul dopen that can of worms as it would make them liable for a lot of work done incorrectly.

The inspectors who check our jobs routinely go in attics to verify framing is as on engineered plans, check on structural upgrades required and observe that none of the lags missed rafters.

The also check the entire main panel for code compliance. Last one in required to bring to code.

My experience only cover the states we work in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey

Andy