spa permit?

[AAAAAAA]

Well I live in Canada, Quebec and I put in my spa and didnt even think of getting a permit for it, what the normal way of going about these things?

[TMJ]

We live in BC, and the only thing we needed to get okay, permit, for was our electrical, which our electrician did on our behalf. Without going into details, we had to have a major update done, on the whole house.

[rick_in_cleveland]

Here (and everywhere) you need a permit for electrical.   In my town I needed a $35 permit to put it in place only because they want to collect money.  If I hadn't gotten it and they knew I had a hot tub they would have strung the yellow   tape around my back yard.

[Iceman]

I live in southern Arizona and just went through the permit process. First you need a permit from the township which is a two step process. They have to inspect the electric before anything is buried and then inspect the spa after installation before any water is added. The permit costs $106.09. It breaks down like this:

building permit  45.25
electric               13.57
plan check fee    29.41
plumbing            10.86   (on a self contained spa ?)
zoning pool/spa 7.00

Also if the spa is more than 8 ft. in any direction swimming pool wall requirements are in effect. I have a Grandee which is 8' 4" but they let me slide because the water surface did not exceed 8 ft. I have a 4 ft wall but would have needed a 5 ft wall. Last but not least I had to go before the ALC in our development for a permit also.

[Brookenstein]

Guess I'm a rebel... I didn't get a permit.  It seems that nobody in my area (SoCal) ever gets them.  Didn't get one for the new AC unit either.

[Brewman]

Nobody has to get a permit, but depending on where you live, it could come up and bite you in the end.
Some cities in this area when you put up property for sale, the city does a backwards check for all work and permits.  Penalties for getting caught are pretty stiff- fines of double the current permit cost, and proof that work meets code- including demolition necessary to show wires and pipes properly buried or running thru walls as required, etc..

That's not required in my city, but according to the building inspector who checked out the various projects I've done in the past years, mostly they get tipped off to un-permitted work by neighbors who get PO'ed at each other and start snitching.  Same penalty for getting caught- double cost fines and proof of code.

[sandiego]

as long as it's a portable spa, at least here in the states you don't need a permit because all of the equipment is self contanied, in the eyes of the law the spa is an appliance no different from an ac unit or washer or dryer, which is why you don't need a fence around it.

You do have to make sure you have a licensed/certified electrician to do the electrial and he takes care of any electrical permits/issues for you. at least that's how it is here in sunny san diego

[TMJ]

One more thing, if you have not already done so, check with your house insurer about what their regulations are reguarding installing a hot tub on your property. For us, they requested electrical be up to local standards, and a certified electrician do, or at least verify work is up to code.

[Iceman]

as long as it's a portable spa, at least here in the states you don't need a permit because all of the equipment is self contanied, in the eyes of the law the spa is an appliance no different from an ac unit or washer or dryer, which is why you don't need a fence around it.

You do have to make sure you have a licensed/certified electrician to do the electrial and he takes care of any electrical permits/issues for you. at least that's how it is here in sunny san diego

Not how it works in southern AZ. You still need a township permit for the spa in addition to the electrical permit.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

And in Berkeley California, you need a "use permit", that requires signed approval of all your immediate neighbors and $250.00

Every municipality may require something different. Many have codes regarding placement and set-backs, so they may require a permit in order to inspect that these are followed. Also, most cities are looking for more ways to raise funds  

[Brookenstein]

In Riverside County (I'm not in city limits) I was told I needed a spa permit, which technically was a permit for the wiring.  I was told it was more a hassle than anything, and since I used a licensed electrician, I decided to take my chances.  I'm sure it will bite me in the booty later... everything always seems to, lol.