Finishing off my upstairs, what do I need?

Blaze

Blaze

The Jeeper Reaper
Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Location
Wake Forest, NC
OK, so our new house has an unfinised walkup. I am going to finish it off starting this week.

There will be no structural changes, just putting up some knee walls and sheetrocking it all. The space already has subflooring, HVAC installed (permitted and inspected by previous owner), and my grandfather and I will be doing electrical(he's an electrician). I may have a bathroom installed, but not 100% sure. Depends on what my budget looks like as I get into it. I will at least frame out a space for the bathroom so we can install it later.

House is in Wake Forest. Can anyone give me a general idea of the process of getting permitted and inspected and all?
 
How is the insulation scheme now? Before sealing all of it in w/ drywall I'd make sure it is as maximally insulated as possible.
 
If you finish it they will probably count it as another bedroom and if not the extra square footage may make your septic system obsolete. I vote do the work yourself and don't worry about permits or inspections but that's just me. I agree with rat lab guy that you should get all your insulation up to par or better while you can get to it.
 
It would be useful to know why the PO went as far as getting permitted HVAC put in, new subfloor, but didn't finish the job.Is something up... or did he just run out of $$? See what all permits he pulled at the time.
Good point above re: bedrooms - I believe it's # of bedrooms that determines septic capacity. But you also need egress for bedroom.
 
IRC requires an exterior exit/window of a certain size. be sure you have this or you'll be out of compliance.

If you get an electrical and plumbing permit, the inspectors will see the other work and will ask why there are sub permits pulled but no GC permit. Be sure you don't get yourself into a sticky situation.
 
RatLabGuy said:
How is the insulation scheme now? Before sealing all of it in w/ drywall I'd make sure it is as maximally insulated as possible.
Click to expand...


Careful there. Airflow under the roof sheathing and vapor barriers are just as important. People tend to get hung up on R value at the expense of other important considerations. Finished attics are particularly problematic. I'd hesitate to make recommendations without a better understanding of what's there and what work hasn't yet been completed.
 
I finished my upstairs right after the final inspection for the CO. I had my builders insulation guys come in since they know what they are doing and it was cheaper for them to install then I could buy it for at lowes. I did the drywall myself with the help of some not qualified guys and its not has good as I wanted.

When i had my house built I had the septic sized for a four bedroom so it would be "legal" when i added the extra room. The septic is based off of bedrooms so if the rooms you are adding are not "bedrooms" then you are good. The inspectors said a bedroom needed to have a closet, no closet its a just rec room or whatever.

Dave
 
No insulation in there right now. It is offically a bonus room, not a bedroom. Has a big giant window in there already. It won't have a closet, just knee wall storage.

The reason it isn't finished is after they installed the HVAC and permitted it and inspected it and all, the guy found out he had cancer and then passed away. The house was built like a two story house, but the upstairs was not finished. There is even a balcony in the great room with no door, they sheetrocked over the framed opening so they could add a door later.

I am very tempted to not get it permitted since it is a very easy job, but I want to do it right so if we ever end up needing to sell the house for any reason it won't be an issue.
 
Blaze said:
No insulation in there right now. It is offically a bonus room, not a bedroom. Has a big giant window in there already. It won't have a closet, just knee wall storage.

The reason it isn't finished is after they installed the HVAC and permitted it and inspected it and all, the guy found out he had cancer and then passed away. The house was built like a two story house, but the upstairs was not finished. There is even a balcony in the great room with no door, they sheetrocked over the framed opening so they could add a door later.

I am very tempted to not get it permitted since it is a very easy job, but I want to do it right so if we ever end up needing to sell the house for any reason it won't be an issue.
Click to expand...

Frankly unless you find out the permit is going to be some serious major headache, I'd do it... the cost/effort now is minimal compared to what you could lose out on later w/o having proper docs.
 
Exactly why I am going to get it permitted. I just hate to think if something happened to me and my wife had to sell the house on her own, the hassle of the no permit would be horrible.

From what I read online it looks like it will cost me a few hundred for the permits and inspection.
 
Blaze said:
No insulation in there right now. It is offically a bonus room, not a bedroom. Has a big giant window in there already. It won't have a closet, just knee wall storage.
Click to expand...

That's the key. No closet, no bedroom.

I'd get the permits. Even the best electricians, plumbers, HVAC guys, screw up from time to time. Better to have more eyes on it, at least then you can no for sure its done right. They aren't really that big of a hassle and even with a remodel you might get caught if you have the supplies and stuff sitting outside (we've got a few that way).
 
As far as permits go...its a big assumption to make that an inspector actually knows what he is looking at. Not all do.
You will likely push your property taxes up as well so consider that.

Like Shawn alluded to, Id be cautious to give much specific info without knowing the current existing condition.
 
Yeah, I know it will push them up. We knew that getting in to the house, the plan all along was to finish off this upstairs immediately.

I'm going to go to the Wake Permitting/Inspections office next week to see what all I need to do.
 
Back
Top