Arkansas information needed

Dreams30 · #1 09/09/04, 11:22 AM

Can a person legally in Arkansas (by state law not by city, town or county law) do their own electricity, plumbing, etc?

(wondering how much I will have to duck and hide)

What are good contact numbers for the state to get code information etc? and/or a website that gives helpful information?

mtman · #2 09/09/04, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreams30

Can a person legally in Arkansas (by state law not by city, town or county law) do their own electricity, plumbing, etc?

(wondering how much I will have to duck and hide)

What are good contact numbers for the state to get code information etc? and/or a website that gives helpful information?

im not 100% shure but it might go under how much land you have and iff you arent in city limits i know iff you have more then 10 acers you dont need a septic tank

mtman · #3 09/09/04, 11:53 AM

hey was just talking to a bud of mine he said anyone can do it all as a home owner but might be subject to inspections

MarleneS · #4 09/09/04, 06:12 PM

mtman -- we have 45 acres in Arkansas and not only did we have to have a septic tank/system - it had to be inspected by a county agent person. We also had to have the plumbing and electricity inspected, by a licenced plumber and electrician.

Marlene

mtman · #5 09/09/04, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarleneS

mtman -- we have 45 acres in Arkansas and not only did we have to have a septic tank/system - it had to be inspected by a county agent person. We also had to have the plumbing and electricity inspected, by a licenced plumber and electrician.

Marlene

realy at the court house they told me a sese pool is ok iff you have 10 or more acres not that i would want my stuff going anywhere but under the ground and i did say you are subject to inspection

mtman · #6 09/09/04, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtman

realy at the court house they told me a sese pool is ok iff you have 10 or more acres not that i would want my stuff going anywhere but under the ground and i did say you are subject to inspection

maybee the septic is a county thing when i wen they gave me the diagram for the septic and as the other choice like i said they told me what type of plants to plant to keep smels down hmmmm.

Dreams30 · #7 09/09/04, 07:49 PM

MarleneS,

Gary Lee at this phone number 479-394-2707 at the AR office also told me that if a person has over 10 acres or the land fails the perk test they do NOT have to have a septic system under Arkansas Law. I was referred to him by someone at 501-661-2000. Which I was referred to by someone else, who was referred to me by....(get the picture)

Where you are it may be a city or county law but, NOT an AR law.

Above info is good and I hope it helps someone but, it wasn't my question.

Everyone,

What I am gathering is that ya'll are saying that a person can do the work themselves but, it has to be inspected by someone else?

Is that what you are saying and does anyone have a link or a phone number or a contact name or anything?

Rationale, if it must be inspected by someone then, doesn't a person have to know which code to follow before it gets inspected????

Another thought is that if folks at the state offices have no clue then, I will build it however I want to.

mtman · #8 09/09/04, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreams30

MarleneS,

Gary Lee at this phone number 479-394-2707 at the AR office also told me that if a person has over 10 acres or the land fails the perk test they do NOT have to have a septic system under Arkansas Law. I was referred to him by someone at 501-661-2000. Which I was referred to by someone else, who was referred to me by....(get the picture)

Where you are it may be a city or county law but, NOT an AR law.

Above info is good and I hope it helps someone but, it wasn't my question.

Everyone,

What I am gathering is that ya'll are saying that a person can do the work themselves but, it has to be inspected by someone else?

Is that what you are saying and does anyone have a link or a phone number or a contact name or anything?

Rationale, if it must be inspected by someone then, doesn't a person have to know which code to follow before it gets inspected????

Another thought is that if folks at the state offices have no clue then, I will build it however I want to.

i would do it and say nothing

Dreams30 · #9 09/09/04, 09:03 PM

mtman,

That is what others have also advised me to do. I don't like the feeling that I have to duck and hide to build my own home. If they want me to get it inspected then, that is fine as long as I know what rules they want me to follow.

It bothers me that I may have to just "wing it" because I can't find out the info.

Anyone else know....?

mtman · #10 09/10/04, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreams30

mtman,

That is what others have also advised me to do. I don't like the feeling that I have to duck and hide to build my own home. If they want me to get it inspected then, that is fine as long as I know what rules they want me to follow.

It bothers me that I may have to just "wing it" because I can't find out the info.

Anyone else know....?

just makeshure you put the floor joist..studs and roof rafters on the right center and put headers over all windows and doors you will be fine

mtman · #11 09/10/04, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtman

just makeshure you put the floor joist..studs and roof rafters on the right center and put headers over all windows and doors you will be fine

o and iff you dont know what that is ask me ill tell you and iff you have any plumbing questions ill be glad to help i am a frtired plumber

bethlaf · #12 09/10/04, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreams30

mtman,

That is what others have also advised me to do. I don't like the feeling that I have to duck and hide to build my own home. If they want me to get it inspected then, that is fine as long as I know what rules they want me to follow.

It bothers me that I may have to just "wing it" because I can't find out the info.

Anyone else know....?

well, i know in most of these country towns, you can do pretty much anything yourself, now ,it is subject to inspection, as for codes, use the UBC/IBC, and you'll be fine no matter where you are youre best bet is to call the county where youre building and ask for the building / inspectors office, and ask him/her for a quick run down on what they inspect for, this is assuming you have a good working knowledge of general codes otherwise, arkansas code books run about 200.00, and you still have to read the darn things, which is kind of different , its like reading a textbook , so if you dont know what youre reading , it wont help you much

we build here in southern mo all the time, and yes , we are subject to inspection at any time, however, outside of branson city limits and our large commercial projects i can count on one hand the number of times we have been inspected, and then its usually only if a neighbor is trying to raise a stink , we've never failed an inspection,mainly because we build and plan our buildings just like if we WERE subject to inspection at any time !

the main problem people have when building independantly is lack of knowledge of home building codes, i have seen owner built homes with 24OC for floor joists !!!

in fact we just did some minor remodeling on a older mom and pop hotel down here, we redid a couple of bathrooms, and under BOTH of them , there was bare wire next to the plumbing fixtures, run right across the wooden floor joists ....hmmm fire hazard anyone ?.
needless to say we reccomended removing it all, but , the owner couldnt afford it, so we just removed what we could get to, which was in the two baths we did , and the two between the two we did ..since its a safety issue

like i said before, call the county or city offices where youre building, and talk to the inspector, let them know youre building yourself, and want to adhere to thecodes, and ask them what they check for on inspections, and then build appropriately ,generally , theses guys are smart , and they dont want substandard housing put up any more than you want to live in one, and they will generally help you ,

when i was building my first house in rural wisconsin , i did this, and the inspector came out and actually helped out quite bit on the house, plus he walked me through his inspection sheet, and told me what he would be looking for , as well as the timing of the inspections, there was a framing inspection, a plumbing inspection, septic inspection wiring inspection , and a final inspection
i had no idea i needed that many inspections , so had i built and had it all done before i called, he would have had to tear through drywall to complete the inspection

anyhow, to paraphrase, call your county, unless youre building in a bigger city, chances are theres no city or local codes

grams · #13 09/10/04, 10:19 AM

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but maybe it will help.

"You must have a license to do plumbing work in Arkansas unless you work only on your own residence or agricultural buildings."

"You'll need a state license to do electrical work in Arkansas."
Both are from this site.
http://www.contractors-license.org/ar/Arkansas.html

MarleneS · #14 09/10/04, 06:40 PM

I stand corrected....and sorry for drifting off on your thread Dreams30. Thanks goodness you have people like Beth around giving you excellent advise on the actual question you posed.

Marlene

Dreams30 · #15 09/10/04, 07:40 PM

MarleneS, It's all good and the info may help someone else. Thanks for providing another opportunity to learn.

I'm just trying really hard to find out what I need to know.

Thanks grams, bethlaf, and mtman.

ozarkin'it · #16 09/11/04, 07:01 PM

my neighbor (old guy) told me that there are no restrictions on any building work of anykind, but you have to tell them you built something so it can be assessed for taxes. however, my neighbor has a boy (20) building a house, and hes doin posts in the ground. well, he come home from work one day and there was a building assesor on his property lookin at it, so they knew he was doin somethin, and they trespassed to find out, and they told him theyd be back to check up. But old guy told me that alot of people leave their houses crappy on the outside to appear worth less, so less taxes to pay.

Yankee1 · #17 09/12/04, 08:53 AM

I moved to AR a few years ago. The only inspections required by the state is a pressure test on your plumbing. if you are building on less than ten acres you will need the Health dept. to inspect your septic sys.

Mudwoman · #18 09/12/04, 11:14 AM

Every county is different. Some counties require that a licensed person do the plumbing and the electrical and the septic. Others don't. The local county office and Judge can guide you.

In Montgomery Co where we live we were able to do our electrical, but it had to be inspected and pass. We decided not to do the plumbing. Here, you have to have a permit for a septic and inspection if you have less than 10 acres. If you have more than 10 acres, then you don't, but it is still a good idea to have a good septic system. The county agent WILL condemn your house if you don't follow the rules around here.

Dreams30 · #19 09/12/04, 11:25 AM

Well, Mudwoman, the guy at the county said..."There ain't no rules but, the state rules unless you are building in town".

EasyDay · #20 09/12/04, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yankee1

I moved to AR a few years ago. The only inspections required by the state is a pressure test on your plumbing. if you are building on less than ten acres you will need the Health dept. to inspect your septic sys.

Yankee, I'd check on that. I think they only need to pressure test your plumbing is if you're tied into city water. Otherwise, they don't seem to care.

From a slightly different angle, talking with an insurance guy, he said their only requirement for the plumbing is that there is heat in the house (for obvious reasons), but I would have thought that they'd want proof of pressure test before insuring... and they don't. *shrug*