[dsharlet]

On one hand, I agree with this sentiment, you should be free to do your own work on your own property.

On the other hand... my landlord in college. He did a lot of work on his house himself, and did it really badly. One example: he installed a cheap indoor light fixture outside where rain would get into it. It also happened to be on the same circuit as our refrigerator. So, sometimes when it rained, the circuit with our refrigerator on it would trip its circuit breaker.

You might be perfectly competent to do your own work on your house. The problem is, everyone that works on their own house thinks they are competent, and many of them are not.

I feel like this is one of those issues that is doomed to oscillate. A few generations will exist with these rules complaining of not being allowed to work on their own houses, and maybe these rules will change. Some injuries/deaths/just plain tiring of janky poorly done house modifications by prior owners will see a return of these rules. Repeat...

[throwanem]

Sounds like the kind of thing that'd last until you tried to sell the house, and a prospective buyer's home inspector caught it. Then you'd end up paying for proper work to be done, one way or another.

[falcolas]

Assuming the inspector can catch it. They're detail orientated, but they can't see inside walls or through roofs.

[lisper]

The seller has a legal duty to disclose known defects and work done without proper permits or not according to code. And they don't disclose, and the defect is subsequently discovered buy the buyer, the seller can be sued.

[grigjd3]

But I had no idea this was an issue, really.

[thomastjeffery]

I think there is a clear middle-ground here: You should be allowed to work, and when your shoddy work is to the detriment of someone else, they should be able to react accordingly.