Retaining Wall Delima - Please Help

nerd04

My retaining wall was designed to be only 3' high, with a 1' footing. Therefore I did not need a permit. My contractor (licensed) poured the wall last week, and with the cantilever cap the finished height of the wall is about 3'8".. meaning the wall DOES ned a permit. Now the wall is poured, so getting the permit and inspections is impossible because the footings and rebar are all covered.

Do I need to have him cut the top off the wall to comply with the original design? What are the implications if I have no permit for this structure? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

Double-A

Welcome to the site.

You should contact your local AHJ for the answers to those questions.

If you fill out your profile with your location, you might get some answers that speak from first-hand experience in your area.

If you're a homeowner posing as a contractor, please post your question on DIYChatRoom.com. This site is for folks in the industry only.

Thanks.

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"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

genecarp

bring up grade 8" . thats it , if no permits, no inspection, no problem

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concretemasonry

If he was a real contractor he should know the codes and permit requirements.

If he did not build it to code it should be his responsibility to make it meet codes, unless the decorative cap was added later.

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Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

dutchlegacy

you would do well to get in contact with the local building authority, and bring it to there attention before they find out on their own (not saying they ever would). When I was landscaping, there was a different set of rules for every city, town, and county I did business in.

Rules are rules.

Nick1123

you only need to fallow the rules if there is someone there to enforce them... do code officers snoop around your yard??? if not i would really not worry about it... and if they do come just play stupid... the stupid homeowner approach works everytime....