DIY fixes around the house can save you a lot of money and headaches—with few basic skills and a few basic tools, you can tackle a wide range of home projects while other folks pay professionals enormous amounts of money to get the same work done.
But sometimes, you get what you pay for. Professionals may be pricey, but they bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge that helps them avoid simple mistakes that can lead to real trouble—including code violations. A lot of DIYers tend to skip steps like pulling permits and inspections on the assumption that they’re not necessary for minor fixes, but hacks that seem like clever solutions when you’re DIY-ing can actually be illegal. And code violations can and will come back to haunt you once you try to sell the house, if not sooner.
Here are some of the most common DIY choices that could also cause code violations.
Using the wrong electrical outlet
Changing electrical receptacles (also commonly, if incorrectly, referred to as outlets) is a relatively easy DIY project that just about anyone with a screwdriver can tackle, from upgrading to modern three-prong receptacles or adding USB capabilities. But even if your project is successful in the sense that you end up with working receptacles and you haven’t electrocuted yourself or burned down the house, you can still wind up with a major code violation if you don’t use ground-fault circuit interruption (GFCI) receptacles in areas where water sources are present, such as bathrooms, kitchens, or laundry areas.
The applicable codes can be exacting when it comes to minimum distances from water sources, daisy-chaining receptacles, and using GFCI breakers instead of individual outlets. If you’re just slapping any old outlet into place, you’re probably violating electrical codes, even if everything works.
Handrails without proper returns
If you have a set of stairs that lacks a handrail (or has an old handrail that’s loose and coming free from the wall), it’s easy to buy a new one, cut it to size, and attach it to the wall with fresh screws. But if your handrail isn’t at the correct height (typically somewhere between 30 and 38 inches from the stair tread), you’re in violation of most residential codes. And if your handrail doesn’t make a 90-degree turn toward the wall, floor, or a post at the end—known as a return—you’re also violating code. It’s a safety issue, because clothing and straps can loop over the handrail as you start up or down the stairs, leading to a potential fall and injury.
Venting into a void
Smarter Home & Living Newsletter
A few years after buying my house, I decided to replace the ugly ventilation fan in the bathroom. Imagine my surprise when I yanked that sucker out and discovered it was vented directly into the ceiling void. Ventilation fans in bathrooms, kitchens, or laundry rooms must vent outside the house, not into an attic or basement. Even if the fan you’re replacing currently vents into an interior space, you have make upgrades to vent it outside or your repair will also violate codes.
Overloading your electrical box
If you know that you need a metal electrical box when running wiring through your house, that’s great. If you cram way too many wires and clamps into that box, you’ll be in violation of the electrical code—and in real danger of burning down your house. Each electrical box is rated by volume—not the number of wires, but their total volume. Calculating this can be complex if you’re not deeply familiar with wiring, so a good rule of thumb is to avoiding adding wires to a box unless you’re absolutely certain you’re not breaking code by doing so.
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Cutting into beams
Running electrical or plumbing work through walls, basements, or crawl spaces seems straightforward: You start at A, run the material to B, and close everything up. Except you will quickly run into a common problem when a beam or joist invariably blocks your wires or pipes from advancing.
Drilling through studs to run wiring is pretty common, as is notching joists to squeeze pipes through. But if you cut into a load-bearing stud or beam with too large a notch, you can easily run into a code violation (and a dangerous one, at that). That’s because cutting into a load-bearing structure weakens it, and weakens everything it’s supporting as a result. As with electrical work, the code for notching lumber in the house can be difficult to parse unless you’re experienced with it. You can usually use common sense here and be okay, but it’s also very easy to drill a hole or cut a notch that’s a little too large, setting yourself up for future headaches.
Unmarked breakers
Did you know that your breaker box is supposed to be clearly—and accurately—labeled? Unlabeled breakers (or, worse, incorrectly labeled breakers that don’t reflect changes to the wiring) are dangerous to anyone who works on them, because critical assumptions will be made based on those labels. If you did some DIY wiring in the house that’s otherwise up to code but you forgot to label or update your breakers, you’re violating code anyway.
Overusing extension cords
Everyone uses extension cords, whether it’s to bring power to something that can’t be plugged into the wall or as a temporary solution to a problem. With stress on the word temporary, because extension cords are never supposed to be used as permanent wiring. That means if you’ve been powering something in your basement, yard, or even a bedroom for a long time, you’re probably violating your local fire code. Extension cords are simply not rated for constant use—if you’ve been using one to deliver power for a while, it’s time to call an electrician and have some proper wiring done. (If you want to double extra violate that code, go ahead and run an extension cord—or even an appliance cord—inside your walls.)
Too-tall fencing
Neighbors can be nosy (and annoying), and the old saying that “good fences make good neighbors” is all too true. Just don’t let the desire for privacy and dominion over your lands lead you into violating local codes, because privacy fences usually have strict upper height limits. Most building codes limit privacy fencing to about six feet at most, so if you build a 12-foot green monster in your backyard to block your neighbor’s view of your sunbathing area, you’re setting yourself up for a future problem.