I'm a homeowner living in Newton NJ. A few months back, my wife and i noticed mold growing on our wall on the inside in our breezeway. The construction looks old and it's not well insulated and rainwater comes in sometimes, so we thought it was time to update it with modern construction techniques since the house is a cape cod built in the 1950's. We now have picked a contractor, but are suffering through the permit process. The contractor wants to replace the old single pane windows and framing around them with new double hung windows. It's been a month since he submitted the paperwork and still nothing from the township. Is this a normal ammount of time for a small job? What recourse do we have if they drag it out indefinitely?

Now that I'm going through this I understand why some people try to get away with not even filing for a permit. It's an incredibly slow and frustrating bureacratic process in which you feel helpless to speed up. Any advice?

Thanks,

Brian

It varies from place to place. Some issue permits in 2 to 3 days, others take 2 weeks. I've never had to wait a month for a permit, though. Have you called them and asked politely when you can expect your permit?

Not yet. I'll have to call tomorrow. I wanted to find out if I was being unreasonable since I don't have any experience with this. I really just want to get this project finished so I know how much money I have left over to fix the leak in the basement!

Well, I called yesteday and the permit is ready! Work starts next week. It was frustrating playing phone tag with the town code enforcement department but I'm glad it's finally over.