Trying to Stay Positive! - Outdated Permit Process.. 

BTW: How 'bout a MONSTER shoutout for Jordan, the man behind the camera and the production desk, who, with a commitment to exemplary excellence and engaging creativity, invests untold hours in turning raw video and into a superior product. Thank you, Jordan.

Hey SP, as a former building permit plan reviewer in Texas I can tell you that the Permit Department jurisdiction issuing the permits can surely make the permit application process much easier for the applicants/contractors, if they posted online or provided an instruction sheet with the permit application that clearly explained which other departments or jurisdictions you needed approval from simultaneously, so you would know upfront the whole process, instead of being informed of these other requirements a week or so later. I know if Permit Departments didn't make their permitting process like going to a dentist to get a Root Canal, then contractors wouldn't mind being proactive in applying for permits. Hang in there guys, you'll get passed this...You both are Great!!

thank you for not posting any type of filler. when it comes to youtube, nothing irritates me quite like when people post a bunch of videos or shorts just for the sake of posting something. I've seen a lot of youtubers get so caught up in constantly posting anything and everything that they distract themselves and forget about posting real videos. so, thanks for the update, and for keeping it simple with just the entrees.

I'm really glad to see this whole process. I don't consider this "filler". I wish *EVERY* construction youtube channel would show the permitting process. But basically none of them ever do. So please do it more often.

Can't wait to see this completed and the move. Keep your spirits up. "This too shall pass"

This is a good opportunity to video and demonstrate the processes that keep DIYers from starting. Like learning code and utilizing local resources

I respect your decision to stand by your friend and to take on the permitting process for this project. You'll be an ace at dealing with unnecessary and frivolous bureaucratic BS when it's done. Onward, through the fog!

I continue to be amazed at how easy it is to take Jordan's editing/production skills for granted. So well done! Also, thanks for sharing the update. Info on the whole permitting process is actually quite informative and interesting.

Bad deal! I ran into a deal like what you have. The city just wanted to make an example out of me. Got hired an attorney and in 24 hours they called and said Mr. Myers your permits are ready.

Things work out the way they’re supposed to! You guys are going to crush it and I’m here to watch the ride!! 💪💪

Don’t sweat it guys this is great stuff. The ‘Pack’ is still on your side!

Anyone else watch Paul on these videos and think to themselves, "He's seems like such a great guy. I wish he was my dad."

The admirable thing about you guys is that you're freaking smart. See kids, this is why you stay in school. Can't beat a quality education.

Hand written instructions from a state agency had me dying 😂😂

I personally would like to see more permitting videos in the future on other remodels, upgrades, and projects. After being in the trades for 30 years I’ve come to believe that most homeowners and a lot of tradesmen either know nothing about permits or have a negative outlook on them. Permits are there to protect you and the customer. It seems like people see news articles of jobs gone bad, flyby nighters, and customers stuck with no money and failed projects. I truly believe that at the beginning of a new project that you would explain the project, then explain what kind of permits would be needed (if any), and then the inspections. This information would really help explain the process to your viewers so when they tackle projects that they can plan accordingly. I know most homeowners can pull their own permits but wouldn’t have a clue as how to begin. All a person needs is a negative Nancy in their neighborhood who calls the city on them when they see lots materials going into a house like for a basement remodel. Some city’s have packets for homeowners for decks, basements, etc. that explain what is needed. I’m not sure how it works for you being a contractor and traveling from out of state to do work or if you are licensed and that license is recognized in other areas or states. I know as an electrician, my license didn’t transfer everywhere and I would be required to get local or state license if I traveled between states. I feel bad that this project got hung up over some technical paperwork. I’m also surprised that that the fees were not doubled or tripled for not having the permits prior to start of work. Good luck with getting things back on track.

They that wait will have their strength renewed. Hang in there Guys, the best is yet to come!

I cringe at almost any 5 minute DIY video on RU-vid. But you guys do a great job with the information you provide in ALL your videos. It’s a great testament to the organization, thought process, quality of filming and editing. EVERYTHING in your video is laid out in a deliberate manner, making a 14+ minute video on permitting process VERY enjoyable and as all your videos, very encouraging as well. We continue to pray for blessings and protection for your family and endeavors.

Patience is essential in the permitting process. Hang in there. Thanks for keeping it real.

The single thing that most people hate about the permitting process is the delays it intoduces into the work process.

Thanks for the update, looking forward to the Texas build!

I'd make as many permitting videos as possible, there's not enough info out there on all of it and it's obviously important. Yall are right where you're supposed to be, God is lookin out. This too shall pass. Keep crushing it fellas

Really appreciate your candor regarding the obstacles you're facing with the permitting delays. In the bright side, the peace of mind that the work will be inspected/approved as being done to code, is priceless.

You both have the best setup when it comes to your videos.. very engaging and I love how Jordan speaks out behind the camera. I wouldn't mind the internet and what some people write but you were very good at responding. Best part is that you shared what you did to get a permit in your city which some would not even know because they just work on their own home and forget that step.

Hindsight is 20/20, and the internet is full of armchair contractors. Y'all are doing awesome! My employer was renovating a new building to move into, and about a month short of finishing the project, the city decided the project scope was different than what they had originally signed off on (nothing had changed), and issued a cease and desist. As if that wasn't bad enough, they retroactively applied the new scope, fining my employer AND the project GC for not having the proper permits. The fines put the GC out of business, and resulted in a myriad of lawsuits against the city both by my employer, and by the building owner. Several million dollars and a year and a half later, we're in the new building, having lost two managers and ALL of our most tenured veterans who just couldn't deal with the stress. I'm praying that the process is much, much smoother for you guys! Much love from North Alabama!

I have watched you guys since almost the beginning. You guys always find a way. And you always do a great job. Thank you for all your hard work. Stay positive!

Love your content and honesty! Wishing you all the best SP…keep the faith. Can’t wait to see the Texas project start and the shop bathroom finished.

I started watching your videos a few months ago and as a former DIY'er (old and retired) I really like watching your craftsmanship and the quality of work that you do. You clean up your mess as the project goes along and you don't wait till the end. I consider that a sign of good, quality workmanship. More important than the quality of work you do, is the relationship you both have. It is refreshing to see a father and a son work together so well on projects and to produce your videos. It serves as a good example to others. I lived in Houston for 36 years (Arizona now). Since you are from Baton Rouge, I know you are well acquainted with the three H's: heat, humidity, and hurricanes. One of the best things about Houston is that you can find almost anything you need somewhere in the area. Good luck with the bureaucratic bumblers in LA. I look forward to your future videos!

This reality check video is terrific for tempering expectations, I had a project that took a year to get permitted. So many facets to get it all done. It is what it is and you can only do what you can do.

Been in the trades my whole life, doing everything but specialize in design, cabinetry, carpentry and lighting. AND, I find your channel to be so instructive, entertaining and (in some cases) confirming. Just wanted to add to chorus of fans that really appreciate your projects, your knowledge and your down to earth style.

No matter what happens - we're with you every step of the way to support at every turn.

I appreciate not seeing filler videos. I find it a waste of my time when I go to a channel and they create a video just because they want to put something up and it's basically worthless.

Came back to the channel to make sure I didn’t miss a video! Hopefully we have an update soon, hope all is well!

MY brother lives in Taos, NM. The permit process he goes through with each job is nuts. So I can understand what this is about. I hope you guys get it all permitted this coming week and continue the finest bathroom a warehouse has ever seen.

You guys have shown us the metal your made of. Great attitudes and workmanship, they're a winning combination. Thank you Stud Pack.

Your subtle roasting cracks me up. Love the videos, keep up the great work.

I found stud pack way back many many months ago when I had to repair a Leaky toilet and found a broken flange and rotted floor. Thanks to your videos, I was able to repair the flange and replace the subfloor before tiling the new floor! Shortly afterwards I demo’d my other full bath and did a complete remodel-using all the tips, tricks, and workmanship shown by Paul and Jordan! Can’t thank you guys enough.

I am excited to see what’s to come. Stud Pack you guys will succeed at anything you guys work on. Thanks for doing what you do - showing people how to do things the right way. Be blessed guys!

Have really missed you guys. Can’t wait for you to get everything organised. The joys of bureaucracy!😢

Paul & Jordan, I’ve been watching your videos for a couple months now, and can say that you epitomize true craftsmen. Your work is awesome, and there has rarely been a “good enough” - you make sure any job you do or any project you undertake up is as perfect as is humanly possible in every facet. Your sharing of your knowledge has been a great help to me and thousands of your other followers. I’m currently doing a basement finish for our son, and your episodes have helped me immensely. That being said, we’ve been through the permitting process, abut on the residential side. As a homeowner, the permit was in our son’s name, and that simplified the process significantly. We are in Colorado, and homeowners can DIY most aspects of remodel, basement finish, and most other aspects of home improvement. The only issue we had was that we had to hire a plumber to re-locate the rough-in plumbing in the basement floor. Our plumber of choice was not “licensed” for our municipality, and our building department would not approve our permit until they submitted, we’re approved, and paid their license fee for their municipal license. Not a big deal in our case, and only a short delay. I’ve been told that the commercial side of permitting is a whole different ball game!! Every trade must be done by a municipality licensed contractor. IE: general contractor for construction, electrician, plumber, finish carpenter, drywall we (if needed), mechanical (HVAC), etc. I don’t know how tight the building department is in your location, but they can certainly throw you a curve ball. I would suppose that a GC license might cover all the trades, and allow you and Jason to do it all, but you might have to jump through the hoops of getting a license to work in the municipality where the property is located. I hope it is all smooth sailing through the rest of the process. Might I suggest a video on a residential permit application, requirements, etc. It would be a good look into what we DIY’er might be facing, and some information regarding why permits are required, and the consequences of doing work without one. Keep up your fantastic work, both on camera and in all aspects of life. We are all looking forward to Jason’s home project - hope you can get started on it soon. Best wishes and huge respect from me.

Y'all are an inspiration. Jordan is exactly right on the filler videos. I crave your videos because you post high quality content that feeds my desire to learn. Watching your videos has given me a lot of desire to gain those skills. Y'all have been a huge help as I have started my kitchen renovation.

If it wasnt a money grab there wouldn't be things like the technology fee, if anything tech saves the permit office money not costs them anything they need to pass on. Oh well, glad you shared stay up guys, were right here with you. 👊

Sorry to hear about the "speed bumps" to your project. I was beginning to think you guys were untouchable! However, this too shall pass... You guys are true professionals and handled the situation with class. Can't wait for you to start on the Texas house!

Thank you for making this video. It was really nice to see a full breakdown of all these steps and the various pieces. You made what seems like a terrifying/daunting task of interacting with government bureaucracy less scary and how it's really just a matter of documenting/explaining what you're doing. Also it highlights some inefficiencies you can bring forward to them later so hopefully a process actually gets created for people in the future. Love the content and keep it up!

Thanks for sharing your experience. This helps many people understand that problems that pop up on a project are just time and money hiccups that can be completed when you brave up and work with the system.

That neighbor is a pain, causing you a pain. I love watching how this process goes and what’s required.

Good luck guys! Keep your chin up. You're doing the lord's work.

Hats off to you for the great attitude. I do engineering work on commercial sites and city approvals are way of life for us. Yes, a lot of paperwork, steps and working with municipal staff. The upside is new buildings in the US are safer than anywhere else.

Thank you for the follow up. I get amazed at the arm chair bosses, lol every state, county and city has different procedures. Matter of fact i am in a different state working on a project that gets little or no oversight...I am floored. Love the channel

We enjoyed this video as much as your others. We learn something on every video and that is why we watch. You two are very entertaining. Loved the beverage shot.

Just record a 30 second short with your phone every day or two, explaining where you’re at in the process. No fancy edits or anything. Just hit upload. That will keep us up to date and keep the algorithm healthy. 👍

Hey Paul, not sure if you guys would see them as filler, but I'd love to see a video of common code violations you see on projects. As a DIY'er I'm not as privy to code as a contractor, and I would like to be knowledgeable of code. Thanks!

Look at it this way permits and inspections makes the installation of the new bathroom safe for everyone. Your friend knows he has a bathroom within code specs. you chances of being sued for some reason are lowered because the town signed off on the inspections and the fire department now knows what the building is like inside in case of fire. It's during these types of improvements they are able to update their records at your expense of course. Hang in there it will all work out in the end.

Wishing you guys the best of luck!

I totally understand why you did what you did.

Class act. Thank you for laying out the process many of us using contractors don’t see. Anticipate seeing the updates. Be well!

The city should be giving you, Jordan and your buddy an award for improving that blighted cesspool of city . These politicians sit and wonder why hard working people leave their cites. The bureaucracy and hypocrisy is truly mind blowing.

I am hanging in there with you guys. Stud Pack, you two are the 💣

Lot of times if you guys stand back like I do with a lot of my contracting work when something arises God is putting something in your guy's way to make something more positive and to make your guys more meaningful life meaningful videos can't wait to see what you guys come up with next and what you guys put out keep doing the good work can't wait for the finishing video of the bathroom as well as the videos from Texas God bless

Loved that you shared the process for the permits and the details of items/struggles you ran into with how it was solved. Thank you.

Thanks for the update, keep your chin up. The struggle is real, and sometimes it’s a real struggle.

The State Fire Marshal permitting process? I never thought I would have seen hand written instructions on what to do with a State level process. wow

Literally just went to the channel to see if there was a new video lol

Great explanation of the process makes the home owner more aware of the hoops set up by government. Loved the hand written sheet.

Thank-you guys good rebound like your attitude. All the best.

Bureaucracy begets bureaucracy! I wonder if the people pushing these rules even say some of this stuff out-loud for themselves to hear how stupid it sounds? Good on you guys for plugging away and working your best to slog through their BS. l love the state Fire Marshal instructions, hand-written and copied. LOL Maroons!!

WARNING Make sure “private use garages/shops” do NOT have a specific “use description” because if they are replying, re-asking those specific questions with multiple??? Be Careful

We are here for it! 💪🏽 no matter how long it takes!

I was one of those saying to just get the permitting done ahead of time. It would have delayed your start time, but saved you hassles later. I'm glad it worked out time-wise for the architectural plans on the Texas house. AND I'm glad - and this is a big reason I push hard to permit work first - it appears you guys aren't getting hit with fines and penalties, for the unpermitted work. That's what I worry about most with stuff like this. It seems like you guys are in decent shape, with how everything worked out. Glad to see that. Looking forward to your next progress video, keep up the good work!

It’s ALL about the money, every jurisdiction has to get their piece of the pie!!! Thanks for the update, you guys will work through the BS!!!

The concept of "fighting" the permit process is your problem. My advice to all clients is to just comply with the code. Always go to the Authorities Having Jurisdiction and ask them what they want and follow their written instructions and guidance. If the schedule cannot be met then you initially started too late. Permits and inspections are part of the overall project schedule. Once you violate the law you are under the microscope and rightly so. The Code does not care about your videos because the Code is about life safety and the protection of the public. Every Code provision exists because of an incident.

Commercial construction is not the same as residential construction. In terms of requirements, commercial > residential. It's the insurance industry, and lawyers, that are the primary forces behind the whole idea of building permits and building codes. An insurance company's likelihood of paying out is much higher for commercial properties, hence the more stringent the requirements, and even higher requirements for industrial properties, of course.

I love how you're sharing this process! As a DIYer with an upcoming full primary bathroom gut, I really appreciate the details of the permit process. It's wild how antiquated the process is- they would really benefit from technological upgrades ASAP. Can't imagine how much time and money are WASTED for all parties.

totally silly situation. Hang in there!

I love the difference here. There's a RU-vidr digging tunnels under his house without a permit in the UK and the city found out and gave him a permit with hardly any issue. And here you're dealing with fire marshal who doesn't even know how to accept a permit in person and hardly knows how online.

moving sucks. glad y'all are getting some time to do all the packing organizing etc. but thanks for sharing this process with us. it is helpful to see how these issues are dealt with from people who have had experience with permits etc. good luck with the finishing this and starting at the new house!

Thanks for all your hard work, can't wait to see the finished product. I would love to see a video on how Jordon taught himself sketchup.

How does that saying go? "Good things comes to those who wait." Hope everything works out for you guys, so you can get back to business.

Thanks. You guys are awesome. God bless and keep it up. We just enjoy you for being you

👍I agree with Jordan. Keep it up guys! Love the relationship between you two, a blessing and wholesome to watch😌🥹

I would of been stoked for a dad like this. Seems like a really great dude. Honestly I would join the family if I could.

Appreciate the update and insight! As a member of different state government, us rank and file are just stuck with the overall process as well. Without a doubt, you and your family treat the staff you interact with well! I can tell just from the handwritten instructions. Some individual wanted to set you up for success as best they could.

Thank you for the update! Can’t wait for more videos.

I pass by that building every evening and I always look back just to see if you guys are there working and yesterday was no different. I looked over to my left to see if the Grey Ford was behind the fence but it wasn't. I pulled up to the red light and while I was waiting I noticed the Stud Pack sticker on the back window of the grey Ford in front of me. Glad you are at least in town and in the area. I followed your videos for quite a while before I realized you were right here in BR. Your videos have helped me to confidently do a lot of renovations over the past year so thanks guys, sad that you are leaving LA, I figured one day I would run into you around the hardware stores but I can't blame you for moving from here to Texas.

Hey Stud Pack guys, I feel your pain. I have a strict rule of not pulling permits, if the property owner wants to thats fine but I don't have time for that garbage. So I typically work in areas that don't require permits. It's not about trying to do something not to code, we do everything safely, it's the time waiting around for inspections. We just added on 600sf to a home, that included cutting out roof and framing two large gable roof sections, windows, electrical, flooring, plumbing, drywall, texture, etc... basically two new bedrooms and a bathroom that weren't there are now there and completely livable. That took a 4 man crew 12 days working days from start to finish. And this is a very nice home that probably sells for 800 to a million dollars, not junk. How long would that have taken waiting around for inspections? Each inspection in our neck of the woods you might wait 4 to 5 days. And let's say there would be 5 different inspections on this project... probably over a month waiting to be told to proceed to next step in total. Ain't nobody got time for that!

You guys are still the BEST !!!!!! Thank you for Everything !!!! Prayers of Faith for you and yours... Happy New Year !!

Glad you guys found a silver lining in all of this and are staying positive - it’s hard to do that when dealing with bureaucracy. Also, really like the walk through on the permitting process in all of its frustrating glory. Stay strong stud pack, you got this!

This is the unglamorous side of construction/building and these guys are showing it, props for not hiding this sometimes painful process.

You look great Paul. Years younger and you didn't look bad before. Love your videos I have learned so many things from you and Jordan's videos. Can't wait to see what's ahead. Best of luck on the move

Retired hvacr contractor connecticut. I dreaded the permit process even in towns where I had done multiple jobs. I feel your pain! Lol

This channel is easily one of my top three favorite channels on RU-vid ever.

your channel is great. Can't wait to see the finish of this last LA project and then Texas. Thanks

Exactly!! you must take care of your buddies!!! My best Bud is my brother from another mother!

It's very easy for people to point out what you shoulda, coulda, woulda done. They're not there. Charlie Mike! Continue the Mission!

In a perfect world, the bureaucrat's oath is: Help this citizen get the work done and to never impede a project.

Thanks for all your hard work! Thank you for sharing.

So... The State of Louisiana sent you hand-written instructions on how to use their web site. Deeeeelightful. That Southern Charm is irresistible.

Thanks for the video. I was suffering from Stud Pack withdrawals. All joking aside, I live about an hour north of NYC and permitting/code enforcement is a complete nightmare! I feel your pain and I have been in the same situation myself. Good luck with the process. I know how stressful it can be. Hang in there guys. Looking forward to the next video. Love the channel!

We are crossing our fingers that you get your permit approval quickly. Good luck. Instresting to see how many steps involved to get the final approval.

You’ve got the best attitude for the situation.

We miss you guys very much. I look each day hoping to see your media videos. Keep up the good work. No filler videos needed. Thanks for the update also.