+1
If you do it yourself, you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want without a permit - for better or for worse, of course. If you hire someone with a license and they have to pull a permit, you've also got to bring things up to current code. So, for instance, I got a quote on fixing a few electrical things in my house, and the guy quoted me to basically bring the whole effing house up from 1956 to 2009 code - for the princely sum of $5,000. In reality, I need to tidy up a few connections in the kitchen, add some 3-prong wall outlets, and upgrade the panel in the garage. I can get all the stuff I need at Lowe's for under $300. I call BS on permits...