Thought it might help everyone to post these, since there was a lot of confusion about permits.

Here's the link to the UCC: http://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/codes/codreg/ucc.html

Lots there, but you need to be able to find your way around it if you're going to stand a chance as a home owner in Jersey City.

The other important code to know something about if you have a multi-family building is the Uniform Fire Code (UFC). Here are 2 links for more information:

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/dfs/
http://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/dfs/pdf/ifcfaqs.pdf

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Doesn't it tell you something about how dysfunctional this City is when such basic information isn't easily, immediately available from the Building Department...? In any event, New Jersey has a statewide a ?Uniform Construction Code (UCC)?, so the rules are the same no matter what town you live in. You can try searching other towns' websites.

So, technically, yes, you need a permit. And if the property is in one of the 4, soon to be 5, historic zones, you need a permit (and pay a separate fee) from those folks as well. Particularly for gas heaters they want to see that the gas line and the flue vent have been safely hooked up.

Yeah I heard about the mineral scale problems in hard water areas. But like you mentioned I also thought scaling might not be that big of a problem for downtown JC residents.

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I have seen a lot of failures of them in commercial buildings (not in this area). The heat exchangers on them tend to be very dense (not a lot of space in the fins / coils) and are susceptible to get plugged up with mineral scale.

The failures were concentrated in areas with water harder than we have here.

Has anybody switched from a traditional electric hot water heater tank to a tank-less, gas powered, hot water heater?
When my current electric hot water heater breaks down I am thinking of making the switch to a gas powered tank-less model to save space and money. I am wondering if anybody else has already made that switch.

So it is required, it isn't required, and only required for multifamily dwellings. Anyone else?

No permit required for this

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My understanding (but I'm not positive) is that a permit isn't required in a single-family home. I didn't get one the several times I've replaced mine.

I'm sure someone else here can comment on multi-family buildings.

When I had mine done, you needed a permit. At that time, PSE&G charged you for the permit. But, in all honesty, not sure if it was ever filed. They may have removed themselves from that process now.

Do you need a permit for this in JC?

yea those are pretty average prices all around

I used Lowes and they were a bit cheaper at about $900 (for 40 gallon tank)

Used PSE&G in past. I believed they used a local plumber, but work was scheduled quickly (within a day). Total cost was around $1100 for heater with 6 yr. warranty. They also have a payment plan (spead over 12 months) in case that is important to you. Was about 5 years ago and no issues. You may be able to get a local plumber directly for cheaper, but PSE&G was easy and guys showed up on time with heater. They also carted off the old heater.

Our hot water heater sprung a major leak and PSE&G replaced it very quickly for a decent price.

Looks like our hot water heater just went. Does anyone have a plumber they recommend? Or, has anyone ever used PSE&G to replace a hot water heater? Or HomeDepot / Lowe's? Thanks.