Hello,

We just had a porch addition added to our house (see my post below regarding painting or staining the ceiling). Our contractor did not provide the building permit either. We got it ourselves. We are very pleased with his work. In addition, his quote was 1/3 the cost of the other contractor who did supply the permit.

Elaine

Says he will if we insist but will charge us

It's not hard to lose a half a day getting the permit, Somebody has to pay for that time.

I charge $350 if I get the permit,they cost $60 , its not the cost its the time and Major hassle dealing with the permit store.

But someone who Wont get a permit says to me that he cant. If a license and libality insurance is required to get the permit that would be the first place to start. I would skip a meal before I let the libality go invalid its that important . J.

Doesn't the permit also mean he has to pass an inspection and that means the deck will without a doubt be up to code?

I don't think you want someone who isn't insured, either. I would ask to see the documents. My sister kicked out a contractor once she found out he wasn't insured (and had told her he was)...otherwise the guy could break his neck and sue you. Especially on a 2 story deck!

Good luck with your decision.

Actually Libality insur covers things out of the care and keeping of the Contractor. Say the guy was hanging trim in the house and droped a skill saw on the carpet or knocked out a window with his lader, or a little kid went walking on the joist system fell and took out his eye. None of these kind of things were under the Contract but happened as a result.

Workers comp covers injury to paid workers and the boss if he pays into it. It pays health care and lost paydays.

If the contractor does not have workers comp and some one gets hurt on the Customer's Job, The Customer becomes the general contractor and will legaley be bound to pay the same way the insur would have. This is true even in minor things like the little kid down the street who cuts off his foot while mowing your yard. There is no legal way to sign this off even done in writting between the contractor and the wallet because nither one has the legal right to do that. J.

Great input, appreciate it!

john_h said: But someone who Wont get a permit says to me that he cant.
Bingo. And is what is giving me an unsettled feeling.

He says he's insured, but I won't know unless I ask for proof. He has some unique methods. Has the standard installment plan, but prefers cash, won't move forward on a personal check until it clears. Doesn't have a form contract, but something he handwrites (his reply when I asked for one.) He doesn't have an office, runs his business from home. (None of these methods are slams, just observation). He commented on last couple jobs he's done in town, truck with logo, no one came by and questioned anything. Because it's in back, no one can see much here, said if he was approached he'd deal with it then. Can the town boot him off the job altogether if caught?

Our town is not excessively stringent - and code enforcer/building inspector is rarely seen. But if you get caught with your pants down (no permit, breaking code) depending on his mood he can come out with full barrels blasting. But I've also been told Town has more legal recourse for small jobs (up to $2k coverage) against a contractor who gets a permit but turns out to be unscrupulous or does inferior work.

Got a bit enlightened, didn't realize it took that long for contractors to get a Permit. Guess all that paperwork and producing documents does take time. Understand time is money, so would not expect that an entire morning lost would be a freebie.

Think I'm feeling more uneasy now than I was when I first posted this morning. ;-)

Cut the Dude. He might do good work but the man is an outlaw.

Unless your ok with that and are willing to take the risk. J.

Permit regulations vary widely from one city/town/county to another. Where we live, in Southern Indiana, it took 10 minutes, a set of non-detailed drawings (dimensions on walls, etc., but no plumbing or electrical diagrams), and $50 to get a permit for the addition of a bathroom and laundry room that we DIY-ed. The inspector came at the needed times on 24 hours notice, was helpful and friendly, and was a good source of advice.

I understand that in other locales permits and inspections are a pain and expensive, but I wouldn't skip it, for either DIY or hired out work.

Here in NYC, you need a detailed plan from an accredited architect, and an expediter(who knows someone). Figure about $5000 for that visit to the permit store. If you don't use an expediter, you can forget about that deck this summer.

5k for a permit in NYC, dag gum that's alot of dough for a permit. Here, Austin, Tx., it's about $60.00, could take all day getting it tho, for a deck that is.

I know some good deckbuilders here that require the HO to pull the permit. I think mainly cause some folks don't like paying for the time it takes to get it, not just the fee.

The permit is only a couple hundred...it's the architect and expediter that costs the big bucks.

steve

Some are assuming this guy can not/will not get a permit but you commented "Says he will if we insist but will charge us". Of course then you say "I'm really uneasy about the guy who won't get the permit." which adds to the confusion.

As mentioned above in some localities this may take a 1/2 day or so in which case he should charge for the time.

You can verify if he is insured & bonded & you definitely need to do that.

But in terms of getting the permit you can probably do that yourself but it does suggest a few things you need to check into...

Would it be in your name as the GC or his?

If yours, then the local jurisdication will hold you responsible for the overall job, if injuries/accidents result from poor workmanship you are on the hook, not necessarily your subs, you are responsble to ensure that workmen's compensation, insurance, etc is carried for the project, etc.

It could be that he also does not plan to pay taxes on his income & by not putting the project in his name he is more "invisible" to the IRS.

$2,000 is a lot to save on this size project but you need to do your due diligence to understand his lack of desire to get the permit. It could be simply the time & what he would have to charge you he may feel like he might not get the job. Or it could be for some of the reasons above.

Regardless, ask him what he would charge for him to get the permit in his name as the GC & be sure to check out other references.

Yo Mike,they bond up for res work in your area?? J.