I am doing an upgrade at a residence that was bought by a realtor for fixup and resale. When I got to the jobsite to start, I discovered they had gutted the entire house, walls, wiring, gas lines, heating and cooling, plumbing etc. The remodeling is to be done by an unlicensed contractor with a crew of 3. No permits were obtained. The unlicensed contractor will reinstall all plumbing and electrical inside the house. The only reason they had me do the upgrade was because they knew it had to be done by a licensed contractor and a permit had to be obtained. Now I am kind of worried about what kind of wiring they will do and if I could be held liable for any of their mess since I am doing the upgrade. Not to mention what the inspector will say when he comes to inspect my work, it's obvious what is going on.
I'm debating what do do, if anything. I am wishing I would have walked away from the start, but I didn't know they had ripped out the interior wiring till I had the old service demoed.
Anyone have this happen before? One thing I will do for sure, take a photo of my finished work before they add anything to my panel.

[This message has been edited by BigB (edited 02-20-2005).]

Just make it clear to the inspector when he looks at your work that you are done there and they have someone else taking over. I'm sure he will start asking them for permits.

They did make a mistake not getting the upgrade "finaled" before they started the other work but cheaters are not supposed to win.

It's CYA time, BigB! You might consider writing a letter to the head of the building department. If you say something like, "The service was installed by BigB Electric, with the interior wiring completed by others...BigB Electric is not responsible for electrical installations by others." They'll get the idea. If you really want to cover yourself good, send it certified with receipt. It's always nice to have a letter like this in your file if you need it.

Dave

Personally, I think you should wait until you get paid before calling local AHJ and saying I did the service and all other work was done by someone else. Taking Pics is a good idea also

If you get a permit that specifies the work you're doing and get it inspected you should be all set.

I have to agree with Scott here. A permit for the "service only" should cover you. Make sure it is worded that way and inspected. Here in Ma permits can be very detailed.
Al

BigB add notes to your bid:
>Any and all work atached to the proposed work by a unlicenced contractor will void all warranties.
>All warranties and laibility are proposed work only.
>This contractor assumes no Liability or Warranty for work other than proposed above.

You could call for a preinspection

Just a couple of ideas.

Rob

Absolutely, give the inspectors a headsup...you're on the same team. There's no reason to walk away, this situation happens all the time with investment properties. The bad guys don't have to know it came from you, around here the usual tipoff is a 20 yard dumpster parked in the driveway. Besides, you may be doing the future homeowners and their children a big, big favor.

I have a feeling that they would not really care otherwise they would be using licensed and isured guys with proper permits.
I wouldn't even give it another thought as long as my permit specified I was doing the service only and I got my inspection. I think the inspector will figure out the rest.

Scott
I use similar verbage in my quotes. Its intended for the home owner, so they don't scab stuff in that should be an extra to contract.
The loss of thier warranty scares the heck out of them.

Rob

quote:
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>Any and all work atached to the proposed work by a unlicenced contractor will void all warranties.
>All warranties and laibility are proposed work only.
>This contractor assumes no Liability or Warranty for work other than proposed above.
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I use simular language in my proposals but instead of unlicensed contractor the word used is others.
If they want the fly by nites to do the work let the fly by nite be legally responsible for the work.

This is simiar to situations I see alot. It seems that I have to turn down work at least once a week because either the HO or contractor does not want to go to the trouble or expense to get a permit and do it right. But it is not just in our business. One example(I know there are many) that comes to mind is the people on the street selling flowers for half the price a florist would. No business license no overhead and no taxes. This must be killing the legitimate florists. I realize these people are just trying to make a living and feed their families but what about the people who are trying to play by the rules. I hate to whine but this has been bothering for a long time. Of course, I don't do anything, like dropping a dime, but I feel that there should be more enforcement/penalties for illegitamate businesses.

Personally, I solved the problem by simply not renewing any of my business licenses.

If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em...

Yeah Sparky I hear ya. Playing by the rules just doesn't seem to pay. There are times when I feel I would do better by cancelling my licenses. Just wouldn't be able to sleep at night though. It's sad that there are so many examples of businesses, sports figures, and celebraties that break the rules in our society, and usually get away with it. Seems to me the message is that to be successful in business you have to cut corners and "bend" the rules. Okay, I'll try to stop whining.