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You picked the wrong house to screw up in

jar546

jar546

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What are the chances that the townhouse that I moved into almost a year ago had a mechanical permit pulled two years ago, there was a new air handler installed in the attic that was done incorrectly and not discovered until the very first time I tried to turn the heat on? What are the chances that the chief mechanical inspector just happens to be my friend and I notified him that this is an open permit that did not have any inspections performed? It's not going to be a good Monday morning for the contractor.

All of the issues are electrical from the installation.
 
Heaters in Florida?

Like having air conditioning in Alaska?

Boy, someone is going to decide not to work in your town anymore.
 
RUT-ROH.........:rolleyes:

"Rainy days and Mondays always get me down"

Some of the more senior members will get that! ;)
 
Who will pay to correct the deficiencies?

The building department regulates what is built but does not regulate the contractor, thus the building owner is responsible for correcting the problem. The building department cannot take legal action against the contractor so the building owner will have to take any legal action against the contractor but this could be difficult if property had been sold or if too much time had passed.

Even if the building owner can force the contractor to correct the deficiencies, if this requires the use of a lawyer the building owner may find that it would be cheaper to hire another contractor to do the work.

Now I could be wrong and the contractor may decide to fix the problem out of the goodness of his heart but how likely is that given that he has already been paid for the work?
 
Future inspections might get a more eagle eye or may be the last one of the day

Just saying
 
Mark K said:
Who will pay to correct the deficiencies?

The building department regulates what is built but does not regulate the contractor, thus the building owner is responsible for correcting the problem. The building department cannot take legal action against the contractor so the building owner will have to take any legal action against the contractor but this could be difficult if property had been sold or if too much time had passed.

Even if the building owner can force the contractor to correct the deficiencies, if this requires the use of a lawyer the building owner may find that it would be cheaper to hire another contractor to do the work.

Now I could be wrong and the contractor may decide to fix the problem out of the goodness of his heart but how likely is that given that he has already been paid for the work?
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In Florida, the contractor are licensed by the State. In this case the contractor pulled a permit and failed to call for an inspection then let the permit expire. Under the FBC they are in violation of the law and subject to disciplinary actions against their license. The qualifier of the construction company is the liable party. This is not California. There are many routes to hold the contractor accountable in this case, not just one.
 
In California the contractor licensing board could also take action against the Contractor's license. The Contractor is also required to have a bond which could be used to pay.

Still it may take several months, maybe several years, until the licensing board acts. In the mean time there is a non conformance that the building owner must resolve. I doubt that the building department will give the owner enough time to resolve the issue with the licensing board. So the Owner still needs to pay to have the discrepancy resolved and hope that he can get enough money from the bond to pay for the work.

Punishing the contractor for poor work may be the easy part. This still leaves us with the question of who pays to correct the work. The building department may be concerned with revenge and punishment but the owner just wants the problem to go away. Then there are the people living in the building, who may not own it who may not be able to use certain parts of their house. These people just want the problem to go away,
 
It's much simpler in PA. Contractors are not licensed so all reasonability is the owners. The owners of course can sue the contractors. Much easier for building department than finding all the subcontractors the owner may has hired that may have vanished. But we do have the following fairly toothless law which the building departments are not allowed to enforce and has no fines. It's only for work on existing houses, not new houses or any commercial work. It is made for little old ladies that get ripped off for roofs and siding that was not done or inadequate work. It's only a way to keep info on contractors information so a owner can find them to fix the problem or take them to court, if the contractor did register. It's basically the owners job to make sure the contractor is registered but most people don't know about it.

On July 1, 2009, the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (Senate Bill 100) took effect. This law requires most home improvement contractors to register with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Additionally, these contractors must maintain minimum insurance coverage and utilize contracts that comply with a number of consumer protection requirements specified in this law. The Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection is responsible for enforcement of these requirements.
 
Jar Eastwood:

You picked the wrong house to screw up in​

Uh uh. I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself.
 
jar546 said:
What are the chances that the townhouse that I moved into almost a year ago had a mechanical permit pulled two years ago, there was a new air handler installed in the attic that was done incorrectly and not discovered until the very first time I tried to turn the heat on? What are the chances that the chief mechanical inspector just happens to be my friend and I notified him that this is an open permit that did not have any inspections performed? It's not going to be a good Monday morning for the contractor.

All of the issues are electrical from the installation.
Click to expand...


So what is the update
 
jar546 said:
What are the chances that the townhouse that I moved into almost a year ago had a mechanical permit pulled two years ago, there was a new air handler installed in the attic that was done incorrectly and not discovered until the very first time I tried to turn the heat on? What are the chances that the chief mechanical inspector just happens to be my friend and I notified him that this is an open permit that did not have any inspections performed? It's not going to be a good Monday morning for the contractor.

All of the issues are electrical from the installation.
Click to expand...
So the one thing I have learned about being a building official is that anytime I buy a property I check with the jurisdiction to check on past permits and thoroughly inspect myself prior to purchase. Foundation walls are first and then roof, windows, electrical, HVAC and plumbing in that order. Drives the realtors crazy.
 
Min&Max said:
So the one thing I have learned about being a building official is that anytime I buy a property I check with the jurisdiction to check on past permits and thoroughly inspect myself prior to purchase. Foundation walls are first and then roof, windows, electrical, HVAC and plumbing in that order. Drives the realtors crazy.
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Agree. In this County, you can't close on a house if there are open permits or rather unless they are closed. Expired permits are not closed. I lease this property so this did not apply.
 
Min&Max said:
So the one thing I have learned about being a building official is that anytime I buy a property I check with the jurisdiction to check on past permits and thoroughly inspect myself prior to purchase. Foundation walls are first and then roof, windows, electrical, HVAC and plumbing in that order. Drives the realtors crazy.
Click to expand...
I just purchased a new home and had to correct my real estate agent on what actually constitutes a bedroom.

For any realtors out there, just because it has a closet, does not make it a bed room. And vise versa, it doesn't have to have a closet to be a bedroom either.
 
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