How far do I go?

[Ken9876]

Here is my situation, went to a home today for some home inspector issues all went well till I got to a detached finished shed building. HI reported no equipment ground, upon checking I find the PVC siding box fed with AC cable no connector, no anti short bushing entering a plastic box. With a little further investigation I find more issues at the shed panel, N-G bonded, no GES, a mix of AC and MC cables terminated incorrectly, MC grounding conductor cut off flush with the cable end. The inside of the shed is finished, but I know just from what I have seen on the surface the rest is probably a mess as well. So my first thought is to tell this guy I need to go through the entire building and correct as needed. I doubt a permit or inspection was ever obtained. Just wanted to get opinions on other options.

 

[John120/240]

First, have a ten minute conversation with who you work for, stating your concerns. Offer a price

for your evaluation of the situation. Then figure how much you want to make fixing this MESS.

 

[celtic]

How far you go depends on what they are looking to have done.

What is it they actually want?

 

[ptonsparky]

First, find out who is paying. Second, find out how much they have budgeted. Then determine that it IS an unattached garage. Hint...hint. Put in a switch, a gfci recept and disconnect everything else.

 

[Ken9876]

How far you go depends on what they are looking to have done.

What is it they actually want?

The guy selling the house as most people who are selling just want it fixed as fast and as cheaply as possible, but I?m not too concerned with him, I?m more concerned with the safety of the future owner. I'd sooner walk away then do something I feel is wrong, I have found some people you just can't reason with.

 

[celtic]

The guy selling the house as most people who are selling just want it fixed as fast and as cheaply as possible, but I?m not too concerned with him, I?m more concerned with the safety of the future owner. I'd sooner walk away then do something I feel is wrong, I have found some people you just can't reason with.

I understand what you are saying...BUT....

Your obligation is to whom ever is paying you.
If the HO is paying you, you make it safe for whatever the budget allows...bare code minimums, not what you "like" or feel is a "safety" issue.
The HO just wants to sell it...repair it as cheaply as possible and unload it.
There is no reasoning when the question is: What is minimum I can do to pass code and get the CO to sell this place?
You may want to run rigid underground to re-feed the shed....he may want overhead....both are compliant....1 choice will be cheaper than the other ~ thats the one that is going to be sold and installed by you or another EC.

The future owner is of little concern here.
For all we know, he may tear down the shed..or even raze the whole property....or may call you to repair the previous job of re-feeding the shed.
Who knows what will happen?
Maybe the deal falls through?

I wouldn't do any sort of repair that wasn't code compliant - I'd rather walk....but before I take that walk, I'll offer the present HO a couple of options...low budget, middle of the road, top of the line....leave the choice to them..no matter what option they pick, you can sleep at night ~ even if the choice is D) None of the above.

 

[kwired]

First, find out who is paying. Second, find out how much they have budgeted. Then determine that it IS an unattached garage. Hint...hint. Put in a switch, a gfci recept and disconnect everything else.

If cheap is what they want this is a good option. Cheaper yet is to disconnect power to the shed, and leave it as a shed with no power.

 

[ActionDave]

How far you go depends on what they are looking to have done.

What is it they actually want?

And whether or not either of you is married.

 

[cowboyjwc]

If cheap is what they want this is a good option. Cheaper yet is to disconnect power to the shed, and leave it as a shed with no power.

We need a like button, like Facebook.:happyyes:

 

[PetrosA]

I had a similar situation this week. Went to install a hardwired smoke detector in second floor hallway for a real estate management customer. Turned out that all the devices in both bedrooms were fed from a single circuit which obviously had a damaged ground and eleven metal device plates (switches and receptacles) were carrying 120V. He's on vacation now, but I think I know him well enough that he'd rather I fix the issues than shut off the circuit, which is the only other option I would consider. The tenants were certainly happy about the repair.

 

[nafis]

I would do as much as I can to correct the safety issue, and then give him price for the rest of the work.
BTW, do not forget to put your company sticker on the main panel surface, for the next owner to contact you!

 

[kwired]

I would do as much as I can to correct the safety issue, and then give him price for the rest of the work.
BTW, do not forget to put your company sticker on the main panel surface, for the next owner to contact you!

If your name is on the panel like that and you ended up leaving a shed that appears to have all this wiring that does not work they may assume you had something to do with the mess and want to avoid you - just a possibility.

 

[Speshulk]

If your name is on the panel like that and you ended up leaving a shed that appears to have all this wiring that does not work they may assume you had something to do with the mess and want to avoid you - just a possibility.

Absolutely! If you put your sticker on garbage work, don't be surprised if it gets associated with you.

 

[Ken9876]

Well I gave him a few prices, he asked if there was any room in the most expensive price to fix everything, which I responded with a quick no, haven't heard from him since.

 

[kennydmeek]

I'm thinking this seller is going to be giving a credit to the buyer for that mess...had he known prior to the home inspection and listed the issues in the listing, any buyer would have understood the "as is" aspects of the sale in the first place. Things that show up post contract will always be used as leverage for a price reduction. That building needs to be gutted and that's a big chunk of change out of sale proceeds...I ran into one like that where the outbuilding needed to be retrenched and refed.(6k if I did it) It was a foreclosure and I was working for the buyer. That buyer just opted to leave it unsafe(so far) because the bank wasn't going to bend for that...

 

[frequency]

Hello all,

Hello all,

I would create a list of code violations (and perhaps walk-through the job him/her and physically show the violation) and emphasize the safety issues of leaving this substandard installation energized and offer a cost to bring up to compliance. Next, provide a business card and receive payment for your professional services.

 

[kwired]

I would create a list of code violations (and perhaps walk-through the job him/her and physically show the violation) and emphasize the safety issues of leaving this substandard installation energized and offer a cost to bring up to compliance. Next, provide a business card and receive payment for your professional services.

You realize OP is dealing with an owner wanting to sell property and he does not want to spend anything fixing any problems? This is one to walk away from as the owner will not be happy with anything you do unless it cost him little to nothing. I can stay at home and read through this forum and come out with a higher profit margin. Last I knew zero was still higher than all negative numbers.