tryinghard
Senior Member
- Location
- California
Our trade, rightfully so, requires a permit for work to insure correct application. Who should buy the permit?
Permits
- Thread starter tryinghard
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
Re: Permits
Let the customer. If they choose not to, markup your labor to do so.
Let the customer. If they choose not to, markup your labor to do so.
- Location
- Massachusetts
Re: Permits
How do they pull a permit without a license?
Are you talking about a homeowner permit?
How do they pull a permit without a license?
Are you talking about a homeowner permit?
tryinghard
Senior Member
- Location
- California
Re: Permits
As far as I know here in California a licience is not required to buy a permit only money
jimwalker
Senior Member
- Location
- TAMPA FLORIDA
Re: Permits
If your asking who pays for it,the customer does ,one way or another.Actually most will charge like $100 to pull it even if it only cost $35.It takes time to go get it and you need to charge for all hours spent.Either add it to bid or include it but customer pays.
If your asking who pays for it,the customer does ,one way or another.Actually most will charge like $100 to pull it even if it only cost $35.It takes time to go get it and you need to charge for all hours spent.Either add it to bid or include it but customer pays.
sandsnow
Senior Member
- Location
- Southern California
Re: Permits
Owner/builders are exempt
It's city by city. Our city requires contractors license, workmans comp, and city business license.Originally posted by tryinghard:
As far as I know here in California a licience is not required to buy a permit only money
Owner/builders are exempt
jeff43222
Senior Member
- Location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Re: Permits
Here a homesteader of single-family dwelling can pull a homeowner's permit to do work on his own house. Otherwise, a state electrical contractor's license is required to pull a permit.
As for who pays for it, I just pass the cost along to the client. I don't mark up the permit cost in general because I can usually pull the permit over the Internet, which takes me less than five minutes, and I can do it in my bathrobe as I'm waking up.
Here a homesteader of single-family dwelling can pull a homeowner's permit to do work on his own house. Otherwise, a state electrical contractor's license is required to pull a permit.
As for who pays for it, I just pass the cost along to the client. I don't mark up the permit cost in general because I can usually pull the permit over the Internet, which takes me less than five minutes, and I can do it in my bathrobe as I'm waking up.
tryinghard
Senior Member
- Location
- California
Re: Permits
If you need to make repairs for a customer and direct them to get the permit the inspection department will be accountable to the customer like they truly ought to be.
Around here the inspection department is such a bureaucracy that you cannot get them to inspect without 24 hours notice. So if you have a service call Thursday afternoon at 3:30 PM and diagnose a service change is needed you may not get the permit on Thursday due to the time of day, you cannot get the inspection without 24 hours notice and your customer will remain without power over a weekend or limp with the hazard. Keep in mind with service changes you still have to schedule the utility company and they have their own bureaucracy.
I think permits for service type work should be available to purchase at least three months span if not bi-annually, and then you can provide the service to your customer and call for inspection afterwards. At least if the public bought them directly the inspection department would have to answer directly to them rather then arrogantly implying or saying the contractor just needs to get better at their responsibility.
If you need to make repairs for a customer and direct them to get the permit the inspection department will be accountable to the customer like they truly ought to be.
Around here the inspection department is such a bureaucracy that you cannot get them to inspect without 24 hours notice. So if you have a service call Thursday afternoon at 3:30 PM and diagnose a service change is needed you may not get the permit on Thursday due to the time of day, you cannot get the inspection without 24 hours notice and your customer will remain without power over a weekend or limp with the hazard. Keep in mind with service changes you still have to schedule the utility company and they have their own bureaucracy.
I think permits for service type work should be available to purchase at least three months span if not bi-annually, and then you can provide the service to your customer and call for inspection afterwards. At least if the public bought them directly the inspection department would have to answer directly to them rather then arrogantly implying or saying the contractor just needs to get better at their responsibility.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
Re: Permits
No doubt you are aware of how different things are in the rest of the country.
Bob, your New England roots are showing there with that question.
No doubt you are aware of how different things are in the rest of the country.
pierre
Senior Member
- Location
- Westchester County, New York
Re: Permits
From Jeff
"As for who pays for it, I just pass the cost along to the client. I don't mark up the permit cost in general because I can usually pull the permit over the Internet, which takes me less than five minutes, and I can do it in my bathrobe as I'm waking up."
Because most of us have become contractors from working in the field, we are not always great in the business end.
Regardless of how or when pulling a permit, there should always be a charge associated with the permit process. Pulling the permit requires that the inspector inspect the work, and by charging for your time in filling out the permit and by being available during the inspection process, you deserve to be paid for that.
If filling is easy for you, that is because of a skill you have learned - worth being paid for.
How about the service you have provided - worth being paid for.
IMO if you are not charging for this you are making it harder for others in our industry who do.
... and yes during my last few years as a contractor I stopped doing free estimates, which really means I had more free time to make money as my estimates almost always resulted in being awarded the work, therefore doing less FREE work.
From Jeff
"As for who pays for it, I just pass the cost along to the client. I don't mark up the permit cost in general because I can usually pull the permit over the Internet, which takes me less than five minutes, and I can do it in my bathrobe as I'm waking up."
Because most of us have become contractors from working in the field, we are not always great in the business end.
Regardless of how or when pulling a permit, there should always be a charge associated with the permit process. Pulling the permit requires that the inspector inspect the work, and by charging for your time in filling out the permit and by being available during the inspection process, you deserve to be paid for that.
If filling is easy for you, that is because of a skill you have learned - worth being paid for.
How about the service you have provided - worth being paid for.
IMO if you are not charging for this you are making it harder for others in our industry who do.
... and yes during my last few years as a contractor I stopped doing free estimates, which really means I had more free time to make money as my estimates almost always resulted in being awarded the work, therefore doing less FREE work.
highkvoltage
Senior Member
Re: Permits
I as the EC always pull the permit. Two reasons:
1. If the customer tries to screw me by not paying it's just one more piece of evidence I will need.
2. On the permit it states what work I was contracted to preform. If some one else comes in after or the owner tries to preform his own work and burns his house down you can prove what work you preformed.
I learned this the hard way once. I let the home owner pull the permit. I had a contract stating what I was going to fix. The home owners permit listed these items. Long story short the judge ruled in favor of the homeowner. (He state he did the work on the permit.) The ruling came down to the goverment document over ruled my contract. This happened about 10 months before going out on my own so it was a cheap lesson. I could asorb it because I still had a paycheck.
I as the EC always pull the permit. Two reasons:
1. If the customer tries to screw me by not paying it's just one more piece of evidence I will need.
2. On the permit it states what work I was contracted to preform. If some one else comes in after or the owner tries to preform his own work and burns his house down you can prove what work you preformed.
I learned this the hard way once. I let the home owner pull the permit. I had a contract stating what I was going to fix. The home owners permit listed these items. Long story short the judge ruled in favor of the homeowner. (He state he did the work on the permit.) The ruling came down to the goverment document over ruled my contract. This happened about 10 months before going out on my own so it was a cheap lesson. I could asorb it because I still had a paycheck.
- Status