rehabbing money pits

[megloff11x]

My girlfriend had us watching some show called Holmes on Homes over the weekend whilst honeydoing. It featured a deathtrap of a house in Toronto that the contractor this guy hired had butchered. This guy Holmes ended up gutting the whole house and having a do-over, after finding exposed live wires dangling about in the walls and under the floor - the hard way...

They said that a Master Electrician had been working on it and vowed to get his license yanked.

Is there a firm guideline as to how far the "you touch it or see it and you own it" rule extends for liability on a repair job? If you get hired to work on X and see violations on Y, what is your course of action:

Notify owner and it's on him
Insist that you have to fix Y or you aren't allowed to fix X either
Other

And a second question, is there any database of contractors where you might find out his reputation better? When I had surgery I was able to look up my surgeon's malpractice records beforehand but it took some digging.

 

[marissa2]

You might want to check with the state office that controls your license, in CT its the Department od Consumer Protection. They have on there web site a listing of everone who holds a CT license. This is where anyone can go to see if there have been any complents placed against any contractor and what type of license they hold and if active or not. On this same site anyone can read the past minutes of the electrical board meetings which are held once a month.
Lou

 

[iwire]

It is going to be different all over, here in MA we have a couple of nice written rules.

Rule 3. Additions or modifications to an existing installation shall be made in accordance with this Code without bringing the remaining part of the installation into compliance with the requirements of this Code. The installation shall not create a violation of this Code, nor shall it increase the magnitude of an existing violation.

So my new work must comply but I can ignore existing violations.

Rule 4. Where an actual hazard exists, the owner of the property shall be notified in writing by the authority enforcing this Code. (See M.G.L. c. 166, ?? 32 and 33, for enforcement authority.)

If the inspector sees a 'real' hazard they are supposed to go to the owner not the EC.

Now is that how it really works?...somethimes.