Unlicensed electrical work OK under $500 in CA?

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A physicist asks "Why does that happen?"


An engineer asks "How can I make that happen?"


A liberal arts major asks "Would you like fries with that?"
 
GoldDigger said:
In CA a "handyman" does not have to have a contractors license if the cost of the job is below the limit. But in most locations they would also not be able to pull a permit to do electrical work.

The most probable scenario would be that the job would not get permitted even if it required that (and there is no low-cost exemption from the permitting process) or else the homeowner would pull the permit and hope to pass inspection.
In some states when the HO pulls a permit they have to swear or affirm that they will be the only ones doing the work.
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This. Is Correct.

Under $500 does not require a licensed contract but it still requires a permit and must be installed to code. Work done without a permit can be fined.
 
Tito does everything, without license for anything

Tito does everything, without license for anything

imagejpeg
 
More Munchausen.....?

More Munchausen.....?

jaggedben said:
This. Is Correct.

Under $500 does not require a licensed contract but it still requires a permit and must be installed to code. Work done without a permit can be fined.
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At least you've some manner of oversight....

My state still allows one to wire and plumb their own residence w/o inspections or even (some areas) zoning permits.

The results are over 1/2 my biz , as well as the statistical majority of fires, lawsuits, morbidity, mortality & litigation....

The trades are summarily blamed....and the bureaucrats write more codes to be ignored

Cross a boarder , and it all changes to some other litigant mess with it's own inherent problems.....


One would think the powers that be would take note of, it not move to mitigate the DIY hell , ironically they are the ones against any national benchmarks,licensure, inspections, etc, because it serves them

Worse, most of us (that's right i said us, the bona fide trade) can't agree, and usually reject anything that would provide national cohesion


~RJ~
 
romex jockey said:
My state still allows one to wire and plumb their own residence w/o inspections or even (some areas) zoning permits.
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As it should be in America. To me it is the future buyers responsibility to look into what they may be buying.

Here in MA we can wire our house but we cannot plumb our own home.

In practice judging from HD and Lowes people do their own plumbing.
 
Uncertified

Uncertified

A lot of c10 contractors out here in ca cry about unlicensed contractors ,why don't you follow the state rules and make sure all your electricians are state certified and all your apprentice are in a state approved school,I know why cause you would have to pay them more,and there is no one regulating you
 
iwire said:
As it should be in America. To me it is the future buyers responsibility to look into what they may be buying..
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Around here ( and other places) if a house catches on fire it will probably catch the neighbors' house(s) on fire as well.

So no, I don't really buy this fantasy that what you do with your own property never has an effect on anyone else.
 
jaggedben said:
Around here ( and other places) if a house catches on fire it will probably catch the neighbors' house(s) on fire as well.

So no, I don't really buy this fantasy that what you do with your own property never has an effect on anyone else.
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I don't care if you buy it or not. :lol:

I could set my neighbors house on fire with my BBQ grill, or burning leaves you going to ban those as well?
 
iwire said:
I don't care if you buy it or not. :lol:

I could set my neighbors house on fire with my BBQ grill, or burning leaves you going to ban those as well?
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exactly. That is one reason why I enjoy living in the country. Though the small town I did live in didn't have near the rules that some larger cities may have - all you hear about is why someoene doesn't like what some neighbor is doing, no matter how much hazard it may or may not present to the other neighbors, and they always want local ordinances to control things they don't want to see.

Some of it maybe makes some sense, other stuff gets carried too far. So called "junk ordinances" are a big pet peeve of mine. I understand the general public not wanting a lot of old cars, appliances, etc. to be sitting on properties but they push this too far to include items that are still in use that may otherwise be called an eyesore to some. Then some other person can have some piece of an antique machine out in a flower bed and call it "yard art" and that is Ok. It is just a big game I'm happy to not have to deal with living outside city limits.
 
Fulthrotl said:
no, it doesn't. we outsource that work to indigent peasants....
wait, that isn't correct anymore.... to undocumented non citizenry.

comprende?
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I had a maint electrician job at a place for a short while. My partner was from Tijuana Mex. We were having a polite argument one time regarding wire sizing as I wanted to pull in new conductors and he thought what was there was ok (they were undersized). So he told me, in Tijuana, everyone's an electrician with a big grin on his face. He didn't know code but at least he was documented. I won and we pulled new conductors.

But seriously, in my experience, a lot of work gets done without permits and without inspection in private facilities and not by licensed electricians. And not all of this work is up to par. I'm not saying this is ok by any means but there is plenty of work done over $500 that slips below the radar. I imagine it's the same in housing. In a state that gives drivers licenses to illegals, has sanctuary cities, and pays for prisoner sex changes I doubt anyone is going to look at illegal electrical jobs.
 
iwire said:
I don't care if you buy it or not. :lol:

I could set my neighbors house on fire with my BBQ grill, or burning leaves you going to ban those as well?
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Yes. Absolutely. It's just common sense.

I'm pretty sure if you burned leaves in the middle of San Francisco you'd have the fire department on you in no time, regardless of whose property you did it on. That's just !@#$% dangerous anywhere in the middle of this city.

Also, even if you keep it contained, the smoke doesn't stop at your property line.

San Francisco also restricts where you are allowed to have a charcoal BBQs as well, for similar reasons.

Different places are different, I realize that. This is why these type of ordinances should mostly be left to the most local jurisdictions. But there's no overriding principle that you can do whatever you want just because it's on your property. Far from it.
 
Easy way is to look up local administrative code, often on the website FAQs, of when an electrical permit is needed (CA also has its own administrative section in its electrical code). Normally they allow fixture or small device changes without a permit, and any sort of wiring requires a permit, with no monetary scope as a criteria. Basically a jurisdiction would be crazy to allow electrical work based on the value of a job.
 
jaggedben said:
Yes. Absolutely. It's just common sense.

I'm pretty sure if you burned leaves in the middle of San Francisco you'd have the fire department on you in no time, regardless of whose property you did it on. That's just !@#$% dangerous anywhere in the middle of this city.

Also, even if you keep it contained, the smoke doesn't stop at your property line.

San Francisco also restricts where you are allowed to have a charcoal BBQs as well, for similar reasons.

Different places are different, I realize that. This is why these type of ordinances should mostly be left to the most local jurisdictions. But there's no overriding principle that you can do whatever you want just because it's on your property. Far from it.
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I want to smell the neighbor's BBQ, maybe even come steal their food when it is about done and when they are not looking:)
 
The reality is, we are a trade with checks and balances existing in a DIY nation. We're also the most litigant nation on earth.

Being a DIYer doesn't make one a hypocrite , especially where no benchmarks exist

I've found i'm a far better carpenter than many in my state having zero qualifiers posing as GC's who construct, wire,plumb homes, etc.

Pasrsing out who can assume DIY disaster(s) that can affect the unaware, from either legislative or trade authority, cloaked in the guise of "public safety" is an entirely different story .



~RJ~
 
romex jockey said:
The reality is, we are a trade with checks and balances existing in a DIY nation. We're also the most litigant nation on earth.

Being a DIYer doesn't make one a hypocrite , especially where no benchmarks exist

I've found i'm a far better carpenter than many in my state having zero qualifiers posing as GC's who construct, wire,plumb homes, etc.

Pasrsing out who can assume DIY disaster(s) that can affect the unaware, from either legislative or trade authority, cloaked in the guise of "public safety" is an entirely different story .



~RJ~
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That sounds really cool and intellectual, but it's just mumbo jumbo.
 
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