Would you hire an unlicensed contractor for electrical work?
utopiankitchens
17 years ago
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spencer_electrician
17 years agopjb999
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Unlicensed electrical work in apartment bldg
Comments (6)There are trained repairs in the CAMT program that a technician can do. However, the key part of the training is to recognize that there are electrical repairs that require someone with better training/certification to do....See MoreDo I need a 'licenced' electrical contractor? Insurance?
Comments (11)It isn't "getting busted" by the inspector you need to worry about either, its the liability factor, the LONG TERM liability factor! If you sell that home in say 10 years and another 10 go by and God forbid there's a fire and someone dies, THAT is a multi-million dollar lawsuit then and NO your homeowners usually will not cover unpermitted and thus illegal work done, which will then wipe you out financially, unless you have a few mil laying around to pay off the plaintiffs! Even if an electrician does the job right, there is still a chance things can go wrong. Nothing in life is guaranteed. If you know what you are doing and do the job right, it is not any different than an electrician. You have to know your limits though (installing a new panel for example). That being said, permits are there to protect the homeowner and to ensure the contractor (or the homeowner) does the job correctly. So they are a good thing. In general, when a contractor does not want to apply for permit that is a big red flag because they may try to do shoddy work and there is no one to check on it. As far as safety goes, the contractor could probably wire it fine, he simply is not licensed so an inspector in your location might not look at it even if the wiring was good. Wiring a new addition is not rocket science btw (make a plan, run the wire, finishing). Many places dont require a licensed electrician for remodels, but with a permit, it is still inspected whether you or a contractor did the work. Even if you did the electrical and something failed on the next homeowner, houses are for sale as-is. If the job was done correctly they wont be able to come after you unless you did something intentionally to damage the house before the closing AND they can prove that it was your intent to do the damage. Stop fear mongering....See MoreBest practice advice when hiring residential contractors?
Comments (13)On the subject of finding good contractors or more accuratly getting your money's worth out of them. A developer recently bought several acres accross the road from me. They have been doing dirt work and surveying over the last month while the wife and I watch from our deck. Workers routinly arrive at 7am,work for 30 minutes,a truck leaves then returns with snacks and drinks. 45 minutes to 1.5 hrs are spent consuming snacks before about half of workers return to the machines which were idleing the whole time. Work continues for another hour before they stop one by one and sit for an hour or two while drivers nap in the air conditioned cabs. The routine is repeated every day. Mind you this developer has been around for years and has multiple jobs underway at any given time. If an experienced company can't find good help,what are the odds for homeowners?...See MoreWould you hire a contractor with a criminal record?
Comments (30)Years ago, I was managing a gas station for the owner who hired a fellow on a work release program. The guy got paroled if he had a job and the state arranged his room and board. Pumping gas---I did say years ago :-)---was his job. He lasted four weeks before he apologized to me for wasting our time, walked half a block to the police station, apologized to the officer, and slapped the officer. He could not handle being free and felt that was the only way he could safely go back to prison, where he felt safe. I've worked locally with inmate work release programs where county jail inmates perform work release jobs as a part of their sentence. They have a police escort during the job performance(who sometimes works right along side the inmates(who are wearing regular clothing---not jail uniforms). Most of those folks are petty criminals. They made stupid choices and were trying to improve their actions. I have rather strict ideas on criminal justice. Pedophiles are impossible to rehabilitate(brain chemistry forces them to act as they do and they see nothing wrong with their perversions). Repeat criminals are also brain driven---most have read about the bank robber who spends 30 years, gets paroled, and within a month robs another bank. DUI's are one thing, multiple DUI's indicate a person who will not change. I have worked with people who have criminal records, the trustworthy ones made a one time mistake. Most with two or more convictions are not as trustworthy....See Moreitsunclebill
17 years agokurto
17 years agospencer_electrician
17 years agopjb999
17 years agordtompki
17 years agoworthy
17 years agobanner93_yahoo_com
17 years agodozer
17 years agopetey_racer
17 years agojoefixit2
17 years agodozer
17 years ago
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