I recently hired a contractor to remodel my bathroom. I live in a municipality that requires homeowners to get a permit before doing remodeling work. The contractor told me they never get permits. They implied I was causing problems by asking that they get permits. Is this normal for reputable contractors?
Cathy
Tom: Maybe some good guys out there don’t want to deal with the city, I actually understand that. Okay so …
Charlie: We can’t fault them.
Tom: No but if you’re going to do it …
Charlie: Rules are rules.
Tom: Yeah and does it cause problems? Well it will lengthen the job.
Charlie: Um hmm.
Tom: You’ll have to spend a few dollars on permit fees and yeah it can cause a few headaches but quite frankly a rule like you say, a rule is a rule. In the building business as a professional we have to follow the rules whether it’s inspections or code approved practices. Whether we’re forced to or not I think it’s a good thing and I’ve lost projects when I’ve told people out in the country “Well I’m going to do it the right way, I have to do it according to code.” They’ll say “Well, no we’re out in the country, nobody cares.”
No, I care I’m a professional. So it’s still rules no matter who you are and where you are.
Charlie: Yvonne over at Generator Power Systems does that. They treat every job as though it required a permit.
Tom: You have to.
Charlie: Because she says otherwise that they’re cutting corners they shouldn’t cut.
Tom: Absolutely and those rules are there for a reason and they are minimal, I mean they’re just minimal safety things and code approved things. You can go way beyond and do a much better job than any code would say but it’s important.
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