Sounds like a shady contractor. Read your county site on permits and you'll see how doing the job described must be permitted.

What do you win by not permitting? Future buyers will look quickly at this issue.

If you pull the permits, all liability is on you. If they pull the perfmits, liability is on them. AS simple as this. For insurance purposes or any problems, it is better if they do all the permits under their name.

Anonymous wrote:Remodeling right now. Permit inspections are very timely in ffx county. After you get an active permit, you go online the day before you want an inspection and schedule it. Inspector comes the next day. We are finishing a basement and had to pull 3 permits, one for plumbing, one electrical and one framing. Cost a couple hundred bucks and worth every penny. A good contractor would know that....I'd be suspicious.

Agree.

Fairfax County is very user friendly for permits and inspections.

Our first inspection took about fifteen minutes.

Anonymous wrote:Permits are usually not that costly or time consuming. Lazy contractor.

This. They don't cost much and shouldn't add on much time either. In fact we had an inspection problem which was all handled including 3 inspections within 24 hrs. Run fast from this contractor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be very wary of a contractor who offered to do this.

Me too. Not to mention it can be a pain in the ass when selling. And permits and codes exist for a reason. And codes exist for a reason. I can't tell you how many problems we've had from shoddy work end by previous owners that wasn't up to code.

+1 I regularly curse the previous owners of our house for doing all manner of DIY and unpermitted work. Anyone we call to do work checks for previous permits, especially gas line stuff.

Permits are usually not that costly or time consuming. Lazy contractor.

I think for resale it is better to have the permits.

Remodeling right now. Permit inspections are very timely in ffx county. After you get an active permit, you go online the day before you want an inspection and schedule it. Inspector comes the next day. We are finishing a basement and had to pull 3 permits, one for plumbing, one electrical and one framing. Cost a couple hundred bucks and worth every penny. A good contractor would know that....I'd be suspicious.

Don't do it. The permits add some time and a little expense but they are a safeguard for you and you'll end up having issues either during the renovation or after when they weren't permitted.

Anonymous wrote:I would be very wary of a contractor who offered to do this.

+1

Anonymous wrote:I would be very wary of a contractor who offered to do this.

Me too. Not to mention it can be a pain in the ass when selling. And permits and codes exist for a reason. And codes exist for a reason. I can't tell you how many problems we've had from shoddy work end by previous owners that wasn't up to code.

I would be very wary of a contractor who offered to do this.

At least get one for gas. The other stuff is fine without.

Just get the permits, since the work so clearly requires them. You'll rest easier knowing it won't come back to bite you later.

We are in the process of meeting with designers and contractors to renovate our kitchen. It's small but will involve moving gas, plumbing and electrical and knocking out a (non load bearing) wall. One of the contractors, who is probably the most highly recommended of the bunch, is offering to do the work without pulling permits. We can also opt to go with the permits but this incurs a higher cost in order to pull the permits and because the work will be slowed while waiting for the inspections.
As I said, this contractor has been used and recommended by many, many local friends (and non-friends). Of course, he is fully licensed to do the project.
My husband feels this is fine; I'm pretty iffy on the whole thing.
Thoughts?