Should I avoid an electrician who asks a homeowner to apply for a permit?

[rememberpine]

Hi,

I've been getting quotes from electricians on the Tesla website to install a wall connector.

Some wouldn't apply for permits. Some wouldn't show up on the inspection day.

If I apply for a permit myself that makes me responsible for all the work.

Should I only hire an electrician who would apply for a permit himself?

Any recommendations for Orange County?

 

[Ogre]

I recommend it.

I hired a company who requested we do the permits for our septic system. They wound up screwing up the job and blamed us for filing the permit wrong and we wound up in a giant mess fighting them and the county over it.

A good electrician shouldn’t have any trouble getting the permit

 

[theocguy]

Hi,

I've been getting quotes from Tesla-certified electricians to install a wall connector.

Some wouldn't apply for permits.

If I apply for a permit myself that makes me responsible for all the work.

Should I only hire an electrician who would apply for a permit himself?

Always hire someone or a company which is willing to pull the permits. Some would do the permits but they want the home owner to do inspection w the utilities providers. I got a quote for installing a wall charger and they will pull permit and but they won’t do inspection with the utilities company, they said they don’t want to sit and wait for SCE to review and charge us the time that they are idling (waiting). I want to hire a company that will do from A-Z till the SCE approval is granted.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi,

I've been getting quotes from Tesla-certified electricians to install a wall connector.

Some wouldn't apply for permits.

If I apply for a permit myself that makes me responsible for all the work.

Should I only hire an electrician who would apply for a permit himself?

If I am going to pay a professional to do work, then I would want them to complete that work. It will likely cost more, but thats what I would do (and did). I wanted a submitted permit.

 

[Jjrss]

Always hire someone or a company which is willing to pull the permits. Some would do the permits but they want the home owner to do inspection w the utilities providers. I got a quote for installing a wall charger and they will pull permit and but they won’t do inspection with the utilities company, they said they don’t want to sit and wait for SCE to review and charge us the time that they are idling (waiting). I want to hire a company that will do from A-Z till the SCE approval is granted.

There is most likely nothing the electrician can do to spot fix during the inspection phase, you are literally just throwing ludicrous money at a person to have an audience while a county/utility guy gives you an 8 hour window and possible cancelations. If a spot fix took more than 10 minutes to remedy, the inspector is bouncing to their 10 other jobs for the day.

All findings would be documented and more efficiency corrected on a post inspection return visit by your electrician.

 

[Jersey_guy_202]

As long as electrician is willing to fill out the form, and just need you to go submit to town, that is ok. Most of them just want to avoid having to deal with county/town office.

“If I apply for a permit myself that makes me responsible for all the work.”

Don’t think this is true. As long as they are licensed electrician, they would have insurance to cover their work, and your home insurance will cover as well. Good luck.

 

[rwiegand]

Where I live you can't pull either plumbing or electrical permits if you don't hold a license. It varies town by town in MA.

Certainly if you're paying for a licensed electrician to do a permitted project you want them to pull the permit.

No one I know sits around and waits for the inspector on a small job like this. Typically the inspector shows up a day or three after the work is done, signs the tag and that's it. The electrician only comes back if there's a problem, extremely unlikely in a small routine job.

 

[DanDi58]

When I had my 14-50 outlet installed, the electrician pulled the permit. The Township inspection was several weeks later and the electrician didn't attend. I didn't think it was a big deal. All was fine. Not sure what the deal is with a utility inspection. Must be a CA thing.

 

[sleepydoc]

I recommend it.

I hired a company who requested we do the permits for our septic system. They wound up screwing up the job and blamed us for filing the permit wrong and we wound up in a giant mess fighting them and the county over it.

A good electrician shouldn’t have any trouble getting the permit

The fact that the company said the permit was to blame for doing the job wrong just confirms their incompetence.

I agree with everyone else - a good contractor will pull their own permit. Most of the time the inspection is a formality and I have no issue with them not being there. If there is an issue, it's their job to figure it out.

 

[ThomasD]

Contact your homeowners insurance company and ask them who they recommend or use for a job. The insurance company won't use unlicensed contractors