Red Flag Warning

Here in Alberta, if you are doing any additions or renovations, watch out for the contractor (builder) that wants you to "pull your own permits" to save you money!

If you pull your own permits from the town, county etc, then you become the GENERAL Contractor, and the contractor that is doing the construction, is designated as a builder working for YOU.

Now, what's wrong with this picture? If the builder, say of an addition to a house, breaks a sewer line then the responsibility to fix it passes from the builder to the General Contractor, YOU. In one case close to home, the builder said "YOU are the general contractor and the $4000+ bill is not my problem".

Now imagine what it would cost if the sewer line was a water main at 30 psig that washed out your yard, flooded the street, and did other damage. YOU would likely be responsible for the repairs and clean up which could be many thousands of dollars.

If the builder is told  to take care of the permits, and the above happened then he becomes the General Contractor and his insurance should cover the repairs.

That begs the next issue. Make sure you see his liability insurance ( not an issue in this case)

This is a "Heads Up" There are many contractors out there that do good work, but are border line when it comes to ethical behavior.

Any body else run into this?