First time in 14 years...

[Greg R 82]

that I have ever had a crew stopped by code enforcement to see if we had a permit to stain a fence :2eyes:. It happened today in a small town about 20 minutes away. The guys are unloading equipment to ready the staining process and Barney fife shows up asking if we were licensed, bonded and had a permit for the job. My employees tells him yes were licensed and bonded but no permit that he knows of. Appearently they've adapted a rule here in this little town that ANY job over $500 requires a permit no matter what the work.

So me being a bit of a smart ass asks..... so if I hire a to z landscaping to overseed my lawn for $501.00 I need a permit? He stated YES anything over $500.

Anybody else deal with this crap????? I've never heard such a thing and I thought there was a reason its called a BUILDING PERMIT!

Edited October 29, 2010 by Greg R

[Celeste 341]

Everybody wants their slice. At least you have ENFORCEMENT of your laws......

[Greg R 82]

Not really..... like I said - First time in 14 years and thousandsss of jobs :) I've never had that happen even in the municipalities where trouble is expected!

[Douglas Hicks 128]

It was good you were respectful to Barney. You can never tell when Andy gave Barney a bullet.

[bigchaz 157]

you need bonding for exterior work?

[Greg R 82]

We have to bonded within the counties we work in to be able to get a contractors license for the towns and cities we work in. Sadly each city requires you to be licensed which amounts to about a $100 a pop (about $4K a year in licensing). By the time I pay my GL/Biz Auto policy, Workers comp and licensing fees I swear its July before I start to turn a profit....

and they wonder why 9 out of 10 businesses fail each year

Edited October 29, 2010 by Greg R

[Jim Gamble 20]

Here in California, if you are applying product for example paint, stain and the work and materials is over $800...up from $500 a few years ago, then you need a permit. Been that way since I started back in 1989.

Pressure washing, cleaning, is exempt because you are not washing the surface for the purpose of applying a product. You are cleaning.

However in a residential market, I am not sure if this applies since we only do Industrial Pressure Washing.

[Jim Gamble 20]

We have to bonded within the counties we work in to be able to get a contractors license for the towns and cities we work in. Sadly each city requires you to be licensed which amounts to about a $100 a pop (about $4K a year in licensing). By the time I pay my GL/Biz Auto policy, Workers comp and licensing fees I swear its July before I start to turn a profit....

and they wonder why 9 out of 10 businesses fail each year

Seems like more and more states are following California !

Welcome to my world..... Welcome to California !!!

[Greg R 82]

According to "Barney" we even need a permit to pressure wash there. Also if you claim the job is under $500 they can request a copy of the invoice. This is just a small town looking for money anywhere they can find it......

... and for some reason that doesn't suprise me about California :)

[Rick2 42]

How many more ways can they think of to get their hands in our pockets? It's crazy!

[Douglas Hicks 128]

According to "Barney" we even need a permit to pressure wash there. Also if you claim the job is under $500 they can request a copy of the invoice. This is just a small town looking for money anywhere they can find it......

... and for some reason that doesn't suprise me about California :)

If I get a request for something that does not sound legtimate, I ask how long have the permits been available, and when was the last permit issued and to who.

[Ron Musgraves 240]

In arizona it used to be 750.00 any construction landscape or otherwise. I think the fee is still the same, get this one if you do the work and bill for over 750 the home owner doesnt have to pay if you did not get the permit or have a license. Home owner took advantage of this for along time.

Greg its really not a bad thing, the 500 permit ???????? have you really checked that out. I'll bet its lower. 35 bucks or something like that.

[Greg R 82]

Hey Ron - it's only $30 for the permit and it applies to any project $500 and up. It would only be beneficial if they enforce it across the board. Otherwise its just a pain in the neck :)

[mrwindow 14]

Look at it as another business expense, pass the cost onto the customer ...

Any idea how much the fine or restitution charges would be, for NOT

having a permit in hand?

That alone may justify the 30 bucks for permit cost.

Edited November 18, 2010 by mrwindow

[Greg R 82]

$50 bucks....... so odds are I'm money WAY ahead by not getting the permits :)