What is the name of your state? CA
My husband and I are planning to build a house as owner/builders -- we have to demolish an existing structure and foundation, and put in new foundation and house. He has built yachts for years. He has also worked on a construction crew, and was involved in building multi-unit buildings from foundation thru rough framing and some finish. He's also taken some construction classes and has read up on many related subjects. But he does not have a contractor's license. We are sub-contracting to licensed plumbers and electrical, and excavation, but we would like to hire our own crew for foundation and for rough framing -- people like him, who he's worked with, who know what they are doing, but also do not have licenses -- and want to make sure we do the hiring correctly. Our concerns are worker's comp issues, injury, and liability. We know we have to get Course of Construction insurance, but we were told that without a contractor's license we don't qualify for commercial general liability, and we are told that Worker's Comp would be really expensive for us. Along those lines, we were told that contracts for less than $500 can be used to hire people without licenses. Please confirm: Can we write weekly (or daily) contracts for each member of the crew, which also waives workers comp? Basically, hire and re-hire each as independent contractors? Is that a viable option? Any others? Also, will our Course of Construction, standard homeowner's policy, along with tightly written contracts, cover our liability issues?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
My husband and I are planning to build a house as owner/builders -- we have to demolish an existing structure and foundation, and put in new foundation and house. He has built yachts for years. He has also worked on a construction crew, and was involved in building multi-unit buildings from foundation thru rough framing and some finish. He's also taken some construction classes and has read up on many related subjects. But he does not have a contractor's license. We are sub-contracting to licensed plumbers and electrical, and excavation, but we would like to hire our own crew for foundation and for rough framing -- people like him, who he's worked with, who know what they are doing, but also do not have licenses -- and want to make sure we do the hiring correctly. Our concerns are worker's comp issues, injury, and liability. We know we have to get Course of Construction insurance, but we were told that without a contractor's license we don't qualify for commercial general liability, and we are told that Worker's Comp would be really expensive for us. Along those lines, we were told that contracts for less than $500 can be used to hire people without licenses. Please confirm: Can we write weekly (or daily) contracts for each member of the crew, which also waives workers comp? Basically, hire and re-hire each as independent contractors? Is that a viable option? Any others? Also, will our Course of Construction, standard homeowner's policy, along with tightly written contracts, cover our liability issues?
Thanks in advance for any advice!