Building contractor using unlicensed subcontractors

[jorjacalla]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

A friend of mine had a house fire 12/26/2015, she hired a building contractor to reconstruct her home via insurace.
She has lived with her family in rented accommodation while the building work took place , she moved back in with her family
this week and has found many defects in workmanship, cracks in walls , contractor replaced her expensive custom made kitchen
cabinets from China , she was using a computer , the only other electrical equipment on was a tv ,the circuit breaker tripped 3 times.
There is no hot water as the boiler is insufficient for the size of the property, the roof leaks , some closets have doors that wont close
because they arent hung right, the building contractor told the insurance company she had a built in high end dishwasher and microwave , she didnt
have a built in microwave , he replaced her high end dishwasher with a $260 one. There is a huge list of defects. She found out this week
he used unlicensed subcontractors to do electrical work , plumbing , roofing etc. The California State licensing board says he has no employees/
What are her options ?

 

[Insane Jane]

Q1: Did the insurance co pay the contractor directly?
Contact the local code enforcement office and find out who pulled the permits and the inspection schedule.
Contact the insurance co and inform them of the discrepancies. Make sure they understand that there maybe more.

 

[justalayman]

Did she inspect the premises before moving in? Did she sign an acceptence of the work seen?

As to the breaker tripping 3 times; don't do that. A breaker trips for s reason. By simply resetting it you are reenergizing a circuit with an apparent problem and could in fact cause a greater problem, like a fire. It is also possible the equipment itself plugged into the receptacle is defective rather than the circuit.

To the hot water issue; the size of the heating appliance will not cause there to be no hot water. It the appliance is too small it would result in running out of hot water but there would initially be hot water.

While it sounds like there are many valid complaints, it appears your relative failed to perform her due diligence in inspecting the work and being aware of the work as it progressed. That doesn't mean she doesn't have recourse but it does mean she should have not been as surprised as she was.

She should start with speaking with her insurance company concerning the problems.

 

[jorjacalla]

She didn't sign acceptance for the work, her and her family were being pressured to move in as the contractor told
the insurance company that the residence was ready for occupancy. The water heater is an instant hot type without
a tank, I personally think the problem lies with pipework as one bathroom gets hot water the other 2 dont. The contract
they signed with the builder states that the that the new items would the same quality as the original but they are clearly not.
Even the painting is bad, paint from walls on ceiling etc.

The way I understand it the Building contractor should either do the work himself or get specialised contractors
to do electrical , plumbing , air conditionig , roofing etc, the unlicensed workers have done all that themselves
unsupervised.

 

[justalayman]

Do you have proof unlicensed parties did anything? The contractor is obligated to provide proof a licensed party was used when required. Has she demanded proof any work required to be performed by a licensed party was in fact performed by a licensed party?

To the water heater;

Instant use heaters are designed to provide a set temperature rise at a given flow. (Example: 70 deg rise at 5 gallons per minute). If one flows more water than that, it will not provide the same temp rise. If used as a whole house water heater, the capacity must take into consideration the maximum demand when designing the system but unless the capacity is being exceeded, it will provide the same temp water to any of the points of use continuously. If one point of use recieves hot water and when another point of use does not (run water at only the point of use being tested), the heater is not the problem. While the heated water may be delayed due to
The distance, it will eventually arrive and remain at the heated temp continuously. If it doesn't, the piping system is suspect.

But enough of plumbing 201.


The first place I would contact is the insurance company. Then I would contact
The building department seeking copies of all building permits, the applications for the permits, and all on site inspection reports.

There is obviously a problem but where the problems stem from is not clear yet. Communication with the insurance company may provide some enlightenment.

 

[jorjacalla]

I personally witnessed them doing electrical work, plumbing , roofing , air conditioning etc while unsupervised
does that count as proof ? As a seperate job the foreman installed some electrical lighting he signed a contract
she prepared stating he was a licensed contractor , but his license expired in November 2015. The California state licensing
board says the building contractor (B grade) has no employees so she is also worried about workmans comp should something
happen to one of the workmen

 

[Just Blue]

I personally witnessed them doing electrical work, plumbing , roofing , air conditioning etc while unsupervised
does that count as proof ? As a seperate job the foreman installed some electrical lighting he signed a contract
she prepared stating he was a licensed contractor , but his license expired in November 2015. The California state licensing
board says the building contractor (B grade) has no employees so she is also worried about workmans comp should something
happen to one of the workmen

Is there a reason that the "friend" can't sign up and ost for his/herself?














'

 

[jorjacalla]

My friend is quite distraught and has a lot going on so I said I would try and get information for her , I am trying to help alleviate the stress she is going through.