Pulling permits w/o GC
My husband and I are acting as our own GCs. We have our plans approved (for months now) and the electrician and plumber have succeeded in pulling permits for their portions of the renovation, but DOB mysteriously denied us our permits and, typically, will not tell us why. They claim they will call my husband…
My husband and I are acting as our own GCs. We have our plans approved (for months now) and the electrician and plumber have succeeded in pulling permits for their portions of the renovation, but DOB mysteriously denied us our permits and, typically, will not tell us why. They claim they will call my husband with an appointment time to tell him why we can’t have our permits but I don’t believe it. We had the right insurance waiver and everything…anyone with any experience have any idea why we can’t get our permits? All advice appreciated.
honesthomeowner…I’m in a similar situation. How did you make out? Could you pull as homeowner or HIC? I’m trying to decide whether or not to apply for my HIC, or try to pull as the homeowner. The work is extensive with structural components, so I’m not sure what the DOB will say.
Hi,
I have a related issue, though bit more dire and involving a contractor who finished the work under a permit and approved plans, and when we paid him in full, he demand a few thousand $$ from us or he would go to the DOB and pull his insurance, and order the DOB to give us a stop work order. We asked the construction division at the Bklyn DOB if this was possible, and they said no, only the Architect or Engineer could pull the permit.. Anyway, this creep contractor pulled his insurance, a DOB inspector came when no one was there (no work to be done)- and since could not access, issued us a SWO. A few weeks later they come to inspect and write a report saying work was completed, now b/c Bryan Winter was the deputy commisioner who wrote the 15 day letter of intent as a result of this contractor’s false claims that construction was still going on- he is refusing to sign off the job, saying a GC is required to pull the permit out again- even though the work is done!!! Anyway, we have had several GC’s tell us they are not interested in putting their insurance on the line for someone else’s work, even if it is complete.. So we have gotten our HIC license from the DCA, I am wondering if we can pull a no work PW-2 permit, or do we still need a tracking #, etc even though we are pulling the permit for this technical reason, and the work is already certified by th DOB to be complete. What is the process in this case? Should we have just paid the creep contractor his bribe? Seems like the behavior of the DOB recently fosters this kind of extortion opportunism that this contractor so boldly did to us. Any similar experiences….?????
In my experience the DOB denies granting a permit to homeowners acting as their own GCs if the job has a structural component, and of course almost any job can have a “structural” component.
answer is you cant ‘act’ as your own GC. you have to BE a GC with a tracking number. if you are trying to do the work as a home owner without getting insurance (the waiver) then you cant hire someone else to do any work.
if at any time you need an expediter…im dex
With the DOB, nothing is simple no matter how simple the filing is.
Getting a job approved and permitted takes longer than one anticipates.
Hi, yes, bayridgegirl, that’s what we did, and they denied us the permit. to BMS, yes, also, i just got a call from the plumber that he can’t pull his permit because the general construction permit hasn’t been pulled. Very frustrating, but I guess we just have to wait for the appointment and go from there.
i guess what i wanted to know is–how common is it for them to deny a permit to a homeowner? is this just another hoop for us to jump through?
If you are in a co-op you can not pull the permit as an owner since you are only a partial owner of the building. Is this a co-op situation?
I am also surprise that your plumber was able to pull his permit, because the General Construction Permit has to be pulled prior to the Plumber pulling his permit. If you are getting that information from the plumber you should check the DOB website to make sure you understood correctly that his permit is pulled.
oh, and when your done with construction, don’t forget to have it signed-off.
Also, make sure the plumber calls for his inspections (rough and final) and also signs-off the job.
Not sure why the DOB won’t issue you the permit, if you filled out all the forms, filed drawings and provided the waiver.
As a homeowner you can pull your own permit.
You still need to go the typical route and get drawings approved AND file an application that has been signed and sealed by an architect.
Did you get a perforated set of drawings and paperwork?
I would start by looking up your job in the system.
Here’s the link http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/model/construction_code.shtml
Look for that filing. Does it say approved?
After your Filing application was approved You needed to file a Work Permit Application (PW-2) You should have checked off ‘Homeowner’ on item #5 AND I THINK you need a Workmen’s Compensation waiver.
If everything checks out and you think you’ve taken the right steps, wait for the call. It’s not uncommon for the DOB to call with an appointment. It may take them a couple of days, but they do call to set up appointments. If you don’t hear from them, I would call them with your application # (it’s a sticker with a bar code and a # on the upper right hand corner of the paperwork, it’s also on your approved drawings), and ask the status.
Haven’t done an owner as General Contractor in a while, so I’m a little foggy.
Maybe Smokychimp or there’s another architect on here, can chime in.
Good Luck and welcome to DOB hell.