GC hell
Did you change use from 1 family to 2 or 3 to 2? If not, okay no new CO, but you will need still your architect to sign off your ALT1 (enlargement) or ALT2 (no enlargement) permit which will require all the inspections to be signed off. If all you have is PL items, tell the GC thanks but we’re done here since you refuse to adhere to the terms of the contract documents, and hire some carpenter for $25k to finish all the PL items and open & close your wall. The risk is not passing the inspections of course so you should talk to your engineers first about what that would mean. Also find out from them if there are any other outstanding inspections out there that need to be completed. Without a signed off ALT application you may have trouble selling the place or financing it. You could also report your GC’s actions to the DOB and see what they have to say about it.
bkarchitect
in General Discussion 8 years and 4 months ago
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emmajacob | 8 years and 4 months ago
Long story short, we are at the end of our reno (just 5% retainage left, but that’s about $25,000), and our structural engineer will not sign off on our permit because he needs to see a welding that is now covered up (in a wall in our master bedroom). According to our contract, the GC must open the wall if asked by the engineer, and the owner is liable for the cost of patching it up as long as the work conforms to the structural engineer’s drawings. If it doesn’t the GC must correct everything at their own cost. Our GC refuses to open the wall for the inspection, saying at the engineer had ample opportunities to look at the joint months ago. The GC has found another engineer that will sign off on the job without the probe, but he will not tell us the name or the cost until we release our retainer to him. We refuse because (a) we have credits owed plus we need to cover our a$$es in case things don’t work out and we have to pay for a probe and whatever other repairs, and (b) the GC should be covering any additional costs of a replacement engineer since it’s really the y’re responsibility to uncover the wall, and we need to withhold that unknown amount. BTW, we’re already 8 months over our contract, during which time our GC basically gaslighted us and made false promises, so this entire ordeal is outrageous. We’re at a standstill and I feel like my house is being held hostage. This is half complaining, and half seeking advice from anyone who has any on how to deal with this GC and our retainer.
mozeeatupu | 8 years and 4 months ago
Just open the wall right where the weld is and check the work. Closing a small hole will be cheap.
BTW you should’ve checked the engineer was satisfied before the wall was closed. As the owner, it’s ultimately your responsibility to avoid these kinds of headaches later.
slopefarm | 8 years and 4 months ago
The issue isn’t the cost of opening and closing the wall. The issue is a GC not wanting to take the risk of having to re-do work if the engineer does not sign off, particularly this close to the end of the job when it would have been easier and cheaper with the walls open and the crew on the job. As the saying goes, “what we have here is a failure to communicate” between the GC and SE. I do not pin this on the owner. Owners are not supposed to coordinate the work flow unless they have taken on the GC role themselves. You hire professionals to know this stuff. SE should let GC know what needs inspection before walls are closed and GC should know not to close walls if there are items that need to be inspected (per plans and contract).
1. Do not release the retainage. You will never see your GC again. 2. Do not trust an SE brought in by the GC under a promise sight unseen that the job will be signed off. You need to get the job signed off; once that is done, anyone can do punchlist finish work. GC needs to open the wall, pure and simple, and if he refuses, take a boxcutter and cut the sheetrock yourself. If SE can sign off, all you have is a hole that needs patching. Anyone can do it and if GC won’t, get a handyman, pay him, and deduct it from the retainage. If SE sees faulty work and won’t sign off, you have a bigger problem. But no need to try to cross that bridge now.
utoeid | 8 years and 4 months ago
It will be better to crack open a wall a few inches than god forbid that beam give way. A good sheetrock guy will have you back up and running in a weekend and the holes should not have to be to big. If you have drawings with measurements they can pinpoint where the welds were and do a check. Don’t mess with your family’s safety.
emmajacob | 8 years and 4 months ago
Thank you, all. I’m also partly blaming our architects, who are in charge of coordinating the SE and GC. But I think we have a good path forward with some of this advice.
ccstewart
in General Discussion 8 years and 4 months ago
This may have been part of the building permit. Engineer or another inspector the Building Official approves needs to do the welding inspection, so Building Official knows results before issuing Certificate of Occupancy. If the builder reads the code, it contains a statement in Chapter 1 (if it follows the national model building codes) that states something like “110.3.4 Frame inspection. Framing inspections shall be made after the roof deck or sheathing, all framing, fireblocking and bracing are in place and pipes, chimneys and vents to be concealed are complete and the rough electrical, plumbing, heating wires, pipes and ducts are approved.”
bkarchitect | 8 years and 4 months ago
As a DOB requirement, all the Special & Progress Inspections required should be listed on the drawings, Welding being one of them. The contractor is responsible for alerting the responsible party that he is ready for the Welding inspection before closing up the walls. No different than Rough Plumbing or Firestopping. Contractor will not get TCO or CofO without these inspections signed off. And if you don’t have TCO / CofO you might be in trouble if the contractor only has retainage left to bill.
emmajacob | 8 years and 4 months ago
@bkarchitect – We have no CO because it’s a 2-fam. And yes, only retainage left to bill. We basically had to play nice with our contractors to get them to finish everything else on the job, so this is basically the only thing outstanding, except for a few punchlist items. We’re sort of at a standstill.