All Forum Posts by: Juliano Pereira

Originally posted by @Thomas Hickey:

Mike Hanneman

So as the homeowner in a flip you can act as the GC and pull all necessary permits?

 Straight from Bostons building Inspectional Service Department (goole is your best friend!)

- Any Home Owner performing work for which a building permit is required shall be
exempt from the licensing provisions of 780 CMR; (Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Building Code) provided that if a Home Owner engages a person(s) for hire to do such work, that such Home Owner shall act as supervisor. This exception shall not apply to the field erection of a manufactured building. For the purposes of this
exemption a “Homeowner” is defined as follows: Person(s) who owns a parcel of land on which he/she resides or intends to reside on which there is, or is intended to be, a one or two family dwelling, attached or detached structures accessory to such use and/or farm structures. A person constructs more than one home in a two- year period shall not be considered a homeowner.

The undersigned “homeowner” assumes responsibility for compliance with the City of Boston Building and Structures Division minimum inspection procedures and requirements and that he/she will comply with said procedures and requirements, as noted on the back of the Building Card.

“OWNERS PULLING THEIR PERMIT OR HAVING WORK PERFORMED BY UNREGISTERED CONTRACTORS FOR APPLICABLE HOME IMPROVEMENT WORK DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE ARBITRATION PROGRAM OR GUARANTY FUND UNDER MGLc 142A” 

I hope this answers your question.

JP

There are "numerous" variables to this question. It's impossible to "guesstimate" an install cost without a detailed information, such as: • what is this porch supporting (I.e. second level, second floor deck etc.) • footings: are they needed? • what finish are you going for? • Who is performing this work (I.e. Contractor or is this a diy project) • is the roof of this deck (if it has one) pitching downward? If so, it will require it to be jacked up. The questions here are endless. Given that there are to many variables to your question, it is IMPOSSIBLE to answer. Please provide more details or a few detailed pictures. Best of luck to you... JP

Eric - Tough deal with your purchase. To me, your builder did shoddy work, but fortunately for you there's a warranty in place. I used to be a contractor and have years of experience fixing screw ups from other GC's. If the squeaky floors in your second level bother you so much that you want to have it fixed, the only way around this would be for you (home owner) to pick up the flooring so the builder can come in to repair subfloor. He should not be responsible for the hardwood removal given that this was installed after the fact by the homeowner (you.) However, there are alternative ways to go about repairing a squeaky floor "without" removing all floor boards. This is best left to the professionals and not a weekend warrior. I would approach the builder and start off by advising him on your issue and that this would have never been done had you known that the floor boards were not secured properly. Hopefully the both of you could come to some kind of an understanding. Best of luck to you. JP

Not knowing your location, the costs will will vary greatly. I used to be a contractor in the Boston area years back. The amount of work listed for the cost provided does not add up. Also, it is impossible to give a definitive answer as your quote is very basic with not much of a breakdown. Based on the amount of work listed on the quote (not knowing any specific details of the house), this project is upwards of $10k + all day! Numerous factors come into play when evaluating a property for repairs. My advice is to work on your roller decks. Evaluate all tradesmen based on knowledge, yrs in business and reputation. REPUTATION is king! Make sure to ask for "at least" 3 referrals from the last 6 months. 6 months because this should give you an idea as to how busy they are/ have been (I.e company or individual you are interviewing) Any reputable tradesmen (or woman) should and will have numerous references upon request. Heck, they will even go out of their way to provide them to you. References are key for finding the perfect fit for your current and future projects/repairs. Good luck ... JP