How Permits Are Supposed to Work
When a roofing job needs a permit, a licensed contractor pulls it under his own license. His name, his license number, his responsibility. The city knows who did the work, the inspection gets done, and if something goes wrong, the accountability points at him. That is how it is supposed to work, and that is how we do it on every GAX job that calls for one. In the last few months alone we have pulled permits in Eastvale, Westminster, Upland, Huntington Beach, and Jurupa Valley, and passed every inspection that followed.
The Move to Watch For
Some contractors will hand YOU the permit paperwork and ask you to sign it as an owner-builder. Sounds harmless. It is not. An owner-builder permit tells the city that you, the homeowner, are building this roof yourself. The legal responsibility for the work just moved from the contractor to you. If the work fails inspection, that is your problem now. If a worker gets hurt on your roof, you just became a lot more interesting to lawyers.
Why They Do It
Two reasons, and they are both bad. Either he does not have a license to pull the permit with, or he does not want the scrutiny that comes with pulling one, because permits get verified against things like workers compensation coverage. Some will just tell you they pulled the permit and quietly never do it, pocketing the difference.
The Five Minute Fix
Ask for the contractor's license number and look it up free at the CSLB website. Ask who is pulling the permit and under whose license. And if anyone slides owner-builder paperwork across your kitchen table for a roof they are supposedly building, show them the door.
We are GAX Roofing, California C39 license #1135657. We pull our own permits, and we like city inspectors on our roofs. It keeps everyone honest, including us.