Topic: building with no permits

User: Winning DUH, Location: Midwest

Asked on: Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 11:23 am EDT
Answered on: Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 3:54 am EDT

Question: My question is:?what are the consequences of doing a 6000 sqft, total gut, commercial remodel, everything new except the electrical service, without any permits!!???Here is some back ground:?Friend? of the family. It is an existing business of 20 years. Insurance agency. Now they want to move to a new location. About fifty work stations, server room, new space is ~6000sqft. The space is located in a building from the 1970?s with five other commercial tenets. The new space is being fed from an old (OLD) FPE main distribution panel. Each tenet space has two- 100amp panels and one sixty amp panel. HVAC is by the building and not part of this project.I took an amp meter over to the existing location (3phase) to check out the load during normal business hours. So when they are all moved into the new location (single phase) each of the two- 100amp panels will have 70amps per phase, and that?s before space heaters and whatever new office equipment comes with the move. So the service is overloaded from the get go.The new 6000sqft space was an office, then a church, then office again, and then different office again. So tons of violations and shoddy looking work, no exit signs, no fire alarm, or sprinklers.I am looking for consequences in regards to fines or penalties on my electrical license. What really happens if you get caught doing a 6000sqft job with no drawings, load calculations, or permits?If I don?t get caught in the act of doing the work, what are the consequences of overloading the electrical service later, say a year from now? By this I mean overloading the FPE ? MDP, interruption of daily business operations, cost of fixing/replacing the MDP, and upsetting the other tenets. Not to mention applying for that permit and trying to explain all the new work that happened in the space.To the Electrical Inspectors or Fire Marshalls in the crowd:This guy is going to need an occupancy permit. What does it look like to you, when you do a walk through on a space that has (OBVIOUSLY) been renovated? Then the new tenant says ?oh ya, that?s how it was when we moved in???.?Also the personal liability to me, what about that? If I am doing ?cash? work and somebody gets hurt on the job or later something burns and the job went down outside of the protection of my corporation, who pays? Me personally, my personal house, my personal assets? No money paid in to the corporations bank account means no protection on workman?s comp/business liability? yes/no?Last but not least, the job is to going from start to finish in one month. The business must move out of the existing space by a certain date. The renovation construction work in the new space can?t start any earlier than 30 days due to the businesses leases. What could go wrong here?What happens if the tenet gets busted doing work with no permit half way through the job? Say the job get?s shut down, then goes in for permits, all the wasted time. All that has a monetary cost to the business and also would be very disruptive.I am looking for reasons why doing work with no permits is a bad idea.That?s a big deal moving a functioning business.What are all the liabilities associated with doing work with no permits?