[Robinette]

Hi my name is Toni and I am currently going to court for working without a contractor license and not pulling permits on a bathroom remodel that I helped a friend out. He lives out of state and is renting his home. The renters are the one who called the job in. There is no complaints about the work I've done. No money was exchanged for the work. Everything was pull and replace. The only problem is they think I did electrical work. The only thing done that even comes close is moving a light up witch my Property maintenace license covers. My Tile license is not active right now, witch is why I was doing most of the work for nothing. My husband who only received the checks in his name cause he had the bank account to cash the check so we can buy the materials. I am abloe to show were all the money went. Any way they are offering to drop the case if I get my electrical license or they will gave me a year probation. I would love to get my electrical license but i no nothing about electricity. I'm taking it to trail. Do you think I got a case. If anybody knows anything that could help me please let me know. Thank You.

 

[Robinette]

Please

 

[Chris Johnson]

Everything you wrote shows you are promoting the underground economy and trying to skirt the rules the rest of us play by.

Mechanical trades are licensed for a reason - health and safety being one reason and a really important one.

Most areas will let you work on your own mechanicals on your own house and thats it, you broke the law and got caught, pay the piper.

I'm baffled as to what you think you can get out this?

In layman's terms, what you wrote was you have an expired tile license and renovated a bathroom and part of it was moving electrical. So you have an expired driver's license for a car, someone asked you to drive a commercial vehicle and in the meantime you moved a motorcycle at the same time, the prosecutor is only interested in giving you the ticket for the motorcycle, but if you go get that license he will drop the charges, if not, he is going to make an example out of you.

You know nothing about the motorcycle and have no interest in learning about the motorcycle, so take your lumps and never touch a motorcycle again.

 

[Robinette]

Thank you for your response. I see were you are coming from. The thing is for what i have done i should be fined not but on probation plus all the fines, that's just wrong. Do you really think a person should be punished like that for trying to get working again.

 

[Robinette]

I didn't remove any electrical I only moved the light fixture up. Like I said I have a property maintenance license.

 

[Chris Johnson]

Yes I do

There is a reason these licenses are in place. You admitted you no nothing about electrical but chose to touch it, in someone else's house, how do you know you didn't do something wrong? How do you know the house won't catch on fire, burn down and the occupants perish?

I'm not a licensed electrician, I will touch it on my house, but not on someone else's.
I'm not licensed to drive a motorcycle, I stay off them

If you came here looking for sympathy…it doesn't happen when you do things like this

 

[Robinette]

All the time I put in volunteering for Habitat for humanity doing all trades should I be punished for that as well.

 

[Robinette]

yes i don't know much about electrical work. I did not touch any wires I only moved the fixture up. Their was plenty of room for the wires to move. I did not need to do anything with the electric except turned off the main while I moved the light up. I took all safety precautions. I still feel like I'm being punished for something I didn't do. If I did brake some kind of construction law fine me keep me off the job till everything is legal don't take my rights away and I will fight for those rights. I thought this was a right to work state.

 

[totes]

There has to be more to the story..
Why would the renters report you to the contractors board for improving the bathroom?
Most tenants would be pleased with new bathroom fixtures, and would not care much if you moved a wall switch up a few inches.
Was there an existing electrical problem or one post remodel?

 

[Chris Johnson]

Habitat for Humanity will have licensed MEP on site doing the work and/or supervising the work in those fields.

The laws are in place for a reason, you feel you are above the law. If you don't like the laws, 2 options, work to get it changed or move to a place where you can be a cowboy.

You talk about your rights, this is not a constitutional issue. It is a law that has been put in place to protect people.

 

[jproffer]

I thought this was a right to work state.

Are you serious?

Living in a RTW state doesn't mean you can go into someone else's home and do things that require a license. RTW has to do with being forced to join a union...or not.

Even if you had permission from your friend, it doesn't matter...it wasn't their place to give you permission. Speaking as a landlord, I'd throw the book at you if you remodeled any part of MY house. Whether or not you worked on the electrical system wouldn't matter.

You can't (and your friend can't either) go ripping someone else's house apart, even if it turned out better. The LL could make you put it back the way you found it. And if it was very out-dated at all, that's pretty much impossible...so they could make you pay the estimated cost of what it would (theoretically) cost to put it back the way it was.

So since they're not, you'd be well advised to take whatever lumps you have coming and shut up about the rest.

Take away your rights?? You never HAD the right to do ANY of what you did. Contrary to popular opinion a tenant does NOT have the right to make major changes to the house they live in. If you want to live in a newly remodeled home, go BUY one.

 

[Chris Johnson]

And just to let you know, it's always the unlicensed ones complaining about all these issues not being fair, no one should stop you from making a living, feeding your family, paying your bills, etc, etc.

Don't believe me? Get a license and play by the rules, see how pissed off you get when someone like yourself starts doing jobs they have no license or qualifications for.

 

[Robinette]

The renter turned me in cause she was a jealous wife. I am a female in her house well she was at work and her husband was home. She has been threatening the owner for many of reasons witch is why i helped him out in the first place.

 

[Robinette]

I have had my license. I was licensed for 7 years. I would never wish something like this on anyone. I just don't have my electrical license.

 

[Robinette]

there was no electrical problems it started out with the renters complaining about mildew and turned into helping him pull and replace the shower.

 

[jproffer]

Doesn't matter what the problem was. If you RENT a home and there are problems (like mildew/mold) then you tell the owner of the home. If you're not satisfied with those results, then you go to the next step.

There's a process to dealing with problems in a rented property.......this wasn't it.

 

[Robinette]

The renters have no complaints about the job. In fact their happy about the work is done,

 

[Chris Johnson]

Your thick skulled aren't you? You had a license, currently you don't

If you lose your drivers license and keep driving and get pulled over for speeding, do you tell the cop I had a license?

 

[jproffer]

The renters have no complaints about the job. In fact their happy about the work is done,

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE RENTERS THINK.

Don't you get that??

It's property OWNED by someone else. They had no right to remodel it, and therefore YOU had no right to remodel it. Even if it didn't require a license, you shouldn't have done it. The fact that it DID require a license (some of it) just compounds your problems.

If you're looking for approval in doing this, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. The vast majority of people here do things legitimately. They don't appreciate when someone thinks they can just do whatever they want.

Past tense licenses mean nothing.....NOTHING. If you had a dog, and walked it every evening...and then the dog died...would you still walk around town carrying a leash??

 

[Robinette]

I now understand that there is a difference between doing things in a home you own and doing things in a rental. I was just helping out a friend fine me red tag the job. I didn't deserve to be arrested and put on trail. I have passed Florida's contractor exam my license would be active if it didn't cost so much money. I didn't go in to someones house blind sided and started working I know what I'm doing. I didn't know helping someone out such a crime. I'm real scared for my children's future if theirs alot of people who think this way.