Long story, but here I go:
In September, I received an ordinance violation for parking on my yard. The city claims the gravel driveway installed by the previous seller was an unapproved surface. I started parking on the street since I had other things going on and I didn't want to deal with it immediately.
In December, I receive another ordinance violation for my driveway being an unapproved surface. The city reclassified my almost 100-year old house to a new build (based on extensive renovations) and said all new homes must have a paved driveway.
In December, I hire a contractor and pay him $3k (he tells me to assume $6k to $6.5k for the project and that he will provide a formal quote). This is where I was ignorant (first time home owner), and we didn't sign a contract. I moved to this town in 2023 and this contractor I would see almost weekly at local restaurants and breweries, and we would chat for hours sometimes. Wealth of knowledge on construction. He was well aware of the ordinance violations because we discussed and I emailed all of them to him. When I pay him the $3k, I tell him that I will send an email to code compliance saying that I am aware of the violations and I have hired a contractor and we will submit a permit request within 10 business days. I draft that message and send him a picture of it on my computer, his response was that it was "perfect." I email it to compliance and CC the contractor.
He tells me the new permit would be good for six months, so I don't go into it rushing anything. Plus, the weather turns into actual winter. In February, I text him for an update and he says he has a few roofs to complete before starting the driveway. Fast forward to April, and I get a summons from the city for the ordinance violations captured in February and March. Turns out the contractor never submitted the permit. The summons were in my partner's name and she gets very nervous, so we hire a lawyer. That's $2.5k. The contractor scrambles at the last minute (as in 1-2 days before the hearing, because the city only gave us 8 business days notice) to get the violations dismissed, but the city attorney stops talking to him after we hire a lawyer the day before the hearing. To this day, he thinks he could have gotten it dismissed. The contractor then gets permit submitted in early May.
Work begins on the driveway, and we plan to do concrete strips with charcoal gravel in between (contractor says covered in the permit). A bunch of work is done to dig out and frame the concrete strips. We submit for inspection.
My parter then gets a second summons to court for similar violations captured in April. Court says they cannot be combined since they were already in progress. Lawyer charges another $1.5k for representation on these. Contractor essentially takes no responsibility for any of these ordinance issues, and tries to avoid me for weeks.
The inspector knocks on my door and said the permit did not include a drawing and that even though it was given, by the city, it is out of compliance because you cannot have just gravel in the middle (this is honestly laughable given the state of other grand-fathered driveways on my block). Contractor is now saying the plan all along was to build the primary strips, then go back and dig out the in between spaces, add rebar, pour a second time, and leave an indentation for the gravel. We had discussed this option months back, but I thought if that was the real plan, the surface prep would have been done all at once and the pour all at once as well.
I was laid off last month, and my concern is now that he will add a "Change Order" to the work and try to charge a few $k more. One reason I have been this patient to even let them start and continue the work is because his guys do really good work. I have no doubt the construction of their projects are done well. The contractor himself though has lied or been dodgy several times about getting the permit submitted, providing quotes and estimates, and has not been transparent on final pricing.
In September, I received an ordinance violation for parking on my yard. The city claims the gravel driveway installed by the previous seller was an unapproved surface. I started parking on the street since I had other things going on and I didn't want to deal with it immediately.
In December, I receive another ordinance violation for my driveway being an unapproved surface. The city reclassified my almost 100-year old house to a new build (based on extensive renovations) and said all new homes must have a paved driveway.
In December, I hire a contractor and pay him $3k (he tells me to assume $6k to $6.5k for the project and that he will provide a formal quote). This is where I was ignorant (first time home owner), and we didn't sign a contract. I moved to this town in 2023 and this contractor I would see almost weekly at local restaurants and breweries, and we would chat for hours sometimes. Wealth of knowledge on construction. He was well aware of the ordinance violations because we discussed and I emailed all of them to him. When I pay him the $3k, I tell him that I will send an email to code compliance saying that I am aware of the violations and I have hired a contractor and we will submit a permit request within 10 business days. I draft that message and send him a picture of it on my computer, his response was that it was "perfect." I email it to compliance and CC the contractor.
He tells me the new permit would be good for six months, so I don't go into it rushing anything. Plus, the weather turns into actual winter. In February, I text him for an update and he says he has a few roofs to complete before starting the driveway. Fast forward to April, and I get a summons from the city for the ordinance violations captured in February and March. Turns out the contractor never submitted the permit. The summons were in my partner's name and she gets very nervous, so we hire a lawyer. That's $2.5k. The contractor scrambles at the last minute (as in 1-2 days before the hearing, because the city only gave us 8 business days notice) to get the violations dismissed, but the city attorney stops talking to him after we hire a lawyer the day before the hearing. To this day, he thinks he could have gotten it dismissed. The contractor then gets permit submitted in early May.
Work begins on the driveway, and we plan to do concrete strips with charcoal gravel in between (contractor says covered in the permit). A bunch of work is done to dig out and frame the concrete strips. We submit for inspection.
My parter then gets a second summons to court for similar violations captured in April. Court says they cannot be combined since they were already in progress. Lawyer charges another $1.5k for representation on these. Contractor essentially takes no responsibility for any of these ordinance issues, and tries to avoid me for weeks.
The inspector knocks on my door and said the permit did not include a drawing and that even though it was given, by the city, it is out of compliance because you cannot have just gravel in the middle (this is honestly laughable given the state of other grand-fathered driveways on my block). Contractor is now saying the plan all along was to build the primary strips, then go back and dig out the in between spaces, add rebar, pour a second time, and leave an indentation for the gravel. We had discussed this option months back, but I thought if that was the real plan, the surface prep would have been done all at once and the pour all at once as well.
I was laid off last month, and my concern is now that he will add a "Change Order" to the work and try to charge a few $k more. One reason I have been this patient to even let them start and continue the work is because his guys do really good work. I have no doubt the construction of their projects are done well. The contractor himself though has lied or been dodgy several times about getting the permit submitted, providing quotes and estimates, and has not been transparent on final pricing.
