Just realized my contractor's permit advice was wrong after talking to a city inspector

Was chatting with a city inspector named Mike at the permit office yesterday while waiting on a pickup. Mentioned my contractor told me I could skip the structural review for a wall removal since it wasn't load bearing. Mike laughed and said that's the kind of bad advice that gets people fined and red-tagged here in ABQ. He told me to always get a second opinion from the city before demo starts. Anyone else had a contractor give them bad info on permits?

2 comments

2 Comments

rubyshah1mo ago

Had the same thing happen with a patio cover last year. My contractor swore up and down I didn't need a permit because it was under 200 square feet. Found out later from a county inspector that Albuquerque actually requires permits for anything permanent, no matter the size. Ended up paying double because I had to tear it down and start over with the right inspections. A good rule is to call the city's permit office yourself before anyone touches your house. They're usually happy to answer questions for free. You can even email them pictures and get a written response to cover yourself. Saved me a headache since then.

the_nathan1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, you called the city yourself? That's the move right there. I've seen enough guys try to dodge permits to know better, and honestly it's not worth the risk. The emailed photo trick is gold too - I've done that with a retaining wall and got a yes/no in writing within a couple days. Saves you from having to argue with the contractor later when he says "oh I've been doing this 20 years, we don't need that.