In the Field · Part 4
Case: the "customer doesn't want a permit" job
A homeowner replacing a water heater asks the plumber to skip the permit: it costs money, the inspector is a hassle, and the old toilets would have to be replaced at final under SB 407. The plumber agrees, does a clean job for cash, and hears nothing for three years. Then the house sells, the buyer's inspector reads the heater's date code against the permit history, the seller's disclosure statement names the plumber, and the buyer's complaint to CSLB lands on a license that had never had one. This case follows the conversation, the three-year quiet, the complaint, the citation under section 7110, and the version of the same conversation where the plumber kept the customer and the license.
What the full lesson covers
- There is no "customer's choice" about a permit. CPC 104.1 puts the duty on the person doing the work, and B&P 7110 makes a licensed contractor's willful disregard of permit laws cause for discipline. The customer's wish is not a defense.
- Unpermitted work surfaces at sale: the transfer disclosure, the buyer's inspector, the permit history search, and the date code on the heater. Three years of silence is the normal delay, not proof of safety.
- The complaint is about the paper, not the work: the investigator cited the missing permit, the missing contract, and the payment ahead of the work, and never questioned the installation.
- The sentence that keeps the customer: "I pull a permit on every heater; it protects you at sale and it protects me. It's in the price. If the city requires the toilets at final, here is what that costs and here is a schedule."
- The plumber who says yes to "no permit" has also usually said yes to no contract, cash, and no release, and each of those is its own violation.
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More lessons in The Field: Method, Code, and Cases
- 1The diagnostic method: verify, isolate, cheapest test first, cause not symptom, the options ladder, document
- 2Permits: when one is required, what is exempt, pulling it online, the inspection sequence, what inspectors look for, and handling corrections
- 3Daily-use code: drainage slope, venting, water sizing, cleanouts, trap arms, and fixture units, with the section for each
- 4Gas piping in practice: sizing, CSST bonding, the pressure test, appliance connectors and shutoffs, sediment traps, and seismic shutoff valves
- 5Water heaters I: tank. Seismic strapping, the T&P discharge line, expansion tanks, sediment traps, pans, venting, and the garage rules
- 6Water heaters II: tankless and heat pump. Gas sizing, venting, condensate, the 2025 Energy Code direction, and where the gas-ban ordinances stand
- 7Sewer and drain I: the camera, the locator, hydro-jetting vs. cabling, and when each is the right tool
- 8Sewer and drain II: trenchless vs. open trench, whose lateral it is (it varies by city), backwater valves, and point-of-sale lateral ordinances
- 9Case: the hissing line. The meter test, the supply leak that fed the roots, the lateral to the city tap, and the contract and permit trail
- 10Leak detection: slab leaks, acoustic and pressure methods, thermal imaging, and repipe vs. reroute
- 11Low pressure: the PRV, galvanized pipe, and the sequence that finds which one it is
- 12Sewer gas: trap seals, trap primers, vents, and the sequence that finds the smell
- 13Water treatment: where softeners are restricted in California, filtration, pressure regulators, and thermal expansion
- 14Fixtures and conservation: CALGreen flow rates, SB 407 retrofit-on-alteration and disclosure-on-sale, 1.28 gpf, and the ADA basics a plumber needs
- 15Materials and methods: PEX vs. copper vs. CPVC, ABS vs. PVC (it is regional), cast iron, and the transitions that fail
- 16Commercial basics: grease interceptors, the backflow program, and the tester certification that opens a second line of work
- 17Cal/OSHA for a small shop: the IIPP every employer must have, heat illness prevention, trenching and the 5-foot permit, confined space, silica, and ladders
- 18Environmental rules: EPA lead-safe certification for any pre-1978 home, asbestos and transite pipe, and stormwater
- 19Job-site craft: sequencing with the other trades, protecting the home, and the punch list that ends the job
- 20Case: the water heater that failed inspection twice
- 21Case: the gas leak call. The protocol, and the walk-away
- 22Case: the "customer doesn't want a permit" jobYou are here
- 23Template: the job-site checklist, from the truck to the walk-through
- 24Template: the pre-inspection checklist by stage. Underground, rough, water heater final, gas, and trim
- 25Template: the Injury and Illness Prevention Program starter for a plumbing shop of one to five
- 26Template: the Heat Illness Prevention Plan for a plumbing shop, outdoor and indoor
- 27Template: the customer options sheet (good / better / best) with the cost band, the permit path, and the code trail on each rung