Qmerit install - $338 for "Permitting"

[jefrank]

My permit fees were $250 in Michigan when I paid out of pocket for my Autel charger to be installed... I also thought that it was high, but not enough to fight over given the time it would take me to learn what was required and file for the permit on my own.

Sponsored

 

[chl]

The inspection fee seems "reasonable" - I paid our county $247 plus a $6 transaction fee for using a cc, for an electrical permit and inspection. I got the permit myself and the inspector came within a week and spent 1/2 hour or so.

Right now as part of promoting EVs, our county will inspect EVSE's for free until Oct 31, 2025.

 

[hturnerfamily]

a permit is also not simply a piece of paper to pay a 'tax' for remodeling or similar work,
but entails many people working on your behalf to stay within the rules, codes, laws, etc.,
as well as provide for competent work layout/installation/equipment...

- an 'engineer' to look over the work and make sure it is legit, legal, up to code, and within ordinances

- an onsite 'inspector' to view the work, first hand, to make sure it is within the engineering and permit scope, with sometimes 'multiple' trips to the site...

- office workers to process the permit, get it to the right department, and handle payments, etc., and customer service to handle 'complaints' from contractors and homeowners, of course!


no, none of us 'like' the process, or the requirement, but, I suppose we can all appreciate why these things are in place, even if it seems overly costly for such 'simple' work. Yes, it is also VERY different, process and price wise, across the country. Some places actually have NO permit requirements.

I've been there, done that.

In a rural area, I simply called the utility to come hook up my new pole, with newly DIY installed Main Panel and weatherhead... it was done the next day.

In another county, next door, in another rural area, I had no less than 3 permits, with two different inspectors, a decline, and a final 'o.k.' to my DIY pole, main panel, and weatherhead... and it took over a week, and certainly a few dollars. : /

 

[DaveInSA]

Yes it is excessive. Here the permit itself is $65. Most electricians around here will charge around $145 for it.
Through qmerit I've also been quoted $275-300.

I'm waiting for the latest quote via qmerit from a new electrician after the last one flaked out. After weeks of waiting after accepting the quote they admitted they hadn't even started on getting registered in my city to be able to request a permit, and that it would be another 2-4 weeks before the charger is installed.

If this one doesn't go well I'm just hiring a local electrician. They quoted me $600 total including labor, parts, and permitting.

 

[Zprime29]

Tucson permit fee 2 years ago through Qmerit was $200 for me. I was annoyed that it wasn't included in the original estimate but I guess it makes sense. They [Qmerit] didn't know what the permit fee would be until the job was assigned to the local contractor.

 

[Henry Ford]

Mine was installed 9-2-25. My final cost was $0.00.

It's one of the great things about living in rural Kentucky. We "permit" as little as possible because we're Americans.

They sent two electricians who were here for 3.5 hours. Used 30 feet of conduit, wire, etc. Took some pictures of installation, asked me to sign off on it, and they were out the door by lunch.

Your installer asked me to send you the photos.

 

[flyct]

Your installer asked me to send you the photos.

Probably it exceeds Code in Kentucky. 🥸

One of my coworkers moved to the hills of Kentucky. True story. He wanted to build a house. He told me that met with the contractor at a restaurant and the “contractor” drew the final house plans on a napkin. The house got built.

 

[chl]

My permit fees were $250 in Michigan when I paid out of pocket for my Autel charger to be installed... I also thought that it was high, but not enough to fight over given the time it would take me to learn what was required and file for the permit on my own.

Back in 2019, I spend quite a bit of time figuring out what exactly they wanted where on their paper forms to get my wired backyard shed permitted and inspected. Their forms were somewhat obtuse.

The electrician who had done the work in 1999 had not pulled a permit, or at least the county did not have any record of it and neither did the company he worked for. A neighbor had called the county about the shed when she moved into the house next door 20 years later - everything was legit except there was no electrical permit on record. Always something, eh?

I looked up the state building code and it had some ambiguous language about what required a permit and what didn't, seemed to me a backyard shed might not require a permit, so I considered going to court about it, but in the end I decided it would take more time and effort to do that than just paying the fee and getting the permit/inspection.

Like they say, "you can't fight city hall" (or at least it's not worth it much of the time).

 

[WXman]

Your installer asked me to send you the photos.

The subcontractor that my home builder used actually did that.

My Qmerit subcontractor did a very professional looking job.

Sponsored