Contractors, when is a permitted project considered complete?

[Jennifer Ward]

Contractors, if a scope requests a permit, in this case for a panel upgrade ....in your opinion, is the project considered complete when the actual work is done for the panel upgrade or when it has passed final inspection?

Also, at what point do you collect final payment, when the actual work is done or once it passes the permit's final inspection?

[Aaron McGinnis]

Our contract (which is for large, multi-faceted projects) says that final payment is due upon substantial completion.

We define substantial completion in a few different ways...

* The final building inspection has been passed (This is a big one, and we are pretty strict about it)

* The space is ready for its intended use with no work being required that is ongoing or requiring of regular access (This keeps someone from denying us payment over a single door knob or a minor paint touch up or something like that)

* In instances where the homeowner has moved out of the space, re-occupation may constitute substantial completion (This is more for when we deal with homeowners. In a full renovation of a house, my view is that if it is good enough for you to decide to live in, it's good enough for me to get paid... in most cases)

* In instances where the house will be for sale, the sale of the house shall constitute substantial completion (This prevents us from trying to get payment out of someone who no longer owns the house... never had this happen, but I'm paranoid about it)

When we deal with subcontractors, and their work has to be inspected, I'm pretty strict that they do not get paid until they have passed their final inspection. The only time I fudge that is when it's a trade I've worked with for a long time and I held THEM up... like an electrician who can't finish because I didn't have a light fixture ready for them or something like that.