Please help an old Disabled Engineer!

Well, the sharp gal at the building department was right. I sent pictures of our attic, roof, my crude one-line plans, schematics, etc. and some money to the PE she suggested in Minnesota. Sure enough, he drew up REAL PLANS including panel placement and BOM, gave the plans the greenlight, and he and another (licensed in Nevada PE) STAMPED the plans !!
Now all I have to do is submit them to Clark County. He says it's 100% they will issue a permit. He has over 1800 approved jobs to his credit including 14 in Nevada. The majority of the jobs to DIY'ers, some to his own company.

Now that everything is greenlighted, all you people out there...anyone want to help me on the roof? No drilling at all (or glue) will be necessary. The PE made sure of that. Yes, wind, seismic, snow loads taken into account. All we have to do is follow the plans.

And I will be sure to post NEGATIVE reviews to ALL of the LAZY PE and supposed contractors engineers out here in Las Vegas who whould not give me the time of day. (Out of their 'COMFORT ZONE') Yeah, right. Take your meter collars and ring your necks with them!

This is a 'partial' list of the naysayers. I did not list any of the ones who were just too lazy to even answer.

Joseph Werdowatz and Associates
Las Vegas Civil Engineers
National Roofing Partners

I had even asked guys I saw on local install jobs if they wanted side work...Oh Heck yeah was the initial reaction...then crickets. REALLY! I'm not that ugly. Just OLD!


So, again, I'm asking for ROOF HELP. 35 PANEL PLACEMENT and install ONLY. Unistrut is the major part in the BOM. Run 3 circuits down the only hole there will be (2 circuits of 7 in series x 2 bank, 1 circuit of 7 in series) Link all the grounds down to my brand new ground rods. My roof is new and strong. So, I need 2 people. Acting as independent contractors.
Also, anyone who has grand ideas on how to get the panels and Unistrut to the roof without a crane or forklift, maybe that takes 3 guys...so be it.

Thanks all!

timselectric said:

I have no idea about the chicken or the egg.

But my previous statement is a fact.
And you can't debate facts. No matter what perspective you have.
Looking at something differently, doesn't change what it is. It only changes what you see.

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You're not woke enough

(I agree with you btw - this whole facts be damned perspective these days is friggin' bonkers and stupid.)

Penny Bonded Neutral said:

Sure enough, he drew up REAL PLANS including panel placement and BOM, gave the plans the greenlight, and he and another (licensed in Nevada PE) STAMPED the plans !!

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Congrats! That ring collar dude did not want this job.

If Nevada is like California, an appropriately licensed contractor can get a permit, or a homeowner can get a permit to do the work by himself and/or his employees (not for a contractor).

If Nevada is like California, you are totally liable for anyone injured on the job, unless there is workers compensation insurance.
If you hire a contractor and he brings employees but doesn't have worker's compensation insurance, you are liable. To protect yourself, you have to ask to have his insurance company send you confirmation of coverage before letting them work.
If you hire employees yourself, you buy worker's compensation yourself.

You are also required to jump through all sorts of authorized to work, income tax, social security tax, etc. stuff. But those are less important. What is most important is worker's compensation insurance because without it you can lose everything you own.

Penny Bonded Neutral said:

So, again, I'm asking for ROOF HELP.

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If I weren't in Thailand, I'd take you up on this. I've done a lot of construction work (in multiple countries), including roofing and electrical/house wiring type work, and am quite comfortable with such work. I've also done satellite dish installations on roofs. BUT....I'm on the other side of the planet.

I sure hope you find someone nearby willing to help you out.

OK. There is 'new news.'

In the last 4 and a half months, I've been ripped off twice.

Rip off Guy #1. Quoting me $1800.00, he got me to give him half down. With that half down, all he did was get the panels to the roof. They were not even 'strapped down' One of the panels did a frisbee down to the neighbors back yard. Yikes! His name is Mitch Costello.
Phone number 702-272-5648 Total Rip-Off $500.00 ($900 minus $25.00 an hour for 4 men for 4 hours)

Rip off Guy #2. Paid by the hour kind of guy (+ helper). By this time, the Unistrut and the balance of the BOM had arrived. They got the materials to the roof. They 'started' the install. They worked 4 or 5 days (from 5 AM until 10 AM) He appealed to my 'sensitive' side and got me to advance fund his wife's trip to Texas for her mother's funeral. (Yes, she did pass, I checked) Yeah, you guessed correctly. After the 'funding', we got crickets in return. His name is Joshua Gregory. Lives in that scumbag motel at 1500 E Fremont.
Phone number 903-477-0051 Total Rip-Off $853.00

Current Guy. Has not ripped me off yet. BUT! He has a hard time reading, interpreting, and implementing blue-print/plans. Example: Installing 4 panels 6 inches away from the house edge instead of 3 feet. (Fire setback) Good news is, the panels he has installed work.

I'll let you know the next results!

Thanks, all.

Penny Bonded Neutral said:

OK. There is 'new news.'

In the last 4 and a half months, I've been ripped off twice.

Rip off Guy #1. Quoting me $1800.00, he got me to give him half down. With that half down, all he did was get the panels to the roof. They were not even 'strapped down' One of the panels did a frisbee down to the neighbors back yard. Yikes! His name is Mitch Costello.
Phone number 702-272-5648 Total Rip-Off $500.00 ($900 minus $25.00 an hour for 4 men for 4 hours)

Rip off Guy #2. Paid by the hour kind of guy (+ helper). By this time, the Unistrut and the balance of the BOM had arrived. They got the materials to the roof. They 'started' the install. They worked 4 or 5 days (from 5 AM until 10 AM) He appealed to my 'sensitive' side and got me to advance fund his wife's trip to Texas for her mother's funeral. (Yes, she did pass, I checked) Yeah, you guessed correctly. After the 'funding', we got crickets in return. His name is Joshua Gregory. Lives in that scumbag motel at 1500 E Fremont.
Phone number 903-477-0051 Total Rip-Off $853.00

Current Guy. Has not ripped me off yet. BUT! He has a hard time reading, interpreting, and implementing blue-print/plans. Example: Installing 4 panels 6 inches away from the house edge instead of 3 feet. (Fire setback) Good news is, the panels he has installed work.

I'll let you know the next results!

Thanks, all.

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I'm very sorry to hear this. The world isn't what it used to be in terms of hiring honest labor. My guess is that if you want good work, you would have better odds finding someone over 50 to do it. The younger generation just does not have much of a work ethic at all by comparison to the older folk.

Between your earlier post and today's, I've successfully installed twelve 580-watt LONGi panels atop a concrete-tile roof, and the system is running beautifully, with the entire house on it--off-grid (there is no utility option in that locality). If I were anywhere near you, I would certainly be willing to help you out--and I assure you it would be honest work. But I'm in Thailand, with no trip to America even on the horizon.

I do wish someone here who is nearer to you could be found to help you. Let's hope your next update is more favorable.

That's so sad.
I guess you don't have any fraud police you can report it to. Then I guess it's "buyer beware" which is not great as we get older and less capable.
I hope there's a special place in hell for people that rip off old people.

In California, contractors may only take $1000 up front before beginning work, so $900 complies.
And payment only as work progresses (so the practice is to front-load the contract with expensive tear-out.)
They must give their license number, which you can look up to see if it is current.
And if they have worker's compensation insurance, or declare they have no employees.

They also have a bond, which you can confirm is in force. About $15,000 and a claim can be made against that if they owe you money. If he is licensed, make a report.

Likely similar in Nevada.

Reading the beginning of the thread, I was going to suggest contracting for an installed string inverter system, one that uses RSD compatible with the inverter you want to use. After system is complete with rooftop work done and commissioned, disconnect the string inverter and connect to your system, which you will assemble at ground level. (Maybe you could even contract for the system but have them "delete" their inverter.) But a string inverter itself is only $1k to $3k of the total.

Norwasian said:

I'm very sorry to hear this. The world isn't what it used to be in terms of hiring honest labor. My guess is that if you want good work, you would have better odds finding someone over 50 to do it. The younger generation just does not have much of a work ethic at all by comparison to the older folk.

Between your earlier post and today's, I've successfully installed twelve 580-watt LONGi panels atop a concrete-tile roof, and the system is running beautifully, with the entire house on it--off-grid (there is no utility option in that locality). If I were anywhere near you, I would certainly be willing to help you out--and I assure you it would be honest work. But I'm in Thailand, with no trip to America even on the horizon.

I do wish someone here who is nearer to you could be found to help you. Let's hope your next update is more favorable.

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Don't think generations has anything to do with it I'm not 40 yet but I started work in the local outside market at a very early age, I would get up at 5:30 help setup the market stall go home bathe then goto school then return to the market help dissemble then go home and likely work/tinker on my own projects. When I left school I started a apprenticeship where all the young guys would do all the work and the so called good generation over 50 now would do nothing and sadly not even take on the responsibility of teaching us anything. As soon as I had my qualifications I promised myself I would never work for anyone again as the thought of having a boss who does nothing in the vocational industry is sickening.

Work effort is not generational, it's upbringing and that's down to the 50+ also.

Sorry OP wish I could help but I also I'm also in Thailand, sorry to inform you but sadly anyone decent at work who can work to a high standard are probably so busy they have to schedule a job months/years ahead. Anyone short notice is able to work for two reasons a job has been cancelled and nothing else lined up or they just haven't got any work on because no one recommends them.

ThaiTaffy said:

it's upbringing

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That's exactly why the 50+ have an edge--they were brought up by parents whose parents or families went through the Great Depression. I've heard the stories of those days. The younger generation today has forgotten that era.

I do agree somewhat with your thoughts on the "short notice" work--that's one possible explanation. Let's just hope the OP is able to find better help.

The Irony of it all!
Just some info, the first ripoff guy was indeed over 50...

Even some more info, in the past I have used Las Vegas Handymen who have done excellent work. You know, replace doors, plumbing, painting, stucco, roofing, etc. None of those 'good guys' would consider doing the Solar Panel work. Yes, I do agree that the 'in demand' people may need time to schedule, but my experience has been they never seem to need more than 2 weeks notice for a job. Case in point, I bought a digital lock from Amazon and scheduled with them to have it installed. (When they still did that kind of thing, before Covid) The guy that came out was fantastic! While he was here doing the lock, I asked him about 'handyman' type of stuff. He gladly accepted. Especially when Covid came and he lost all his Amazon business. He did lots of stuff, TV antenna, AC ducting, landscaping, and more, but would NOT DO ANY SOLAR! But out of all those jobs, he never took more than 2 weeks to get to me.

Go figure.

In Nevada, licensed contractors can only demand up to 10% down payment. They cannot legally ask for more. But I think you are not hiring licensed contractors, so throw all that out the window. I'm in Las Vegas and I've also been ripped off. It was by someone who claimed to be licensed but was using someone else's license without their knowledge. If you are not using licensed people, you need to supervise them closely. Make sure they do the job right and to the specs that you asked for. And if they need money, work it out so that they get paid day by day. Work one day, get paid at the end of the day. Give them cash. Unlicensed people love cash. They'll probably go to a casino at the end of the day to chill with some beers and gamble it all away. If something goes wrong during the work or in the future, you have no claim on anything since you knew they are unlicensed.

Penny Bonded Neutral said:

The Irony of it all!
Just some info, the first ripoff guy was indeed over 50...

Even some more info, in the past I have used Las Vegas Handymen who have done excellent work. You know, replace doors, plumbing, painting, stucco, roofing, etc. None of those 'good guys' would consider doing the Solar Panel work. Yes, I do agree that the 'in demand' people may need time to schedule, but my experience has been they never seem to need more than 2 weeks notice for a job. Case in point, I bought a digital lock from Amazon and scheduled with them to have it installed. (When they still did that kind of thing, before Covid) The guy that came out was fantastic! While he was here doing the lock, I asked him about 'handyman' type of stuff. He gladly accepted. Especially when Covid came and he lost all his Amazon business. He did lots of stuff, TV antenna, AC ducting, landscaping, and more, but would NOT DO ANY SOLAR! But out of all those jobs, he never took more than 2 weeks to get to me.

Go figure.

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I'm guessing your handyman guy wanted to stay under the radar of any potential regulators. Putting up solar panels is very visible. Putting up a TV antenna, indoor wiring, landscaping, etc. would not attract much attention from anyone. If you don't mind sharing your handyman, I can probably use someone to do some landscaping. PM me if you can share his info with me.