How to hire and verify a bulkhead contractor around Mobile Bay

Check both state boards and your local office. Each takes a few minutes.

Sources: Home Builders Licensure Board; General Contractors Board.

The Home Builders Licensure Board's toll-free number is also its hotline for reporting unlicensed work. Home Builders Licensure Board

Local rules differ across the bay:

• Mobile requires every builder, contractor and subcontractor to keep a $10,000 license and permit bond on file with the city. Mobile building code ordinance
• Mobile's permitting division checks each contractor's local and state license. Build Mobile permitting page
• Fairhope licenses anyone working in its police jurisdiction and checks state licenses first. Fairhope contractor licensing
• Daphne wants the contractor's city business license with the permit application. Daphne permit checklist
• Satsuma licenses every contractor and adds the state license on contracts of $10,000 or more. Satsuma permit sheet
• Prichard wants a city business license for work under $50,000 and a state general contractor license above that. See the upper river guide for Satsuma and Prichard. Prichard inspections

A licensed home builder needs a valid written contract that carries the board license number. Code of Alabama 34-14A-7 The license number belongs on each contract, bid and proposal from a licensed general contractor. Code of Alabama 34-8-6

Most permit offices ask for the contract too. Mobile County wants a contract or signed estimate on letterhead. Mobile County permit checklist Dauphin Island requires a contract and a materials and labor cost list. Town permit page

You are, in the end. Mobile's code says responsibility for getting all permits stays with the owner or developer. Mobile City Code Mobile County makes the owner, installer and contractor jointly responsible for getting a permit. Mobile County code amendments

Ask a bidder to name the Corps, ADEM and State Lands approvals they expect, and who files them. The Mobile Bay permit map shows each step.

A contractor who skips the permit leaves the owner exposed. Fees multiply for work done without one.

• Mobile charges two times the permit fee on a first offense and three times on a second. By a fourth offense it is five times. Mobile fee ordinance
• Mobile County doubles the fee on a first offense, and counts offenses per calendar year. Mobile County fee schedule
• In Baldwin County the penalty can match the permit fees, capped at $5,000. Baldwin County fee schedule
• A Mobile permit is void if work has not begun in six months or is halted for 180 days. Mobile permit application

Ask to see the permit before work starts, and keep a copy.

Sometimes. State law exempts an owner who builds or improves a one- or two-family home on their own land for their own use and supervises all the work. If the home sells within a year of completion, the law presumes the work was for sale. Code of Alabama 34-14A-6

Mobile lets an owner who does the work pull a permit. The building official must find the owner competent, and the owner signs an affidavit. Mobile building code ordinance Fairhope lets owners attest that they do the work themselves. State law bars sale or lease of a new home for 12 months. Fairhope contractor licensing

A wall carries soil and water loads, so ask an engineer before you take this route.

• Residential home building without a license is a Class A misdemeanor. The board can fine up to $5,000 per violation, and the builder cannot sue to enforce the contract. Code of Alabama 34-14A-14
• Unlicensed general contracting is a Class A misdemeanor. Even an owner who weighs a bid from an unlicensed contractor commits a Class B misdemeanor. Code of Alabama 34-8-6

Check before you sign, not after.

Yes. Anyone who does work or supplies materials under a contract with the owner, contractor or subcontractor may file a lien against both the improvement and the lot. Employees and suppliers of subcontractors can claim only the unpaid balance owed to the contractor. A supplier who gave the owner advance written notice is an exception. Code of Alabama 35-11-210

Deadlines are short and run from the last work or material. A lien is lost unless it is filed at the county probate office in time. The limit is six months for an original contractor and 30 days for a day laborer. Anyone else has four months. Code of Alabama 35-11-215 Everyone but the original contractor must give the owner written notice before filing. Code of Alabama 35-11-218

With every payment, ask the contractor and main suppliers for a signed lien waiver.

Only an original homeowner can file a complaint with the Home Builders Licensure Board. The form must be signed and notarized, and filed within six years of completion. The process takes about 90 days, and the board cannot order a refund. Board consumer FAQ

The Homeowners' Recovery Fund caps payouts at $30,000 for one transaction and $90,000 for one licensee. A court judgment against a licensed builder comes first, and the board must get timely notice. Board recovery fund page

Check what your insurance covers before you rely on it. The insurance guide explains the limits.

1. Search the state board website for the contractor's license and record the number.
2. Check the local business license and, in Mobile, the bond on file.
3. Get at least two written bids that list price per foot and scope.
4. Confirm who files the Corps, ADEM and State Lands paperwork.
5. Ask for signed lien waivers with each payment.
6. Read the repair or replace guide to compare the bids to the real need.

Permit drawings must show mean high water. ADEM Form 166 When you are ready, send a request and a local marine contractor can call back.

• Which state license do you hold, and what is the number?
• Which wall type and height do you propose, and why does it fit this shore?
• Who prepares drawings and who files the Corps, ADEM and State Lands paperwork?
• Will you pull the local permit in your name?
• How are payments tied to finished work?

In Mobile, a contractor's truck must show the firm's name, address and phone on both sides. The letters must be at least 1.5 inches high. Mobile building code ordinance A firm that ignores that rule may ignore others.

Report unlicensed work to the Home Builders Licensure Board hotline, 800-304-0853. Home Builders Licensure Board