Is it normal for a remodeler to redo plumbing without a license?

I'd hit the brakes on this one. We let our GC's buddy do the rough-in on a downstairs bath remodel in 2019 to save about $800 and a three week wait. The work looked clean, passed the rough-in inspection, done deal as far as we knew. Then when we sold the house last spring, the buyer's inspector pulled the access panel, saw the tie-in to the old galvanized supply wasn't done the way our town required for anyone but a licensed plumber, and wrote the whole thing up. The lender got twitchy and we paid a real plumber to redo it under a two week closing deadline. Cost us triple what we 'saved.'

Also, passing inspection is not the shield people think it is. Inspectors sign off on what they can see at that moment, and some jurisdictions will still treat unlicensed work as illegal even if it passes. A permit does not retroactively make the person qualified.

The insurance worry is real too. I've heard of claims getting reduced when the adjuster traces damage back to work done outside the license rules. Check your state's actual rules before he does anything else, because if unlicensed plumbing is flatly not allowed there, you're the one on the hook, not him.

Honestly, I'd probaly let him keep going, with one condition. I did something similar about six years back when the guy doing our basement finish moved the washing machine drain and vent himself. No plumbing license, but he'd done it a dozen times on his own rentals and my township was fine issuing the permit as long as someone pulled it and the work got inspected. Rough-in passed first try and that drain hasn't given us a minute of trouble since.

The one thing I'd double check on your job is that rubber coupling. If he's joining PVC to cast iron, it should be the shielded kind with the metal band and the little torque screws, not the plain rubber boot style. The plain ones are fine for some applications but a transition like that is where you want the reinforced version, and alot of guys just grab whatever is in the van. On the insurance worry, I looked into this after our project because it kept me up at night too. What mattered most to my agent was that the work was permitted and inspected, not the trade license of whoever held the wrench. Your state may be different, so a five minute call to your insurance company beats guessing. And the resale fear is a bit overblown in my experience. Buyers care about leaks and problems, not who soldered what, as long as nothing is hiding behind a wall.

Total beginner here so forgive the dumb wording, but that squishy rubber connector piece he's using to join the new plastic pipes to the old metal ones, is that actually a permanent fix or more of a patch? I only ask because my uncle had somethig like that under his sink and it weeped slowly for months before anyone noticed, rotted the cabinet floor. Also who actually pulls the permit in your situation, him or you? I read somewhere the person who pulls it is the one the town holds responsible if stuff isn't up to code.

The rubber coupling detail matters more than people realize, because there are two kinds and they get confused constantly. The plain rubber sleeve with hose clamps is fine for vent lines but is not approved for drain connections in most codes, whereas the version with a metal shield embedded in the rubber is the one meant for joining PVC to cast iron. Ask him which he is actually using, since he may not know the difference himself.

Also worth asking your building department who the permit lists as the person performing the work, because in plenty of jurisdictions an inspector can refuse to sign off if it becomes obvious an unlicensed person did the rough-in, tidy cuts or not.

One thing I'd check is wether your state has a homeowner exemption. Ours lets you pull a permit as the homeowner and do your own plumbing, and some inspectors don't care who swings the wrench as long as it passes. But if that's not the case where you live, you coud always have him do the rest and hire a plumber for just the tie-in to the stack. That's usally a couple hours of labor and it puts a licensed name on the riskiest part. Cheaper than waiting weeks for someone to redo the whole job.