You might be able to get them to fix it "properly" with the second hole and some compensation IF they make you sign a non disclosure report not to give them a bad rap on review sites. Seen that lately in the news. Could you hold them hostage with a bad review if they don't fix it the way it needs to be?

This may hurt to hear....
No permit= take it all out, tell them to remove the whole system on their dime.

Why? God forbid something happens and house gets burned to the ground because of this non-permitted installation, your house insurance provider may say tuff cookies.

I don't roll the dice with my home.
-Mike

If they pulled their permit now, at least it should be inspected. If they pay you your $500 for hardship and nuisance, it's help and a (color dmd)

If there's an inspection, i'd make sure the guy/gal goes through it like a fine tooth comb.

I wouldn't except a thing until the inspector has checked things out. You may also have a separate electrical inspector.

Here in MN, the fine for doing electrical work without a permit can go as high as $5000.

If it was done while a home was being built does that change things? As in, is the whole construction under some sort of universal permit for a new house? I don’t know the answer.

Well if it was me, the fact that they didn't apply for a permit and that inspection wasnt done before boxing everything up, I would have them do the following and CC the city inspection department at the same time in all mail.

1) remove the drywall to expose the work done
2) while the drywall is open, have them run the line properly
3) get it approved by a licensed inspector
4) get them to close it all up

As for the spray foam idea, I'd have to wonder what the heat and cold cycles would do to that foam (I'm guessing it would eventually crack).

It's not your problem that the clowns tried to skip some steps.

I might consider not working with that company any more and hire someone else that knows what they are doing to fix up or redo the whole thing. I know that is not the cheapest thing but I would be concerned it would never be done right with current company.

If it had been done while the house was being built, it would have been covered by the building permit. No separate permit would have to have been taken out.

This part is confusing, why would it be less expensive to install the system after the home is completed when it is so much easier to do it when everything is exposed?
Are you saying the builder wanted more to install it during construction than the other company could do it for after the home is completed?

Protect yourself and your home first. If you have to hold them hostage with a bad review or the threat if a fine (as the poster above mentioned), do it.

Get the best inspector you can find and have him/her go to work with a fine-tooth comb.

You need to make sure your home is taken care of properly now and into the future.

As far as compensation...only you xan determine that. I wouldn't let them off the hook for less than 1000-1500...and only after it was 100% working and done properly.

Not in my area. You have to have separate Foundation, Framing, Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical Permits all with different inspectors. There is no all in one encompassing permit.

I would definitely call the town building inspection department and ask for their advice. You can pull permits retrospectively, but the inspector may require walls to be opened up to inspect the hvac coolant lines, if you have a separate air handler separated from the heat pump. Those lines have to be secured in the walls a set distance, and the only way to know is to open the wall. Same for any wiring ran in chases behind the walls. The caveat with this, is you are now on the town inspection radar, and it will have to be fixed. If you're contractor skips or balks, then you'll have to sue or fix it on your dime.

Then town inspector is the way to go. See what they say, and then hold the contractor to it.

Probably not 2X but it would be more as your builder, more then likely, would've subcontracted the work out. So they charge you more in order to pay the HVAC their price and then make money for the time they put in to getting the contractor.

The cheap usually comes out more expensive............

A new home and you didn't have the HVAC in the estimate? You took the word of an outside salesman? That's why you hired a contractor in the first place. He goes out and gets the price from his subcontractor and then you agree to it, that is shown in his estimate.

What happened is when you bring in your own subcontractor away from the builder. You become the general contractor. It is all on you to rectify the problem with your HVAC guy.

If you had left it to your home builder he would have solved it for you. But now it's leg work that you don't need. Sorry, but take your medicine. Call your HVAC "salesman"and squeak till you get the grease.

I'd sure as heck would be there when the inspector shows up and make sure he looks at it w/a fine tooth comb. And as flash mentioned, I'd be worried about spray foam over the years - cracking.

In the states where I live I think there's a single permit pulled, but then there's multiple inspections as the build progresses.

Spray foam will degrade over time due to sun exposure. They want to use spray foam because it's an easy and cheap fix. When it goes bad, they will be long gone. As far as what to ask for compensation, that's going to be hard to answer based on a number of factors. Going rate for contractors in your area, the other being how far do you want to take it until you feel satisfied with the work performed. If you are really concerned about this company and whether they will properly fix the issues, you could get estimates from a competitor to fix the issues correctly. That would be your compensation price.

Call someone for an estimate from another professional to fix it. That should tell you pretty quickly what kind of compensation you need.

^This.