diff --git a/tasks/build.js b/tasks/build.js
index e7935645e..56ea87924 100644
--- a/tasks/build.js
+++ b/tasks/build.js
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ module.exports = function(callback) {
 
   if( !install.isSetup() ) {
     console.error('Cannot find semantic.json. Run "gulp install" to set-up Semantic');
-    return;
+    return 1;
   }
 
   // check for right-to-left (RTL) language
diff --git a/tasks/config/project/install.js b/tasks/config/project/install.js
index 85a69418a..b5ce939ef 100644
--- a/tasks/config/project/install.js
+++ b/tasks/config/project/install.js
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ var when = {
 
   // install
   hasConfig: function() {
-    return requireDotFile('semantic.json');
+    return requireDotFile('semantic.json', process.cwd());
   },
 
   allowOverwrite: function(questions) {