permit inspections

Inspections are by consent--if you decide to withdraw consent and send the inspector packing you should be able to, however if he doesn't get to inspect everything he thinks he needs to inspect then you don't get your Certificate of Occupancy.

I'm sure it varies quite a bit by location. Here in Tucson I'm building a workshop and doing some remodeling under a permit. The inspectors have been great. They have bent over backwards to be helpful, and have made an unmistakable point to not look at anything I haven't specifically invited them to look at.

I think where they can get invasive is when they have received a complaint, and the homeowner refuses them entry to the property. then they have to go get a search warrant, be accompanied by cops, and the whole thing is about problems.

but your locality may be different from mine, and your specific inspector may just happen to be a flaming asshole. ask around amongst your neighbors for someone who has done permit/inspections for the type of electrical work you're doing, and see what their experience was like.

Generally, I've found that if you work with them, they will work with you. No worries and no attitudes is the best approach IMHO.

If you claim you know more (which you may) or have rights (which you do) and it is perceived as stepping on their toes or testing their influence, then you will have a nit picking, detail oriented person on your case for a long time to come.

Regards, Joe Agro, Jr. (800) 871-5022

As others said, I presume it can vary by locality, but where I've been (in VA/TN now KS), the inspection covers the work scope of the permit and _directly_ affected interconnection(s).

The only place I've ever seen any difficulties beyond that is if an obvious and imminent hazard is observed--they're obligated to note that and take action (and, of course, you would want them to in such a case).

They can't come to inspect a garage addition and use that as an excuse for a complete household inspection/witch hunt. The place where the garage feed ties into the existing panel or the new subpanel feed to from the old is, of course, in that jurisdiction as noted. If that shows an obvious fault in the main panel, he (rightfully) wouldn't be required to simply ignore it. OTOH, that an existing house is, say,

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So they do have to have a search warrant and police escort to "just show up" unless invited. That was something I had never heard myself, having always assumed they could pretty much do whatever they wanted - in the name of "safety". That was based on stories of inspectors who walked down streets and knocked on people's doors that looked like they might have done work recently.

It's not my intention to be a d*****ad about it and I don't have anything to hide regardless. Its just that I keep hearing these stories of inspectors finding small things and causing the person the spend thousands and thousands of dollars on items that simply shouldn't matter and didn't even pertain to the original inspection. The electrician told me about the story of the guy who finished his basement and was told to pull all the drywall down - since drywalling requires a permit.

I wanted to ask about firsthand experience from others before I tangled with the inspector and put myself into real trouble. The electrician who did the work made it sound like the inspectors were real mixed bags, some were ex-electricians, some were uneducated college kids.

I know in my area you cannot even paint your house without a permit which leads me to think these guys play serious hardball. Part of that has to do (I assume) with the fact that the city relies on permits from homebuilders to pad the city funds. Now that home construction has slowed considerably they're knuckling down on small permit items.

But I can live with it. I guess simply keeping my mouth shut and being polite will get the job done. I'd certainly not pull a lawyer stint on him and try to bully him around.

Is the inspector a town employee or a contractor.

If a town employee they can note obvious stuff, most will just restrict themselves to the permit items.

A contractor for towns that have adopted the UCC and require you to bring in a third party inspector will generally look just at what he is paid to look at.

Depends on how mercenary your municipality is.

Yeah I guess that goes without saying. Its just one of those things I wanted to figure out before I dealt with in case my attitude problem ended up costing me thousands and thousands of dollars.

Too bad I can't force him to put on a black sackcloth bag over his head while I whirl him around 5 times then guide him to the place of inspection.

Alright, so he can't just roam around looking to ch-ch-ching ching the city's coffers. As you said, obviously if there was something faulty it would be good for him to point it out.

I deal with municipal building inspectors on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis, in reportedly one of the toughest jurisdictions for residential construction in the country, and have yet to have an inspector look at anything except what he was called out to inspect ... mostly they don't have the time to do otherwise.

Providing you don't have the mafia involved in your local government, I don't think you have anything to worry about in most locales.

AAMOF, welcome the inspector with sincerity, take the opportunity to ask questions of him which you may not be sure about, and you'll probably enjoy the process.

My favorite inspectors are the toughest ones. They ultimately make my job easier, and more profitable, as a builder by allowing me to hold "the trades" feet to the fire.

The inspectors are, in effect, doing you a favor by their presence, especially when it comes to putting your house back on the market in a few years ... which we shall all do in one way or the other. Homeowners need to be aware that lenders are really getting into requiring "3rd party" inspections prior to closing on home loans in the wake of the mortgage crisis ... and these guys are hired to be junk yard dogs on _your_ house.

The local building inspectors are pussycats by comparison.

Sounds like common sense rules here.

Be polite, diplomatic, and accomodating and the inspection should be just fine.

When we upgraded our electric panel for the house (which is located on the outside of the garage) the electrical inspector wanted to see the inside of the garage and my garage building permit...which was completed and signed off 6 months earlier!. He also changed his mind on how he wanted something completed half way through the inspection - this ended up costing me an extra $500 in the end (I had a permit for a attached garage...but he said it was detached...so it changed the inerpretation of the electrical code.). The final straw was when the power company called me at work and said " your power has been disconnected...what do you want us to do now?" It seems the inspector took it upon himself to call the power company and arrange my power to be cut before my electrician was prepared for the transfer. The inspector shouldn't even have been making that call.

Then again, I live in an area where a new door requires a permit.

SB

Denver? Integra Engineering?

Actually I just got back my response from the inspectors office on drywall.

Repairing drywall requires a permit. Meaning if I put a doorknob through my wall I have to get a permit to repair it. How do these people sleep at night?

do you need a permit for brushing your teeth too?

i'd move.

Housing inspectors are like traffic cops.

You are going to end up spending money.

Trick is to figure out what is the lowest cost "ticket", pay it and move on.

Probably very well, thank you.

Sounds like Cook County from a time gone by.

Lew

Damn right, I renovated a kitchen, no permit required, as I didn't change location. Shed < 110 sq feet, no permit, deck less that 2 1/2 feet off the ground, no permit required. Only permit I have needed was an electrical service upgrade, in 12 years in the house, totally renovated it, new shingles, new eavestrough, furnace etc., no permits.

Get the hell out of there.

Damn! Where do you live, anyway?

Eigenvector wrote: ...

Where the heck are you located so I can know to stay out of that jurisdiction? :) (or :(, really?)

Sounds like need to just "don't ask, don't tell" would be the way to fly...

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King County Wa. I don't even live in a city, just unincorporated county.

Actually I misspoke, technically a permit is required to repair drywall, however if you drive down to the office and present them with plans on what you are trying to do - they might wave the permit, then again they might not. I can even post the e-mail, but haven't to protect the poor sap who wrote me the e-mail. However the e-mail will ABSOLUTELY find its way to the next general election, one of the county representatives happens to live 5 doors down from me. Rules like this are exactly why people break the law and corruption spreads.