dealing with the building inspector

[dcg9381]

> Verified with the office that he will not inspect it. He has the legal right by law to do that.

How does he know who did the install? Generally, it's a GC's job to call for inspections, not the individual electrician.

Worst case, can you hire an "electrician" to sign off on your work? Ie - certify the install pre-inspection.


I, along with many others, can't see how a city can REQUIRE inspection and refuse to do it.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

> Verified with the office that he will not inspect it. He has the legal right by law to do that.

How does he know who did the install? Generally, it's a GC's job to call for inspections, not the individual electrician.

Worst case, can you hire an "electrician" to sign off on your work? Ie - certify the install pre-inspection.


I, along with many others, can't see how a city can REQUIRE inspection and refuse to do it.

he won't know who did the work unless he asked. however, the person or company who is listed on the permit as the contractor is the one who is putting their *** on the line and vouching that the work was done properly and to code.

And there is no GC in the OPs case.

And most licensed electricians wont sign off on someone else's work because then their *** would be on the line for work they may have no idea how it was done.

Amd the only inspection that matters as far as legalities are concerned, is one done by a representative(aka govt or contracted inspector) of the AHJ.

 

[bczygan]

http://www.athol-ma.gov/wiring-inspector

 

[James-W]

It's pretty simple James. There's no way in hell I'd put my license, bond and liability on the line for anyone. If I were to co-complete an installation my scope would be clearly defined both in contract with the owner and within the permit scope. I've held my C-10 in Ca for over 30yrs without even one minor blemish and would never let someone chance screwing that up no matter who it was.

That's the part that makes no sense to me. The walls are open, there is no insulation or drywall up so there is nothing that is concealed. You can see exactly what was done and how it was done. If there is ANYTHING that is questionable, don't sign off on it. But if everything is done 100 percent to code, I don't see the problem. If the job is done is done right, then it is done right, regardless of who did it. I could understand not signing off on something that you cannot inspect completely. But when you can see everything and check everything, and it was all done to code, then I don't see the problem.

But if that is the way you feel about it, that's fine. Everyone has their own way of looking at things. The fact that I don't see the problem is completely irrelevant.

 

[tab2]

He is there Tuesdays and Thursdays so go and see him, they all love face time. Don’t tell him where you live.

Ask the receptionist what other towns he works in since he seems to be part time there. Call those towns and see what they say. You can ultimately go over his head to the state, but I’ve never actually seen anyone do it.

It is somewhere in the state amendments that allow you to do this. You should be able to find after enough digging. Good luck!

 

[zak77]

I just spoke to a building inspector and he said that technically a home owner can do their own work and get their own permit BUT it's at the discretion of the local official whether to issue the permit or not. So that's why a licensed electrician should pull the permit and be there for the final inspections. Everything else can be done by the home owner as long as it's done to code. So the bottom line is that as long as all the work is done according to code, then everything should be safe.

A little advice though, dont go in there demanding anything. Be polite and work with the guy and if he says no, then move along and don't put up a stink because it will not get you anywhere. Actually, it will work against you because the guy will nit-pick every single item instead of cutting you some slack where they can.

 

[Rock knocker]

The license holder is the one who deals with the inspector for their trade.

As a superintendent I have handled inspections for all phases of electrical including cover and final, fire, fire sprinkler hanger and coverage, plumbing - all covers, hydro and final, framing, sheet rock, screw inspection, special inspections, acoustical ceiling - all inspections, mechanical, gas piping and health department.

 

[yeldogt]

I did my own electrical work for years when I rebuilt/ upgraded houses -- With service/ panel changes .....I never had any problem getting the electric company to disconnect and reconnect the service head. I would always pull the permit and get the meter box. The guys reconnecting the service would check to make sure the panel was proper and grounded .. sometimes the inspector would come around that day ... often not.

They came in the AM to disconnect and would come back 4-5 hours later. There is really nothing to a service change ..

 

[6768rogues]

I have had a local AHJ refuse to do things. I call the regional office of the Department of State and bend their ear. Then I call the town supervisor or mayor, depending on the jurisdiction, and explain what I learned from the DOS and tell them what the state law says. I have never failed to get what I wanted. I was a county inspector in a previous life and I know how to find out what the law says so I can quote it to them. I never tell them I was an inspector, they usually figure it out on their own. On one of my son's projects we had to sue the town, and we won and made them look like fools. Then we do the work to comply with all codes, rules and regulations, so if the want to be a **** to us it does come out well for them. We have helped 4 inspectors in our area get fired in the last 10 years. Town Supervisors and mayors do not like it when some low level inspector has a bad attitude and brings bad press and the Dept of State to them. If the inspector embarrasses the town, it is time to update his resume. We do everything in compliance with the law, we always treat them as professionals, and there is no reason for them to be nasty.

 

[Falcon67]

That's not surprising. You must be out in the country, eh?

My boss is doing a project in a rural county in Tx, and when he couldn't find information on the building code they were using he email the city clerk.


City clerk forwarded the question to the building official (who is also the sheriff.) His response was literally, "We don't use no stinking building code like the city folks do." We found the email hilarious, but he is the AHJ.

The bottom line is that you do good workmanship and follow local best practices. I personally would follow the latest NEC.

LOL - when re-did the service entrance on our old house, I called AEP to ask about pulling back the service. They came and looked, said "no problem, call us when you are ready. Don't kill yourself." No permit required. When they came back to hook up, they looked it over good "Looks good, no problem." Hooked up the drop, stabbed the meter and drove away.