I have more respect for Jessie James than an inspector that uses his powers to win his arguments by using time factor and $120 to fight him.And i too would see that this post was handed to many in his area,including TV stations.Red tag me for violations that are clear in the code book not just your opinion and you will earn my respect.Years ago Naples Florida had a problem with an inspector like this.Some guys threatened to throw him off a high rise,he resigned rather fast. /QUOTE]
let me first clarify my position, I DO NOT and HAVE NEVER, failed anybody for example, I just do not like it, not in my town, you know what I mean, your job as an inspector is not to make up your own rules or slow the job down, your job is to inspect and make a decision based on the NEC and the best information available to you, but you will be required to make interpretations popular & unpopular, how many times have you been at a seminar and have 6 different opinions on one code section and after an hour of debate you still do not have full agreement, does that mean whoever did not agree with the instructor is stealing, has poor conduct, needs re-training or should be fired, give me a break! if this post was such a clear cut decision we would not have 9 pages of posts. and my point on board on appeals is as a contractor that is your only recourse if you cannot work it out with the inspector, and believe me I would much rather work it out then sit at an appeals hearing for this! sorry if I got people worked up over that post, that was not my intention.
When I said that I made it clear that I was not talking about an inspector simply making an honest mistake.... as we all do.
I was referring to an inspector making a ruling fully believing they would be a 50 / 50 chance the ruling was wrong.
If an inspector has an issue that they are that doubtful about wouldn't it be more responsible to find out the more about the code section rather than saying "No big deal, they can win on appeal"?
If I were inspecting the job, I would require a main breaker and main breaker hold down. I would sleep just fine, not feel at all as though I was abusive, and you have the option to appeal to my boss, to the local construction board of appeals, to the state construction board of appeals, and to the civil courts.
I assume that the last statement above is the cause of a lot of the preceding statements. Lets see now, according to some of you
1) I am abusing power as an inspector.
2) I am a thief.
3) I should be reported to my bosses for having a bad attitude.
4) I should be fired.
Is that all?
I can see that the statement that I made could be interpreted the way that many of you seem to have interpreted it(especially with the little graemlins attached). As I said earlier, If I think that I am interpreting the code correctly, I will not lose sleep over it if someone disagrees with me. I pointed out that there is a process for appealing my decision. That was not meant as a challenge to anyone. It was meant to acknowledge the fact that whether right or wrong, I am not the final word on matters of disagreement. I realize that the appeal process is not the best solution. The best solution of course is a discussion of the issue between myself and the other party involved in the disagreement. My boss is almost always just a phone call away. In the areas where I work, the appeal board must meet within 72 hours of the request. The process slows down quite a bit after that.
I understand a contractors frustration at having to be put through any of these steps when he knows or thinks he has wrongly been red-tagged.
If, as an inspector I think that I am interpreting the code correctly, what alternatives beyond discussion of the matter at hand, and informing the other party of their right to appeal , would you all suggest?
As you see, I am not discussing the specifics of the original post. I am addressing the issue of attitudes toward, and dealing with an inspector who may or may not be incorrect in interpretation of the code.
I would not knowingly enforce something that I did not believe to be a code requirement. In instances where I am unsure, I inform the contractor of the issue under consideration, research the issue, and consult with those (of which there are many), who are more knowledgeable than myself.
I do always cite the code when writing correction notices. The electrician then at least knows what section of the code I am basing the decision on.
Sorry about the length of the post, I did quite a bit of cut and paste to illustrate what issues I was addressing.
