Nit picky laws/rules/codes

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brother

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Well i have to say this was the most 'NIT PICKY' inspection ive ever heard of. an inspector told a homeowner that even though its a technicallity, you acutally have to pull a PERMIT for changing a regurlar receptacle to a gfci receptacle, because its not 'like kind for like kind'.

Even though MOST people dont do it. What do you think?? How are the local 'codes' in your area, is it this nit picky??
 
brother said:
Well i have to say this was the most 'NIT PICKY' inspection ive ever heard of. an inspector told a homeowner that even though its a technicallity, you acutally have to pull a PERMIT for changing a regurlar receptacle to a gfci receptacle, because its not 'like kind for like kind'.

Even though MOST people dont do it. What do you think?? How are the local 'codes' in your area, is it this nit picky??
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This is why I think Washington State's minor tag program should be a model.
 
And if you take the permit will they actually show up or just sign it in the office? If they insist on that I would definately insist on seeing his inspection sticker on the panel cover.
 
Town laws gone wild

Town laws gone wild

I have to get a building permit to do a service change.. plus the electrical inspection. Just another way to generate money for the town and give the fly by night contractors more work
 
because its not 'like kind for like kind'.
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Time are tough I guess.



I wonder if you need a permit to change from ivory to white? From incandescent to flurescent? From toggle to Decora?

I can't imagine it ever getting that bad in a big city. Even when things are slow there is no way that inspectors could keep up with all the work. With 3 million people here there are thousands of jobs being done every day....maybe tens of thousands.
 
220/221 said:
Time are tough I guess.



I wonder if you need a permit to change from ivory to white? From incandescent to flurescent? From toggle to Decora?

I can't imagine it ever getting that bad in a big city. Even when things are slow there is no way that inspectors could keep up with all the work. With 3 million people here there are thousands of jobs being done every day....maybe tens of thousands.
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Oh boy, ivory to white is a big cost additive to our permit fees. Once white became the standard color, we started charging a lot more for white...like sitting ducks for us. If we are not notified of these kind of changes when you take out the permit, we charge even more on the final.
People changing from toggle to decora was another easy kill, as these installs were mostly in expensive homes and the added charge is easily absorbed when you contractors are charging the "big bucks".

Of course if one is actually able to properly fill out an application, including the real name of their company, all extra charges are rescinded. :wink: :grin:
 
If the inspectors get really hard up for work they could simply follow people home from any of the 30 or so Home Depot/Lowes.........



.......or tap into their data base :cool:


They could start selling permits when you buy the materials. They could force you to purchase it and add it on like sales tax.
 
220/221 said:
If the inspectors get really hard up for work they could simply follow people home from any of the 30 or so Home Depot/Lowes.........



.......or tap into their data base :cool:


They could start selling permits when you buy the materials. They could force you to purchase it and add it on like sales tax.
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Big Brother is watching you. And I thought Arizona stood for minimal business regulation and low taxes...you disappoint me Mr. 220 Volts.
 
I assUMED everyone knew it was a joke. I'd be the first one to figure out the loopholes and exploit the system.

You can have my snap in bushings when you pry them out of my clod dead hands.:cool:
 
220/221 said:
If the inspectors get really hard up for work they could simply follow people home from any of the 30 or so Home Depot/Lowes.........



.......or tap into their data base :cool:


They could start selling permits when you buy the materials. They could force you to purchase it and add it on like sales tax.
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I know you say that in jest, but Home Depot just found out that the contractor that was doing it's water heater installs never pulled any permits (they charged HD for the cost of them though) So HD just came in and pulled over 400 permits and sent letters to all of the HO's offering them a $25 gift card if they would call and get a final inspection.

People will call me and ask if they need a permit to add an outlet in their garage. My response is this (and I know Pierre won't like it) "listen very carfully to what I say, the official answer is yes." Most people will simply say "got it, thank you." But the way things are going around here the new response may be, "can I have your name and address please?"
 
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brother said:
How are the local 'codes' in your area, is it this nit picky??
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I though it was great a few years back when we could swap out devices for GFCI's ...generated plenty of work for us at $150/per.
Today, the law has changed and a permit is no longer required.

You do the math
 
cowboyjwc said:
....But the way things are going around here the new response may be, "can I have your name and address please?"
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Maybe you should invest in a 10 dollar caller ID unit- then you don't even really have to ask for those either. :roll:
 
cowboyjwc said:
I know you say that in jest, but Home Depot just found out that the contractor that was doing it's water heater installs never pulled any permits (they charged HD for the cost of them though) So HD just came in and pulled over 400 permits and sent letters to all of the HO's offering them a $25 gift card if they would call and get a final inspection."
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That is a legal maneuver to cover their butts, They are the general contractor, so they are still liable.
 
hillbilly1 said:
That is a legal maneuver to cover their butts, They are the general contractor, so they are still liable.
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That's very true and we don't have any trouble taking their money. The biggest problem, is that even if the WH was installed 5 years ago, it needs to conform to todays codes because that's when the permit was pulled.

alfiesauce said:
Maybe you should invest in a 10 dollar caller ID unit- then you don't even really have to ask for those either. :roll:
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Like the city would spend $10. :roll:
 
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