not being present for inspections

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CopperTone

Senior Member
Location
MetroWest, MA
can an inspector refuse to inspect a job which you have a permit for if you are present? Having issues with an inspector and he said he refuses to inspect if I am there when he gets there. this is in mass.
 

roger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Fl
Occupation
Retired Electrician
Sounds like an insecure inspector.

Roger
 

CopperTone

Senior Member
Location
MetroWest, MA
claims I am confrontational. All I have done is asked him for specific code references and he didnt like that. I also asked for an alternate inspector because he clearly had issues with me and they refused that request also.
 

jxofaltrds

Inspector Mike®
Location
Mike P. Columbus Ohio
Occupation
ESI, PI, RBO
can an inspector refuse to inspect a job which you have a permit for if you are present? Having issues with an inspector and he said he refuses to inspect if I am there when he gets there. this is in mass.

Can he refuse? Yes. Then wait the required time and continue your work.

This is probably the worst example of a bad inspector that I have ever heard.

I would go to the top of the state to get his license/certification. BS.
 
I believe in our area there just has to be an adult at least 18 yrs old present at time of inspection so just have nice professional conversations via voice mails I would guess for any issues.
 

SEO

Senior Member
Location
Michigan
I knew of an inspector that ordered the homeowners out of their home while he made his inspection. He did get in a significant amount of trouble with his boss.
 
Many towns in Mass require the electrician to be there, some will inspect if the homeowner / GC is around instead, I have never heard of an electrician being denied the opportunity to be present.

I had a former employer call the state on a (MetroWest) inspector and the state came in for the final inspection & other jobs afterward.
 

Oakey

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Thats really odd for him to say that, I failed a while back and the red sticker said no EC on job site. I always thought since then it was required, well in some towns it seems.
You have a justifiable compliant.
 

jmellc

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
Occupation
Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
Well remember, he's an important government official & you're only a lowly peasant who does the work, pays for the permits & pays the taxes for his salary & benefits. How dare you ask him a question? You should be shining his shoes, waxing his car, etc.

I think you should carefully document every conversation, starting now, while some/all of it is still fresh. Record phone calls if practical & legal in your state. If his local boss is uncooperative, go to the state level, as someone else suggested. I don't favor starting wars, but it sounds like he's already started one with you. Check around and see if anyone else has had problems with him. If so, some of you could complain as a group. You paid for permits, you worked the job, or paid employees to do it. He has no right to disallow your presence. If he wanted to pick you about code, do you think he would hesitate? Not for a moment. You have every right to know what he bases a decision on, especially if it's some grey area or peculiar interpretation. While some here are tough, very few are such jerks. We did have 1 guy that loved to pick and sound sympathetic on some trivial issue, cry crocodile tears, then grin & make you redo something he knew was hairsplitting. He's now a contractor again. His guys say he's good to work for. I think authority just went to his head too much back then.

Most inspectors here want someone on site if it's a bigger job, can go either way on smaller ones. I like to be there, as I can answer any questions he has & if he finds a small problem, I can fix it while he's there. Most inspectors here are good with that. They've worked in the field too & haven't forgotten the headaches. On some jobs, that's also when I get final payment, upon passing inspection.
 
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roger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Fl
Occupation
Retired Electrician
I worked for a particular GC in Fl who had a policy to video tape all inspections regardless of what trade it was. A few inspectors really balked at this but these were large projects some publicly funded so they couldn't stop it without some fallout they really didn't want.

It was amazing how the "I want", "what I like to see", I don't have to show you", "it's in the code", "what about the next guy coming behind you", etc.... stopped and actual code inspecting became the norm on these projects.

Of course the knowledgable inspectors never had an issue with it from the get go.

Roger
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
claims I am confrontational. All I have done is asked him for specific code references and he didnt like that. I also asked for an alternate inspector because he clearly had issues with me and they refused that request also.

At first I thought this a bit ridiculous but then I started to remember my younger years and a similar incident.

I worked for a certain job foreman years ago that couldn't be on the job when the inspectors showed up. I guess that he had been "confrontational" with just to many of the local inspectors and he was sort of black listed. If I stayed at the job site we would pass inspection with no problems and if he was there they would write up everything they could imagine.

How many inspections and what type of problems have you had with this inspector so far?
 

RICK NAPIER

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
There are individuals that distract you from your inspection in NJ it is allowed to tell the contractor that he has to wait somewhere on site while you perform your inspection and then deliver the results to him after the inspection. This seems reasonable to me.
 

cowboyjwc

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Simi Valley, CA
At first I thought this a bit ridiculous but then I started to remember my younger years and a similar incident.

I worked for a certain job foreman years ago that couldn't be on the job when the inspectors showed up. I guess that he had been "confrontational" with just to many of the local inspectors and he was sort of black listed. If I stayed at the job site we would pass inspection with no problems and if he was there they would write up everything they could imagine.

How many inspections and what type of problems have you had with this inspector so far?

I had a job like this, the guy would argue even when I showed him the code sections. His guys are the ones that finally said something to the big boss. I went by one day and asked where he was and was told that he wasn't allowed on the site as long as I was there.

Remember too, you are only dealing with the one inspector that day, and he may have dealt with 20 people already and had to argue with everyone and he's had it. Maybe you are confrentational and you just think you're sticking up for you self and your side of the story will always be "I just asked him a question". Sometimes it's all in the delivery.

I've had guys start getting loud and cussing and I just turn around and walk away, which I'm allowed to do. And please don't start that "I pay taxes which pays you", because I pay those same taxes you do and I pay the same permit fees you do too.
 
Can he refuse? Yes. Then wait the required time and continue your work.

This is probably the worst example of a bad inspector that I have ever heard.

I would go to the top of the state to get his license/certification. BS.

maybe he can refuse in your world. I've had very good experiences with inspectors and inspections. As with everything in life, there is always a "bad apple" occasionally. Call the building commissioner or his supervisor. Unless the issuer of the permit has red tagged the job as unsafe they cannot bar you from being there---this is a crazy conversation, it's like sheeple behavior. Stand your ground--it has worked for me.
 
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