Residential final inspection.

[kwired]

With me it's simple, and more so with metal boxes than plastic, but you are required to bond your boxes. If at rough you have decided not to make up your wires then that's fine and you can open all of the boxes and light fixtures so that we can verify that you have done so. If it's done at rough, then I don't have to open near as many boxes to check that they are done correctly.

I have no problem with which method you use, but then you don't get to have a problem with which method I use to inspect it.

I'd rather you randomly select which ones you wish to look at. If connections are made up at rough in do you look into every outlet box or just randomly look into only a few of them and if you find no problems assume they knew what they were doing on the rest?

If I am intentionally doing something wrong - you just may pick one that is wrong. It is more likely I am doing the same thing in every box, and if you randomly look at a few of them and find nothing wrong - there is a good chance they are all the same.

Why do inspectors feel they need to see absolutely everything - as if they don't trust the installer? Non licensed installers or licensed installers that are repeat violators I can understand being a little more cautious with.

I might miss bonding a box sometimes. If you catch it thanks for the help. If you don't catch it we both failed didn't we?

 

[growler]

Why do inspectors feel they need to see absolutely everything.

I might miss bonding a box sometimes. If you catch it thanks for the help. If you don't catch it we both failed didn't we?

If an EC fails to bond a box and the inspector doesn't catch it only the EC is responsible for anything that may happen because of this code violation.

I don't think inspectors feel they need to see everything but they want to see as much as possible or practical in a short amount of time so they know they have done their job.

 

[kwired]

If an EC fails to bond a box and the inspector doesn't catch it only the EC is responsible for anything that may happen because of this code violation.

I don't think inspectors feel they need to see everything but they want to see as much as possible or practical in a short amount of time so they know they have done their job.

contractors have challenges too. I will try to accommodate inspectors wishes if he respects my needs. Inspectors that were once installers are usually reasonable, those that were not formerly installers are sometimes impossible.

 

[iwire]

I will try to accommodate inspectors wishes if he respects my needs.

To some extent sure but in the big picture the inspector is not there for you, your needs or your convenience.

I hope all people I have to work with will be reasonable but the inspector is not there to make me happy.

 

[kwired]

To some extent sure but in the big picture the inspector is not there for you, your needs or your convenience.

I hope all people I have to work with will be reasonable but the inspector is not there to make me happy.

I'm happy if I pass inspection. If we can have civilized conversation that is better yet.

If inspector has the concept going in that he is not there to make people happy, he is going to have a lot of problems someday, you can't have that kind of attitude for a long time and not have just personal relationship issues, it will work on your mental and physical health eventually. Good thing for most of them is they probably don't take work home with them, but that stress doesn't completely stay at work either.

 

[cowboyjwc]

I'd rather you randomly select which ones you wish to look at. If connections are made up at rough in do you look into every outlet box or just randomly look into only a few of them and if you find no problems assume they knew what they were doing on the rest?

If I am intentionally doing something wrong - you just may pick one that is wrong. It is more likely I am doing the same thing in every box, and if you randomly look at a few of them and find nothing wrong - there is a good chance they are all the same.

Why do inspectors feel they need to see absolutely everything - as if they don't trust the installer? Non licensed installers or licensed installers that are repeat violators I can understand being a little more cautious with.

I might miss bonding a box sometimes. If you catch it thanks for the help. If you don't catch it we both failed didn't we?

Well that's because we don't trust the installer. I did a job awhile back and the guy hadn't bonded his boxes, he said he would take care of it right away and headed out to his truck so I signed the card and left and there he was in his truck pulling out right in front of me.:rant:

One thing everyone forgets, inspectors and installers alike, is that we work for you. You pay me to be there you are my client. You may not like the fact that you have to hire me, but that's how it works. If I just showed up and signed your job card every time and never really looked at anything, I'm not really doing you any favors or doing my job for that matter. That would be that same as me hiring you to come over and install a new light switch, we sit there and chat for a few minutes, you hand me a bill and then leave and never install the switch.

 

[mwm1752]

If an EC fails to bond a box and the inspector doesn't catch it only the EC is responsible for anything that may happen because of this code violation.

I don't think inspectors feel they need to see everything but they want to see as much as possible or practical in a short amount of time so they know they have done their job.

Exactly - not rocket science to promote a bit of efficiency for inspecting the job BTW my 30 + years in the field & contracting has been a big advantage to being an inspector.

 

[kwired]

Well that's because we don't trust the installer. I did a job awhile back and the guy hadn't bonded his boxes, he said he would take care of it right away and headed out to his truck so I signed the card and left and there he was in his truck pulling out right in front of me.:rant:

One thing everyone forgets, inspectors and installers alike, is that we work for you. You pay me to be there you are my client. You may not like the fact that you have to hire me, but that's how it works. If I just showed up and signed your job card every time and never really looked at anything, I'm not really doing you any favors or doing my job for that matter. That would be that same as me hiring you to come over and install a new light switch, we sit there and chat for a few minutes, you hand me a bill and then leave and never install the switch.

So do you not trust any installers at all, or do you go to a site and right away get a general feeling of either this guy knows his stuff or this guy doesn't have a clue?

If you look at just 5% of the outlet boxes you probably will have a good idea that it may be difficult to find that one little mistake, or in some instances it might be difficult to find the one thing they did correctly:blink:

When it comes to typical receptacle outlets with either one set of lines in or one set in one out and say we run metal raceway that is to be used as EGC, AC or MC with sheath rated as EGC, what is there to connect at rough in if there is no devices installed yet? Then if we use self bonding type devices -- only connections made on that install are on the receptacle itself. And they are still accessible for inspecting if you want to look at them, all you need to do is take off the cover plate and possibly pull the mounting screws if you can't see enough with plate only removed.

 

[mwm1752]

So do you not trust any installers at all, or do you go to a site and right away get a general feeling of either this guy knows his stuff or this guy doesn't have a clue?

Is that a heavy chip on your shoulder -- really?????? have you ever been an electrical inspector? your question is unfair with assumptions.

 

[kwired]

Is that a heavy chip on your shoulder -- really?????? have you ever been an electrical inspector? your question is unfair with assumptions.

With inspectors that think they are better then everyone else - I do have a chip on my shoulder. I have so far been lucky to mostly work around ones that have been the installer before and know how things go - and most also have been open to feedback if you think they might be interpreting something wrong. They have other work to do, I have other work to do, they don't nit pick every single item if it looks like I am a competent installer. Have had on occasion someone tell me "you need to start doing this differently" but never made me change what was there at that time.

Been a contractor for about 20 years, don't think I have received a formal correction notice (the one they mail to you and you must pay a re-inspection fee and have them come back to approve the corrections) in at least 17-18 years. The time I am thinking of was with a new inspector I never met before (at that time). Since then he has inspected a majority of the work I have done since.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Oh I'm an electrical contractor too and a certified electrical inspector (most contractors don't have that card). Yes I can go to a job and read it pretty quick and tell if someone knows what they are doing. What happens though if I get lazy, then they start to get lazy. So if I find nothing else but that missing KO seal after they walked their job three times, then I've done my job. I sign the card and I leave. When I come back, I open that box and if the KO seal is in there great, but if it isn't, then you've lost all my trust.

Contractors are just the same as most inspectors, you have some you respect and you have some you wonder how they got where they are. I just told someone today to fight another city's building department, because they were asking for things that are not required by the code. I stick up for the guys who deserve it, but I've also had to go to the contractors board for other ones.

I try to do every inspection pretty much the same (that's harder to explain than it sounds, but another inspector might know what I mean) that way everyone get's the same time of inspection the same way. Now someone asked me why we didn't all call it the same way and I said for the same reason that not every contractor installs it the same way.