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| Subject - Electrical Inspectors | |
| David Hyatt | In my neck of the woods our inspectors vary. It seems county inspectors are more lenient than city inspectors. They all should go by the same rules set forth by NEC. I don't try to take short cuts by no means but you know what I am talking about, silly stuff, just to be hard core. It is to where a lot of contractors in my area hate to work in the city. When they do they price it so high to compensate for the trouble the inspectors give. Is it like this everywhere? |
| JimmyDee | Not really. We have some excellent inspectors here in West Michigan. Every now and then a bad one will come along but I've found most of them that work here to be fair, knowledgeable and a help. I have seen in some of the larger cities, it matters more to what organization you belong to rather than the quality of work you do. I do agree that the NEC should be the final say but just spend about 5 min. reading here and you will see there are a diversity of ideas about everything. Jim |
| cs409 | i agree with JimmyDee....in some cases its what organization you belong to as to the detail of the inspection....what can get red tagged on one site is green on another just 2 blocks away,,both inspected by the same inspector....one job was done by company A and the other by company B...both got their training/place in the electrical field by different routes,,,just so happens the inspector got his start at the same place company A got his,,,,this is the mess that needs to be addressed as company B in this case got wind and with help got this problem resolved,,,inspector is no longer....but this isnt the case in most areas,,,,,,you just need a good working relation with the inspection departments(and you should,)...and it helps to carry lip stick!after all, you have to let them know they are in charge but at the same time, that you will stand your ground,,,,no one wants to do a lower than standard job, but they all want to be inspected equal.... and no one wants to have an inspector invent code....the only way you can correct something is to have 100% understanding of the problem.....best to yall... |
| John1959 | I worked in a county in Illinois where the city codes were different than the county's. County used NEC but the city amended it to include things passed by city council and particular inspector bug-a-boos. Could this be happening there? |
| David Hyatt | Not sure I think they all have there pet peeves just seems harder in city. |
| iwire | For this area a City will have a full time electrical inspector a Town will often have a part time inspector. The full time inspectors IMO take the job more serious (it is their career) and often have more / better training than the part timers. This is nothing against part timers they just are not generally able to have the same training as the full time ones. Then there can be, well, favoritism, among the City inspectors. The part time inspectors often no less about the jobs I work on than the electricians I work with. We do larger jobs and to be truthful many times the size of the jobs intimidates the inspectors that do not inspect anything but small jobs most of the time. |
| aussiesparky | Must agree with Jim on this one. Eventhough I've had limited dealings with inspectors, [due to the fact I'm a maintenance electrician] any I have dealt with have been most helpful and more than willing to guide me in the right direction when needed. Though we have one standard across the country each regulatory authority does make some slight changes. I've included a link to our local regulatory/licencing body, someone may find it interesting. http://www.ocei.vic.gov.au |
| Ryan_J | Inspectors are such a drag...
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| JimmyDee | quote: Yep. Their fun to argue with when that can't get back at you on your jobs. Not that that has ever happened. Jim |
| Ryan_J | I love to argue with installers. I always tell them to feel free and don't pull any punches at me...there will be no recourse on part. I also tell them to be on their A game, because I'll be on mine. :) |
| Electricman | The undewriters that we use are always more than helpful in every situation and I have the utmost respect for their authority, but every now and then we run into a local inspector that has a little knowlege of the code and it seems to go to their heads. For example we just got finished with a single family dwelling and had it inspected by an electrical inspector who uses NEC and everything was fine, now comes along MR. IKNOWITALLJUSTGRADUATEDFROMINSPECTU and he says we should not have drilled through the plates from floor to floor for this weakens the structure. He could not cite any codes to back this up but he did have a long list of his degrees.The builder basically called his supervisor and nothing more has been said, the funny thing is we are wiring the house next door so we might see him again
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| cs409 | one thing about inspectors,,,,,, we need them.....one thing we do not need is an inspector with a chip on his shoulder! inspector and electrician need to understand,,,,the only reason for the inspection is the 3rd party (aka, home owner, store owner, hospital, etc)....its much better to work with instead of working against..... |
| Dave Nix | quote: I would agree that an inspector does satisfy the "3rd party" in your example but, without inspectors, who would be watching for this: quote: I think that you would agree that most electricians would not take it upon themselves to keep updated on the safety codes if it was left up them. With regular inspections by qualified personnel our homes and businesses are a safer place to live and work. The "3rd. parties" also have a "standard" to which they can compare quality and safety for their investments. |
| cs409 | Hey Ryan,,,have you ever ate Crow on an inspection? corrected yourself after butting heads with electrician/site foreman etc? |
| Ryan_J | quote:  fair question. I made a guy put a GFCI in an attic one time. I really did think it was required (this ws a few years ago). I just got 210.8 and 210.63 mixed up. I called him later and apologized. This was on a nasty job. I had already made the guy rip out every switch in the house (HUG house, BTW, like 12,000 Sq. ft.), because he didn't ground (bond) any of them. So he already hated me, then I made that mistake....embarassing as hell!!!!
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| cs409 | if i read right, your 25,,,,i have screw drivers older than that! i dont own socks LOL..... something tells me that you and this person in question get alone pretty good now! inspectors working well with electrician is good.... head hunting with each other is bad... |
| Ryan_J | You read right. I have a pretty good relationship with all installers, even though I do a very thorough inspection. When I teach, I always give out my E-mail and my phone number and tell people to call, no matter where they are working, if they need help with anything. I agree, this kind of relationship is essential. :) |
| iwire | Inspectors have phone numbers? Most of ours must not have one yet. |
| cs409 | every time i called an inspector outside the office, someone weird answered at some bathroom! bubba i think LOL...... |