Building inspectors. UGGGGG

[cpconst]

To start my rant, I've been in the building and remodeling industry for 30+ years and have pretty much done it all. I've built many houses over the years and have had many inspectors during the same time frame. I get along with just about everyone and always respect what inspectors have to say and agree with their decisions if there is an adjustment to be made. So last week I scheduled an inspection for a basement slab on a house I'm building for a client with whom I've worked for since 1994. The foundation crew back filled a corner in the front of the foundation and parts of a knee wall along the back of the foundation in order to get gravel into the basement. I hadn't gotten an foundation inspection yet for the tar application but the waterproofing firm always puts their sticker on the foundation and 85% of the fountation was still visible all the way down to the washed 57's that cover the perforated 4" drain tile that goes all the way around the footer. The inspector called his boss from the job and told him that 50% of the foundation was covered up and suggested hitting me with a $200 not ready fee for the waterproofing inspection that I hadn't even called for. Mind you I had my crew, concrete and a pumper truck set up for the next morning to pour the slab. Trying to convince an inspector to change their mind about anything is like asking a referee to change a bad call after it's made. So I got absolutely no where with this guy or his boss. I'm now jumping through the hoops of the county's three ring circus in that I dug all the backfill out with a track hoe being careful not to scrap any of the $1500 worth of water proofing off my freshly poured walls. Lesson learned with this inspector so I'll chalk it up to my misfortune of an inspector having a bad day and absolutely hating his job that he says he's over worked at and under payed at doing.
My re-inspection that I never scheduled in the first place and my $200 penalty that was paid by me that gives me the privilege of having this guy show up tomorrow for another shot at it will hopefully go without a hitch. None the less I feel heartburn is in my very near future with the anticipitation of tomorrow's meeting. Why isn't there any leeway with the county on working with the very contractors and public that pay their salaries? I'm all about being fair with people and reasoning with whomever when there is an opportunity to resolve an issue. Why can't that be the policy of some inspectors who feel like they are somehow being taken advantage of? Instead of saying hey, how about removing a little dirt in this area so I can make sure you didn't forget to spray this little piece of concrete with tar and you can go ahead and pour the slab in the morning, the say pay me more money and you can resume your project. That's my rant, now I'll be happy to take further flaming from building inspectors that are on this forum.

[dad911]

Feel your pain bro. 34+ years in the business.... had an inspector fail a frame inspection and we had to get a letter from architect and re-inspect for..... get this.... we used larger rafters than called for on plan & required by code. Yup, 2x8s on a 4' span front porch.

If the knee wall was below grade & slab, it doesn't need to be waterproof.

[HardDrive]

Its a total crapshoot. I've had guys walk in and barely glance at the work and pass it. I guess they were hungry and it was lunch time. I've also had PIA guys like you describe.

No one likes dealing with inspectors, but boy howdy do I understand why they're needed. I can't believe some of the train wrecks I've uncovered while doing demolition.

[Tobra]

Just be glad you are not in California.

[LakeCleElum]

Bet it's a lot like Police work.....Some view their job as purely black and white. In reality, there is a lot of gray area.

Cousin just build a house outside Springfield, Mo......No building permit needed, not even for a septic...

[rusnak]

I make it a point to thank the point man, either the inspector or in the case of the utilities co, the project coordinator, by phone and email. It helps later when you have a surly inspector. In one case, I thanked the boss, and he was very appreciative. In another, I'm working with the boss's son. I was able to have the problem inspector replaced, and another time, I was able to have a word with the boss, who reined in the problem inspector.

To be sure, I am grateful for a good inspector who catches crappy work by the subs. I'm not the GC. I hire the GC. And I've had to go slap my own GCs around for doing a crappy job plenty of times.

[island911]

Land of the Free

Home of the Brave

[A930Rocket]

BTDT.

Hang in there!

[ckelly78z]

My wife is in the same business, and deals with some of the same self important idiots who are having bad days. She is a project manager for a large pre-fab manufactured home builder who is one of only 7 such builders in Ohio.

She has 12 houses coming off line before Christmas (already done 18 this year), and has to arrange pre-inspections/cranes/set crews/plumbers/electricians/finsih crews/post inspections/client visits. Most days, she is running a 3 ring circus trying to avoid delays, dealing with cranky clients, flooded basements, waether delays, demanding bosses, no-show crews, and over selling sales staff.

Most inspectors are pretty reasonable, but trying to schedule certain ones, who handle half the state is near impossible some times, and thier attitudes reflect that.

[wdfifteen]

I've had good and bad experiences with inspectors. Some, "Put a ground screw in that box and I'll be back in 2 days to re-check it." To, "I'll sign off on it now, but you need to do this and this."
I did not know they had to inspect the ceiling insulation. I a room or two of drop ceiling panels in place when the electrical inspector pointed out that I was supposed to have had the structure guy sign off on the insulation first. He called the other inspector, told him the situation, and signed the approval on the spot.

[URY914]

You home builders have got it easy. You should see what the State hospital inspectors put us through. They make up code requirements out of thin air.

[Baz]

[wdfifteen]

Inspectors can be a pain, but they don't generally do things that cause your house to burn down. If idiots didn't do things like this we wouldn't need inspectors.

[Geary]

Photo document EVERYthing. It can sometimes help out in a situation like this. It can really help a home builder, too .. just yesterday a framing photo helped me confirm the location of metal strap in my wall that I needed to avoid.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Inspectors can be a pain, but they don't generally do things that cause your house to burn down. If idiots didn't do things like this we wouldn't need inspectors.

Patrick.....doesn't that look like something that was done way after the home was built....most likely from the home owner - or his buddy? I don't know anyone who does electrical work either for a living or as a hobby who would do something as haphazard as that. Of course...there's always exceptions....

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Geary

Photo document EVERYthing. It can sometimes help out in a situation like this. It can really help a home builder, too .. just yesterday a framing photo helped me confirm the location of metal strap in my wall that I needed to avoid.

+1

Even with just landscaping work that I perform, I document stuff like where drip tubing and low-voltage lighting cable is located before covering with pine bark for future reference. I give the customer a CD copy of all the pics from the project and keep the originals all in a folder in an external hard drive.

Helpful for anyone who has to go back in and also documents work was done right way.

Here's a recent one:

[T77911S]

my brother just finished a remodel on his house. (contractor did it). with all the rules and regs they to go thru for his remodel only to find out some of the floor joists from the original build where not even sitting on any foundation. that explained why his floor sagged and the tile cracked.
where were those pain in the butt inspectors when his house was built?!

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Baz

Patrick.....doesn't that look like something that was done way after the home was built....most likely from the home owner - or his buddy? I don't know anyone who does electrical work either for a living or as a hobby who would do something as haphazard as that. Of course...there's always exceptions....

I agree no licensed electrician would do that under the current system, but the current system has licensing, codes, and inspectors. My point is, without licensing, codes, and inspectors to make sure the codes are followed, what's stopping someone from claiming to be an electrician and doing something like that? You get outfits like the painters who painted my grandmother's neighbor's house. They added so much kerosene to the paint that rain washed it off.

[cpconst]

I met the inspector this morning in the pouring rain for a foundation water proofing inspection. He made me go down in the over dig to dig up 5 different spots around the footer to prove to him there Is drain tile under the 18" of washed gravel. Wtf! I've never had this happen and can't imaging anyone caving to his request (except me). At the end of the day if there is anything wrong with this project the owners won't be calling the county, they will be calling me. The county accepts no responsibility for anything they may have missed. Many contractors I work with take the stance of "if you can't see it from the road you don't need a permit". This asshat is a huge reason for that mentality.

[onevoice]

I had a friend that was an inspector, and his explanation for those type of guys was that they are just milking the job. Lazy, slow time wasters that are only trying to justify their existence. They really dont give a crap about the inspection, they only want to be able to tell their boss how they "caught you"