Building Inspectors

lxdollarsxl

In the area i live and do most of my work, i know all the local inspectors and seem to get on well with them, knowing what they require.

The present project im working some 60 miles from home with a whole slew of new inspectors. The first one ive dealt with so far checked every wall for plumb, every joist making sure everything was tied in correctly, all headers, stair tead height/width (every single one), all windows for correct fit etc etc. His visit took nearly 3 hours and only observation i got was that when drywall goes up on ground floor ceilings (because its two appartments) has to have 5/8th doubled for correct fire partition - this i had already checked on, but he requires to see the first layer when complete and to leave off one sheet per room, until he gets back to check that its double layered before completing them.

Do you, in your area of work have inspectors like this?

__________________
Damned if im gonna do it more than once.

Teetorbilt

Sounds like a newbie or somebody who was caught doing substandard work. Gov't jobs are gold to some.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

dougchips

You can count on him counting the screws in the drywall, bring a book to read.

gitnerdun

Did someone offend him? Geez! That is crazy. He must have nothing else to do.

Tom M

Every area has some guys more strict than others. As far as the rock I would not worry about it. Anywhere electrical or duct opening in the fire listed wall or cieling will provide a visual for the layers. Good luck

Bob Kovacs

Been there, seen that. I had an inspector in Vegas who would talk almost a full day to do a framing inspection on a 5,000 SF house. He'd pull nails from sheathing to make sure they were the proper length and guage, remove bolts from HD tie-downs to make sure the hole were drilled the proper size (they had to be 1/16" over the bolt size to allow for a friction fit), and check EVERY piece of hardware, truss calcs, penetrations, fire blocks, etc. I had heard that it was a miracle to get through an inspection without him finding something, but toward the end of the 60 lot tract, we had quite a few that were passing on the first try.

Bob

Mr. Wms

He's on the clock he does not care if he's wasting your time.
Be patient if you want to make schedule.

Mrmac204

I have an ex brother in law who does framing on Vancouver Island- he told me one time (years back) that they would keep the inspector busy - two things- they would deliberately leave something quickly fixed for him to find, IF he wasn't lazy enough to walk thru the semi moat of water that they had put around the front of the house

I live in co-op housing, which was built with gov't money, and (shudder) the lowest bid.... bout 10 yrs back we couldn't figure out why one ground level suite kept getting wet- finally we got a mini-back hoe in- dug it up - we found the gravel.... but ??? where's the pipe???? sheesh! ya'da thought that the pipe would'a been the cheapest part of that! oy....

we are now at the 20 yr mark, undrgoing a huge re-fit- 4 mil. trowelled cement finish- total disaster in this climate! its gonna take a year they say- oy!

reveivl

We used to have an inspector here who had a pilots license and a plane and would fly over the rural area on the weekend to find non-permitted work and then bust them on Monday. He was a real piece of work, took pride in never leaving an inspection without red-tagging SOMETHING. He eventually got run out of town 'cos so many contractors just refused to deal with him.

__________________
From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science)

joasis

Inspectors are not at the right hand of God, even though most want you to belive they can ruin your life....I filed suit against one once, and he folded during depositions....my lawyer asked him about his credentials and did he hold a PE license, or have any formal education in engineering?......he folded and the city terminated his contract. All this because he could not interpet the codes, and could not explain his citation....

__________________

troubleseeker

Never run across anything as bad as these stories.. pull nails to check the length?That 's 100% anal. Our structural inspector in the area where most of our work is has only been there about a year, so he is still trying to establish his "authority" and impress us with his knowledge of trivial stuff in the code. so he tends to be a pain in the butt from time to time, but nothing major. We have always been pretty thorough about being ready for inspections; the more the inspectors come to associate you with bad practices, the more they look.

theman

New York contractors only 19NYCRR PART 1203

New York (except N.Y.C.) Contractors starting 2007 new regulation
1203, The N.Y.S. D.O.S is telling the inspectors what to inspect,
keep records of inspections, receive two sets of plans, return a set of plans with a stamp on it which reads ( APPROVED DATED---- PLANS MUST BE ON SITE DURNING CONSTRUCTION ) ( NO CHANGES TO PLANS UNLESS APPROVED FIRST )
also you pool guys do you know about the alarm that must be installed on ALL pools installed, those inflatable pools too.

check with your Bld. Insp. ask about 1203

al

concretemasonry

When I was in college, ran across an old city inspector that had it in focus. His favorite philosophy was "You are never wrong going by the code, but you may not be right".

If something was right, he could find a way to justify it.

He hated ex-carpenters that could not make it and but had a big ego that was satisfied by being an inspector.

Dick

kevjob

I can only gather he will make you open the last sheet to make sure it is in fact gypsum hopefully for you it will be a taste test

__________________
Kevin
Basement Finishing Highlands Ranch Colorado
Littleton Colorado, Basement Remodeling
Kitchen Remodeling Denver

RenaissanceR

[ deleted ]

__________________

POOLMANinCT

also you pool guys do you know about the alarm that must be installed on ALL pools installed, those inflatable pools too.

check with your Bld. Insp. ask about 1203

al[/quote]


that alarm requirement is almost 5 yrs old, soon to mandate anti entrapment & acces from home (door alarms etc)

theman

CPSpool

The new alarm requirement is for New York State only

AL

joasis

If an inspector, and most are, are good guys, not throwing their weight around simply to prove how sharp they are, I am ok with them....I have learned a lot from some inspectors....IMO, most times they find something wrong, they will give you an explanation to go with the violation, and not bother to do a write up.....the jerks that want to run out, red flag, and then make you wait a day, shut down...now they are the ones who give a black eye to the crew.

__________________

RYANINMICHIGAN

I agree with Jo. Most I have ran into are pretty laid back. I have had one or two that actually measured the depth of every hole for a deck others come for the hole inspection and don't even get out of the car. We see each other every week and are on a first name basis I have never really argued with any

Bone Saw

I agree too, additionally I've said this a bunch of times and I'll say it again. The Municipalities that outscource building inspections to private engineering firms are about progressive movement, NOT what has been previously decribed in these worst case scenarios. These firms and their inspectors are there to help you out, not screw around, it's not in their best interest to do so. It's the 1 or 2 guys on twp payroll that are always problematic. When you delv into the idea of what drives one to become a twp inspector, you will find someone with virtually little to no experience, training, drive, motivation or purpose and place in life. These folks would be better off in the local bar talking about the good old days when they worked for Hank Asscrack construction while failing at everything else in their lives while living in their parents basement.

__________________
Custom Decks & Carpentry LLC.
Chester County Custom Decks
Custom Deckbuilder Mainline
Philadelphia Deck Builder
Custom Decks & Carpentry on Facebook