Sorry, I am late as usual. We have been very busy around here. As John said, I am not a code Nazi either. Quite frankly, if a homeowner doesn't get an inspection, do I really care? That being said, I am in an office where I am suppose to care and enforce the laws of my state. I too would usually catch an EC on the side and say, "You know you need a permit for that don't you?" "Get to the office and get one." Also if say an EC just goes and adds 2-3 recess lights in a closed wall/ceiling and he has to snake walls in order to do it, do you think I want to go out and inspect that? What am I going to do, walk in flip the light switch and see if the lights work? The first thing a HO will yell about is the price of a permit and what we have to look at.
Now during emergencies like Sandy, all the permits were free. No one could complain about the price. However they didn't want to wait for inspections. Even though I came to town on days and weekends that I wasn't suppose to be, just to keep things moving.
