I don't claim to be the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to the NEC. I could find anything in it in 20 or 30 seconds the day I took the big test, but that was years ago. Now I'm fairly well versed in those sections that apply to my work on a regular basis.
I learned form an electrical engineer/inspector who refered to the NEC often throughout the day. If I run into an inspector like that, he's probably going to teach me something about the NEC. I may get a phone call, or a correction notice, but either way I'll learn something new about the NEC. It's really not an ego issue for me. An inspector nailed me for pounding two ground rods next to each other. I looked it up and he was right.
This site has been very good for me to learn more about the NEC from sharp inspectors and instructors, even when there are varying opinions about the language or meaning of the NEC.
What bothers me are inspectors who don't know the NEC but have a King of the Hill mentality and refuse to be challenged about their understanding of it. As an EC, I don't want to spend any extra time on a job to satisfy an inspector for a correction notice that's not an NEC violation. My feeling is, "How would you like it if YOUR paycheck was $200 short this month?".
This isn't intended to be a rant, because I can count on one finger the time that an inspector had this attitude (with the backing of a deadbeat homeowner), but it cost me $1,000, so it was memorable. The other times I looked it up with the inspector, usually over the phone, and we figured it out. I also understand that it must be frustrating as an inspector to inspect a job done poorly, or deal with irrate homeowners.
My question in regard to this is..does that type of inspector create a backlash where good ECs end up telling people they should think twice about getting a permit because of the inspector?...and therefore end up hurting the community they're inspecting for?
Dave
