hi,
i have problem with a small town inspector who passes a lot of code violations for well known folks and then tries to nit-pick over little things for other ones he is not so familiar with.

what should i do?

i have taken my camera and documented at least 100 violations on homes in the same neighborhood where he has failed an inspection for rules he made up.

i am thinking of contacting the state.

thanks

brad

Start locally. Is he documenting Code violations or made up rules ? If they are made up violations then challenge his decission. Ask if there is a process to dispute an inspection. My area has a review board. The state also has an appeals process. Be polite but, stick to the Code. Is it a violation or not ?
If there is no appeals process find out if he reports to a building commissioner ? Find out if he is employed by a local political agency, the mayor ot town council may be able to make him justify his inspection.
His letting others get away with violations is not your problem. Although it impacts bidding. Just make sure your work is done right. You can even make it a selling point by telling your customers that while some other electricians don't do certain things, you do, because it is in the Code and you want their job to be the best it can be.
Remember: Good work sells itself; bad work sells fire trucks. Alan



[This message has been edited by Alan Nadon (edited 04-10-2005).]

Contact Joe Tedesco regarding this situation.

Scott35

Ask those other contractors what it takes to "get along with him", if they say hes a "Good ol' boy", try that approach. If they say envolopes of cash, sick the dogs on him, call the FBI fraud unit, and burn the town hall down, figuratively.....

Just make sure your stuff is completely up to snuff, and give him nothing to say to you.

[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 04-10-2005).]

I am sure that your pictures of the violations you mention would be welcomed here, or if you send the worst to me I can let the world see them in EC&M magazine.



Tell us what he has found wrong with your work.


[This message has been edited by Joe Tedesco (edited 04-14-2005).]

talk to a good attorney, and an engineer about the work he is passing. start a suit against him and the town, they will get rid of him fast and you probably won't be bothered again,
a lot depends on how much the taxpayers will allow the town to spend defending him
where i live there is a person that can do almost what he pleases, the mayor said to leave him alone because he will sue and the town can't aford it.
If you have proof that he is passing shoddy work, you have the case won.

I guess "beat him senseless" is out of the question

You guys haven't even seen or heard what the issues are with the job(s). Why is the inspector automatically wrong? Looks like the contractor should be more specific.

I do have an idea how some inspectors operate in small towns though, we have had 7 bldg inspectors in 5 yrs and none of them knew a concrete block from an 8 penny nail.

George Little, you do have a point, we are stereotyping.... But I have seen this in small towns, and big cities. And we really should no more before we condemn the guy. But sometimes, dare I say it, I think its more how the Inspector is "handled" interpersonally, rather than the work itself. And some are just used to seeing a certain "style" of work, rather than the quality of it.

like I have always said, ask him for a code
section, which he is required to give you, if he cannot or will not give you one, have a meeting with him & the construction official, his boss may not know he is doing this if nobody complains, selective code enforcement should not be tolerated.

Brad, I am an inspector. Check what I posted earlier, and see Mike D above. Good Luck.
Alan

Take Alans advice fight right and by no means do things just because the inspector says so. Do all your work at or above standards set.Hey I always tell folks the nec is the min requirements. Thats why I get Pi**ed at some of these guys. They do shotty work and get mad at the inspector.Go figure.And sure I`ve made mistakes and was called on them but if I`m wrong or over looked something I normally fix it and apoligise to the inspector.

"by the work one knows the worker"

I have 2 towns near by that have Rambo type inspectors, I have another name for them but it's not good, Needham and Walpole MA. I have taken a new attitude towards these guys and I figure if I am talked to like an ass I will treat them like one. So far I have had good luck at it. I try to be nice but these guys just don't give a crap. Not to say bad things about out elders but they are just to dam old to be doing there job. They can't climb a ladder or bend down to look into plugs. They are past retirement and should resign and give a new guy a shot at the job. They are holding on to their power position for what?

Hello,
I appreciate the help on this problem. I cant say who it is or where it is at this point. Once I get finished with the project and get the FINAL I will be posting the photos and the location. Until then I dont feel comfortable releasing any names or anything.

I have taken a lot of photos even in the last few days of more inspections done by this person and beleive me you wont beleive your eyes!

I do not have the money to fight city hall or hire a lawyer..I just went and did what he said do for now..I also took photos of the work I did and will be glad to share those for critique.

I think this is a combo inspector.

He said I need to calculate the load on the service at 125%.

He claimed that I need 20A circuits for the bedrooms and that the smokes had to be on a seperate circuit. He said I could NOT feed two bathroom outlets from a single 20A breaker..He also did not like the 3M stackers that I used! He made me take them out and use CONDUIT straps. There are no local covenants that I know of and they use the last NEC.

I am a small guy and dont want to make waves..I have a family to feed.

I will keep you posted.

Thanks

Brad

[This message has been edited by electcontrctr (edited 04-14-2005).]

Brad,

If the items you listed are what the "inspector" is marking as violations he is unqualified to be an electrical inspector in my opinion.

I feel that any jurisdiction that licenses electricians should require their inspectors to become certified.

Finish your job and then either forget about it or contact his supervisor / Mayor etc. and let them know what is happening. You may have to leave town and not go back. On the other hand you might apply for the inspector's job, unless he is related to the mayor.

There was a problem like this years ago in one area and enough electricians were angry enough that they formed an informal group. They paid $ 50 each, and with that money they had an attorney ready, willing, and paid to fight the inspector any day of the week. The inspector "retired" two months later.

Are you alone or are their others in the same boat with you ?

I hate bad inspectors as much as you hate bad electricians.

Good Luck.

Alan


[This message has been edited by Alan Nadon (edited 04-15-2005).]

Hello and thanks for the comments...you are right that the guy has no business inspecting electrical work..I hope they have to go back and reinspect ALL of his inspections..

as far as getting his job...inspectors dont make any money...they are mostly poverty level employees on a tight city budget..

i have never heard of anyone of them getting rich...honestly anyway..

there is a big army hospital up here...the contractor ( a minority contractor) who pulled a splice into a raceway (350 MCM parallel feeder to switchgear) the inspector was aware of it..but...one of the employees left the company "abruptly"..he told the corp of engineers and they went and pulled the cables out and sure enough there they were...after an investigation it was discovered that the inspector took a payoff to look the otherway..in the range of a few thousand dollars..about half of what it would have cost to fix it..

not all are bad...just so that point is clear..i have met some very intelligent and personable ones..

i have also met some old crabby ones too!

there are a few complaints ahead of mine...

brad

[This message has been edited by electcontrctr (edited 04-15-2005).]

[This message has been edited by electcontrctr (edited 04-15-2005).]

I too am an AHJ and I don't like bad inspectors at all. In NJ the law states that if I fail some one I would have to cite the code "Chapter & Verse" as to why he failed. In NJ we also have a Construction Board of Appeal, whereas you can take me in front of if you don't like my decision. There are 5 people who sit on this board, ( usually an Elect. inspector, a Plumbing, Fire and Building and the fifth one can be whatever you like) They will listen to both sides of the story and reach a decision that both sides have to abide by.