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An average day

ICE, I am curious... when you do inspections, do you call out violations as you see them, or do you make a list and hit the worker/contractor/owner with a big list all at once at the end of the inspection?
It goes both ways. It depends on how busy I am. If I am pressed for time I will give them a list at the end and I may not even have time to explain the corrections.
 
The permit states, "Convert garage back to it's original condition---Remove roof covering to the sheathing-replace roofing----Remove addition to the back of the garage and replace the back wall.

The roofn structure was replaced. The back wall has become an opening.

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There is a trailer under all that stuff. I know that because I saw a foot of tongue stiking out of the pile.

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The permit states, "Legalize bathroom." That means that there is a bathroom that had no inspections.
The raised platform is a shower stall.

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The square patch is the shower drain.

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The owner insisted that my supervisor has already approved this mess. The proof is the approved plans and permit. I tried to convince them they have an approval to have a bathroom....just not this bathroom.
 
I am soooo stealing this:

It's more like, "Picking fly shlt out of the pepper."

I have local electrical inspectors that fail 3 NM cables under a blue staple because the staple isn't listed for that even though the securing and support method doesn't need to be listed....I advise the electricians to put in an 8d nail and bend it over and see how the inspector likes that....
 
The inspection was for a water heater changeout. The expansion tank is against the vent. I can't say for sure that the heat from the vent would have an effect on the expansion tank. I can say that there should be six inch separation....so I did.


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The gas shutoff valve is against the wall and I think that it should be facing the other way....so I said that too.


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An extra valve is probably not a violation....well unless it's 72 years old....so I asked them to remove it.

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Somebody thought that I would want to go on the roof to inspect a solar array. That has me wondering if any inspectors do that.

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The inspection requested was for solar and a service panel upgrade. The service panel is still in the carton. That's a good thing because it's a surface mount and the existing is a flush mount with a lateral feed. The utility co. was pulling away as I arrived. They cut the power and the contractor stated thatb the poco would return later that day to restore power. This was the first day that I worked in that city so I called the BO to ask if the poco needs a release prior to energizing and he said yes. I guess that the occupants will be eating out and going to bed early tonight.

For the twenty-five years that I worked for LA County there was less than five occasions where the electrician didn't restore the power while waiting for an inspection. Another city that I recently worked in lets the POCO energize and wait for an inspection.

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Since I have become an employee of a third party inspection company I have experienced several city building departments. There is a stark difference between them. Yesterday I had twelve addresses to visit for an inspection. Nine times, they were just getting started or they were not there at all. A TI requested rough framing and MEPS. The only people at the site was two guys hanging drywall...they were better than half way completed. Post #5,097 is another example.

This temp power pole was another. Even though the city will not allow me to remove a deadfront, I would not ask the contractor to show up for a TPP inspection but as you can see, he should have been there.

Here's another quirk. I have been to four cities in the month that I have been working for this company and one city stands out.....nearly every site has a Blue Room, otherwise known as a Porta-Potty ....even re-roofing....

I like not having a permanent assignment. I fill temporary holes in inspection staff. They're happy to see me, coming and going. Some, but not all get upset when I complete the inspections by noon. I get where they are coming from, them being government employees and all.

When I worked at the County there was a permit tech with twenty years in. She had a full plate for sure. Her mentally challenged (retarded for the un-woke among you) sister lived with her. She had to take her sister to a care facility daily.. Well the care facility changed up their hours and set her back thirty minutes. So she couldn't get to work on time. The other techs and staff understood the situation and knew about her paralyzed husband, elderly mother and HC sister so they willingly filled the gap.

Management was not so understanding. Management required her to stay thirty minutes after closing to make up the time. She offered to use sick and vacation time but was told no. She would be left in the dark storefront office, by herself and then have to make it to her car .... in a horrible neighborhood. She sat at her desk with the lights turned of....contemplating her lot in life. What a rotten thing to do to her. So now I am making up for that transgression.

In retrospect I shame myself for not having sat with her to see to it that she made it to her car unmolested. It went on for many months....a year maybe.

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The inspection waqs for a water heater changeout. The expansion tank is against the vent. I can't say for sure that the heat from the vent would have an effect on the expansion tank. I can say that there should be six inch separation....so I did.


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Should the expansion tank be vertical?
 
Should the expansion tank be vertical?
It's been a while since I read installation instructions for an expansion tank. As I recall some were stricter than others but I'm pretty sure that any orientation is acceptable. I might be wrong about that but the truth is that the expansion tank is a waste of money.
 
Nice pool.

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Somebody is going to be disappointed. And don't you know they will say, "That's where the plans show the equipment." The implication will be that it is the fault of the Building Department for approving the plans.

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Nice pool.

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Somebody is going to be disappointed. And don't you know they will say, "That's where the plans show the equipment." The implication will be that it is the fault of the Building Department for approving the plans.

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My first drafting job was for a pool company. I don't recall ever having to note where the electrical meter or panel was. The biggest issues the jurisdictions were worried about way back when was proximity to the property lines and the house.
 
On Tuesday I wrote corrections on the electrical. That included bundled cable, the compromised shear panel, the bunch of cable through a hole, and then on to the fly shlt stuff.

Thie is what it looked like on Teusday.

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I worked in a different city on Wednesday. On Thursday I was back for a lath inspections as everything that I had flagged on Teusday was approved by another inspector on Wednesday.

This is how it looks now. At some point there wil;l be a request for an inspection that will include the service panel. I probably will not have to deal with that because I only get sent when there is inspection staff missing .

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My first drafting job was for a pool company. I don't recall ever having to note where the electrical meter or panel was. The biggest issues the jurisdictions were worried about way back when was proximity to the property lines and the house.
You are correct. I never see that on a plan. I convinced the last County office that I worked in to require the plans to show where overhead utility service drops came on to the property. You could get some idea of where the panel was located.
 
As I walked up to the building I surmised that the windows were improperly flashed. It looks as though the flashing is over the nail flange.

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Even as I got closer.

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I wrote a correction and as I was getting ready to move on a lady drove up. I say lady to be nice but most men are less profane to my face than she was. I was informed that I was incorrect. So I got real close and discovered that the nail flange is white and white caulk has been applied over the flange.

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The permit stated, "20 ton AC on roof." "Like for like, 150 pounds.". The roof is the second story of an apartment building. There was a single correction written, "Max fuse 25amp"
I am not sure how that inspector got there with the ladder that was provided for me. I didn't get closer than 30' away.

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I see patterns. Certain violations will be a common occurrence. Here is one. I would like an opinion from the forum members. The cluster of cable in the single clamp is a code violation. I am convinced that some electricians and a few inspectors are aware of the violation. However, is that code violation not worth writing given the work it takes to correct the violation?



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The clamp does not secure the cables. It’s just a convenient hole.

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Three exhaust fans are crammed into the opening for a turbine roof vent. As luck would have it, they need not be supported as a friction fit seems to do the job well enough.

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Yes, the cramming together of multiple conductor assemblies,
in one location, is a Code violation, and therefore the
conductors would need to be: (1) derated or (2) provide much
more spacing of the assemblies, so that [ some ] air will be
able to circulate around them.

Yes, I would encourage you to cite the discrepancy, along with
the Electrical Code Articles that are applicable.,,,,,,IMO, if you
do not cite the violation, the various contractors will consider
this an approved installation, and therefore a precedent will
have been set.

Let the violators figure out how to make the install compliant.
Also, IMO, ...you must at least try to be accurate in the application
of your duties !


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