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An average day

Inspector Gift said:
To make matters worse, that looks like vinyl siding... Is it? And I don't suppose the installer had a permit for the chimney???
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Most installers would know better.

ICE said:
Was that over time or all at once?
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Based on the amount of soot, I'm going to suggest they were burning green wood during a cold snap. Green wood leads to creosote, which leads to increased chance of chimney fires.

This could have been much, much worse.
 
When was the last time you were on the roof of an old mall? Did you happen to notice the small satellite coax cables running down the plumbing waste vent stacks? I wish I had pictures showing that.
 
I guess this thread has petered out. I read every page over week+ and enjoyed the hell out of it. I'm posting this in hopes that some inspectors pick up the thread and report some of the funny stuff.

(that and I seem to need a min of posts to search member's posts, so I'm adding a post :) )
 
That joist hanger is ugly but I bet it works fine. If you asked Simpson to make them, they probably would like to oblige. Unfortunately getting all the certs for them would be prohibitive.
 
ICE said:
Me too.
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Well, you were a soldier. I can see your POV and I might have been a bit like that if I hadn't stayed on this side of the fence. When I started out most inspectors, if not all, were my father's age. It got where they'd roll up and ask for the card and sign. Not on the first footing inspection, but things like insulation were just a PITA for them to have another stop. They knew it was there. Didn't hurt to leave a few wrappers sticking out of the trash.

These days IDT anyone dares be so lax.
 
Zeke said:
These days IDT anyone dares be so lax.
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I know plenty that don’t bother to exit their vehicle. I have had contractors call and ask me to come out and take a look because they had zero confidence in the inspector that signed their card.

I have heard from owners that the inspector didn’t bother to look at the work.

I overheard a manager tell a new, nervous inspector to walk the site, look at the plans and pretend to know what you are doing….. then sign the card.
 
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ICE said:
I overheard a manager tell a new, nervous inspector to walk the site, look at the plans and pretend to know what you are doing….. then sign the card.
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I would be so embarrassed to be on either side of that conversation. I'm almost embarrassed even to hear that here. I've seen enough to not be shocked by that but it still is quite a shame...
 
Joe.B said:
I would be so embarrassed to be on either side of that conversation. I'm almost embarrassed even to hear that here. I've seen enough to not be shocked by that but it still is quite a shame...
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I can't relate just how bad it has become. I have told a few stories here. I might have told this one:

A few years ago I was assigned to a county district office. Not long into it the managers sat me down for a meeting. I was informed that I was not allowed to write corrections if another inspector had approved the work. If I was there to inspect for corrections, I was only allowed to verify that the corrections were completed and I was not allowed to write new corrections. As I was exiting the meeting an assistant office manager told me that I don’t need to write every correction that I see.

That day I was given a final inspection on a house. I had not been there previously. This was the third attempt at a final and there was a correction related to a stairway. As I walked up to the house, the contractor was installing the service panel dead front. I noticed that of the forty or more circuit breakers, none were AFCI.

I introduced myself and apologized that I wouldn’t be able to sign his job card. He was startled. He said that he had done the correction and if he failed today, liquidated damages would kick in. I told him that I am not allowed to write corrections so I can’t help him. He asked me to do the inspection. I made it clear that I would break the rules ... write corrections and tear him up or I could leave a note that says “Sorry I missed you. Schedule a followup inspection” He didn’t want either choice so I left.

The next day I met the inspector that had been with that project from the beginning. He asked me if it passed final. I told him that I couldn’t help them because there were no AFCI breakers. He said, “AFI??? I’ve heard of those. What are they?”

That inspector is now an assistant office manager. And by the way, he’s one of the smarter ones.
 
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e hilton said:
The joist hanger going up toward 11:00 looks ok. But i’m having a little problem seeing if the double 2x is cut to butt to the post, or is the post cut to provide a shelf?
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The post is notched and it looks like two pieces due to a split.
 
Joe.B said:
I'm glad I'm in a small town.
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I have held back with stories about the dire condition of the building departments of So. Ca. There isn’t a lot of interest and nothing will change. The people involved, that being the owners, contractors and regulators, wouldn’t have it any other way.

Naysayers like Mark K are clueless.

I once had a soils report for a single family addition of about 1000 sq.ft. The lot was flat in a sea of flat lots that were built out in 1950. I asked the contractor why there was a soils report. He said that the district grading and drainage engineer required the report.

I asked the G&D Engineer why he required the soils report and he said, “I am new to the office and I want to see what the soils are in this area.”

There’s a few takeaways here. The plan checker didn’t stop this from happening…. A Geotechnical Engineer took the money knowing it was not necessary. The contractor knew it was BS and did it anyway. The owner got screwed. The soil can differ from one side of a lot to the other.
 
I may have missed it somewhere in 263 pages, but what does "ICE" stand for? I heard the term tiger but I wasn't sure that was endearing.

Sorry, still trying to build posts.
 
Zeke said:
I may have missed it somewhere in 263 pages, but what does "ICE" stand for? I heard the term tiger but I wasn't sure that was endearing.

Sorry, still trying to build posts.
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I neglected to welcome you to the forum.....so welcome Zeke.

In 2009 I was a member of the forum with the pseudonym Tigerloose. I left after about a year. I came back in 2011 as ICE. Neither Tigerloose or ICE have a meaning.
Tigerloose came about when I growled at a computer as I was trying to create profile for a Wells Fargo bank account. My Vietnamese girlfriend heard me and she said, "Uh Oh a tiger is loose." I was born in the year of the Tiger and Asian folks have a misplaced belief in that stuff.

Some of the old timers here remember Tigerloose and even say that there is such a thing as Tiger Code. I was at the public counter with the manager when a contractor asked what codes we enforce. The manager went through the list and then pointed at me and said, "And A****'s code" The contractor asked where he can get a copy of A****'s code. The manager said that it is not written down. The contractor asked how he will know if he violated A**** 's code. The manager said, "A**** will tell you."

I created the Average Day thread for pictures. Most of it isn't worthy of a stand alone thread and that takes too long what with a title and all. There has been a few people that have gone through the entire thread. I have heard from managers that make it required reading for new hires. Sometimes I will drop in the middle and look around and I can be amazed at the mistakes that were made.

I figured that this being a media platform people would get behind posting pictures but it never caught on. The forum is more about design and plan check issues and there are just a few inspectors. I always take pictures with well over 60,000 and have lost another 100,000 when computers die. Pictures make it easy to explain the corrections to managers and contractors.
 
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Zeke said:
That joist hanger is ugly but I bet it works fine. If you asked Simpson to make them, they probably would like to oblige. Unfortunately getting all the certs for them would be prohibitive.
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All metal hangers get "approved" by the AHJ, so approve what you want....

R502.6 Bearing. The ends of each joist, beam or girder shall
have not less than 11/2 inches (38 mm) of bearing on wood or
metal, have not less than 3 inches of bearing (76 mm) on
masonry or concrete or be supported by approved joist hangers.
Alternatively, the ends of joists shall be supported on a
1-inch by 4-inch (25 mm by 102 mm) ribbon strip and shall
be nailed to the adjacent stud. The bearing on masonry or
concrete shall be direct, or a sill plate of 2-inch-minimum
(51 mm) nominal thickness shall be provided under the joist,
beam or girder. The sill plate shall provide a minimum nominal
bearing area of 48 square inches (30 865 mm2).
 
e hilton said:
Except that the hanger in the picture has been modified.
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So....lets go all the way with this....40/10# loading Max span 2x10 DF 15'7".....So lets call it 7.5' tributary X1.3 (16"OC) ...So something like 390# live and 97 dead
1681129476091.png

Is this hanger equivalent to 4 or 5 16d's as installed?...You make the call.....Or call an engineer.....
 
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