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An average day

Plumber did a water main. I asked to see the electrical service so I can determine if the plumber eliminated an electrode. The people are on vacation and we can't enter the back yard...... the plumber wants a final approval so he installed a ground rod and asked for re-inspection.

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Not even 15' of sill and they missed 5 anchor bolts.

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I said no to that j-box too.
 
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This job started in 2006 and expired in 2009. When it actually stopped is unknown. The scope is adding a bedroom and bath, extending a bedroom and living room, add a laundry. The second floor is an addition. There is also an expired permit for a second unit which is over a detached garage.

It was like this for five years before I arrived. I have placed notices for the owner to contact me several times. I have turned it over to code enforcement several times. As I was passing by today it occurred to me that if another winter passes I will have to condemn the wiring because the lath is too porous. That's when I noticed the water heater and PV.

I hate these messes.

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The electrical supply for the tank-less water heater is a power cord through a window.....the window that is right there ....next to the water heater. Vents are not their thing.
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And wouldn't you know it, there's PV on the roof.

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The job is a complete re-pipe with PEX. I found this but no ground rods or uffer.

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It's the ground clamp....I never would've thought about the PVC on the potable without a back flow device. The sprinkler control valves have anti-back flow.

The code says...or used to say, I never know for sure....that the valve shall be 6" above the highest sprinkler head. Some of mine are below....from 4' to 24' so they dribble for a good five minutes after they close and whistle for 30 seconds when they open. So I need to install a dirt cheap back flow device times five.

People used to get a plumbing permit for irrigation sprinkler systems but I haven't seen one in years.
 
The corrections came to me faster than I could write them down.

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# 16 should have said secure the NM at 4.5 ft. intervals max....but alas and alack I forgot to write it.

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The CSST mates up with the refrigerant lines and goes...where I don't know.

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As I handed the lady homeowner the corrections, she asked me if any of them were the responsibility of the owner and not the contractor. She has experienced a number of my inspections related to an addition so she is used to hearing, "It's the inspector's whim and you will have to pay for it". So I showed her this picture and said "only one". When she heard the words molten copper I could see a google icon in her eye.

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You would think that if they are intelligent enough to complete an electrical service upgrade that they would recognize this for what it is.

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They didn't try hard enough...Shirley they could have made it look worse than this.

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ICE said:
The corrections came to me faster than I could write them down.


# 16 should have said secure the NM at 4.5 ft. intervals max....but alas and alak I forgot to write it.


The CSST mates up with the refrigerant lines and goes...where I don't know.


As I handed the lady homeowner the corretions, she asked me if any of them were the responsibility of the owner and not the contractor. She has experienced a number of my inspections related to an addition so she is used to hearing, "It's the inspector's whim and you will have to pay for it". So I showed her this picture and said "only one". When she heard the words molten copper I could see a google icon in her eye.
Click to expand...
1) Rafter ties at 48" missing
2) Ceiling Insulation missing
3) Flue clearance to combustibles
4) Flue support missing
5) Furnace power supply by plug in cord
6) Electrical connections in last photo?
What else?
 
Pcinspector1 said:
1) Rafter ties at 48" missing
2) Ceiling Insulation missing
3) Flue clearance to combustibles
4) Flue support missing
5) Furnace power supply by plug in cord
6) Electrical connections in last photo?
What else?
Click to expand...
Tiger doesn't say but I assume the permit is to change out an attic furnace, can permittees really be forced to add insulation when getting a permit to change out a furnace?
 
conarb,

Probably not, the homeowner probably exclaimed "That was existing!" Same with the rafter ties, existing.

Believe it or not there were a lot of contractors not installing insulation in garage attics here. Who looked in the attic anyway? They were more goggle eyed :rolleyes: and sidetracked about that $2,500.00 front door that the Architect put on the house plans and the contractor installed!

I use Tiger's photos to improve my Inspectors eye, hope others are doing the same!
 
The insulation is on the ceiling not the the roof, and just guessing but if the unit is in the garage then that is not conditioned space did not need insulation when the home was built.
 
Post #2201, photo #2 shows no attic insulation on the Ceiling drywall. Is the photo over a garage or conditioned space?
 
Rick you are correct, the CJ's complete the tie but what is the 2x6 in the picture that's midway up? it's not a rafter tie unless its in the lower third of the attic space. And it's not a collar tie.
 
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Pcinspector1 said:
Rick you are correct, the CJ's complete the tie but what is the 2x6 in the picture that's midway up? it's not a rafter tie unless its in the lower third of the attic space. And it's not a collar tie.
Click to expand...
I see the ties at that location quite often. All those years ago, that was the way they did it. What, if any, value they provide is not for me to consider. When they are removed I ask for a replacement. In this case there is room above the furnace that will be close to the original location.

Many times there is no way to replace the tie. So it does not get replaced.

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Nine times out of ten I find a duct draped over the 3/4" wide board.
 
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As to the question of insulation. There is none. None was required when the house was built. And none is required now.
Some of the wealth redistribution programs that hand out money for such things as new windows and HVAC equipment require that the attic be insulated. And then they blow it in 30" (R30") deep burying all of the eave vents, junction boxes, (whether they are open or not) combustion air openings, ceiling light fixtures, a spaghetti mess of old, rotten wiring, etc.
 
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