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An average day

Four bedrooms and there is a receptacle behind every door. They did this because of a correction that stated: "No wall space 2" or greater in width shall be more than 6' away from a receptacle". I write that correction at the beginning of any job where that code would apply. I also include kitchen counter layout if it applies.

I wouldn't expect to find a receptacle behind a door.

But hey now, I had breakfast with a couple of inspectors this morning and they chastised me for being lax. The receptacle is there for a vacuum cleaner. Well that’s what they said and it was two against one so I stand corrected.

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43686849564_2c5841dddc_b.jpg The first one was found during a re-roof inspection so I sent pictures to Edison. The second job will require Edison to energize the service upgrade so there is no need to alert Edison.

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Three times this week I encountered too many wires in a raceway. This picture is from the second inspection. Nothing changed because the "Company engineer verified that the conduit is not too small for 32 wires". The breakers aren't arc fault because, "That won't work with shared neutrals."

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This contractor did make a change or two. All of the circuits now have arc fault protection.....whether they need it or not.
Originally there was 16 current carrying conductors in a raceway. Now it's 6 and ten in two raceways. The six are all 12awg and the ten are all 14awg. This is after I explained the concept at the first inspection.

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This job has an additional element of heat. 22 conductors.

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Same day different job. Every time that I write the correction I have to spend time explaining the code. This time the contractor played dumb for the longest time. He kept going back to the size of the conduit. Then five minutes into it he says, "Which temperature column can I use?" So he was playing me like a cheap guitar the entire time.

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This contractor has been given a correction to seal top plate penetrations on several inspections. They tried to comply with this job as you can see the gray stuff around the raceways. When I asked about the cable I was told that the cable is "existing" and as such, it is not the contractors responsibility to seal that penetration.

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This one is funny. I pulled up to a Mechanical inspection. The permit stated "split system" so I surmised that it's what you see on the front of the house. I commenced writing corrections....fourteen corrections. I even asked for a licensed electrical contractor to obtain an electrical permit.

Then I knocked on the front door. A woman that does not speak English opened the door and then shut the door. I could hear her speaking in Spanish so I waited for a bit and the door opened again. She held a phone and the Asian lady on the the other end explained that the woman in front of me is the housekeeper. She said that the A/C is in the backyard and the furnace is in the attic. I asked about the mini-splits and was told that they are a year old and just didn't do the job of cooling the house so they had a central system installed.

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The wiring method is drop cord in conduit. With a fused neutral.

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Apparently they only had three fuses so this one is done differently.

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The inspection was for under-slab plumbing. There is no head test......but it is filled with air.

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A lot of air.

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This is the first time that I have found a blue room on a re-roof. The roofer hauls it from job to job.

I have to admit that contractors that provide one get just a bit more respect.

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This is in the common area of a condo complex of around 120 condos. Imagine this thing scorching hot right next to the sidewalk that leads to the carports.

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ICE said:
The inspection was for under-slab plumbing. There is no head test......but it is filled with air.



A lot of air.

Click to expand...

We don't test with air anymore here, when the sap releases that fernco type cap, better not have his face over it!

2018 I-code reduced the head test pipe from 10-ft to 5-ft so you don't fall off your ladder.
 
The job is a TI for a Chinese restaurant. The vegetables are decoration. I wonder if the Health Dept. will have a problem with this. I wonder if I'm going to have a problem with this.

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Pcinspector1 said:
We don't test with air anymore here, when the sap releases that fernco type cap, better not have his face over it!

2018 I-code reduced the head test pipe from 10-ft to 5-ft so you don't fall off your ladder.
Click to expand...
Air test on plastic pipe is not allowed here.
 
ICE said:
The job is a TI for a Chinese restaurant. The vegetables are decoration. I wonder if the Health Dept. will have a problem with this. I wonder if I'm going to have a problem with this.

Click to expand...


You don't have gourds in California? Those things were everywhere here in the Midwest when I was a kid - don't see as many nowadays, but I don't hang out in the same places I did when I was a kid, either.

If they're dried and kept inside they'll last forever. I remember dozens of them in my older family members' houses - I'm certain some were decades old. All painted up and "artsy". On the practical side, Grandpa always had a couple wired to fence posts as bird houses, too.
 
Looks like any decoration you would see in a bar or restaurant, but it's interesting.

A bar in Kansas City has several 100 or more football helmets hanging from the ceiling with other sporting stuff, kinda cool, not sure if it's got those sprinkler thingy's or not? It's kinda of a shrine.
 
ICE said:
I wonder if the Health Dept. will have a problem with this.

Click to expand...

There will be dust all over them in a year, Health Department wouldn't care about dust. HD more concerned with what shelf the eggs are placed on. No see no sprinkler heads in your photo.
 
This mistake undoubtedly occurred at the end of the project.

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I would be surprised to if they didn't know that they must start at the beginning to fix this mistake.

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That indicates that they just gave up.
 
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JCraver said:
You don't have gourds in California? Those things were everywhere here in the Midwest when I was a kid - don't see as many nowadays, but I don't hang out in the same places I did when I was a kid, either.

If they're dried and kept inside they'll last forever. I remember dozens of them in my older family members' houses - I'm certain some were decades old. All painted up and "artsy". On the practical side, Grandpa always had a couple wired to fence posts as bird houses, too.
Click to expand...
I don't know if they are dried and lightweight. I was told that in times past, and perhaps today as well, the gourds were/are used to store alcoholic beverages. I have had a Chinese wine that is delicious. This being a Chinese restaurant, the patrons will understand.
 
The job is an attempt to legalize an enclosed patio cover that was not permitted or inspected.

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The vent pops out under another illegal patio cover that will be legalized.

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ICE said:
This mistake undoubtedly occurred at the end of the project.



I would be surprised to if they didn't know that they must start at the beginning to fix this mistake.



That indicates that they just gave up.
Click to expand...
Yep, last thing they did so they could get back to the shop or it's overtime.

Has the pan been sealed at the corners?

The absolute worse place to put a furnace or air conditioner is in the attic. I thought California was the leader in energy saving and now requiring solar on all new house construction.

Bring the drain down through the ceiling joist and take to an air gap, wait I'm not suppose to design it, I'm just suppose to inspect it.
 
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