An average day

[SCBO1]

ICE,

The code ministry is calling, please change your handle to "GOD of CODES" or "CODE GOD!" or like Northstar suggested "Code Sheriff". ICE sounds like some kind of new drug name.

First photo of the old box has the Zinco breakers, the home inspectors here tell the homeowners they need to be replaced.

pc1

 

[MASSDRIVER]

The title of "Code God" has already been self ascribed by a member on this forum,as well as all it's implied forms and iterations.

Brent

 

[mtlogcabin]

Ice

We will be taking over electrical from the state so I have been using your photos and discussing them with my inspector who will be doing the electrical inspections. He agrees with you it is wrong because the recessed box becomes an inaccessible junction box when the new surface panel is installed over it. His suggestion was install an outside weather resistant gutter box to use as the junction and then install the new panel above it.

He did mention the state has allowed this practice for past 15 years he has been doing electrical work. So it is not uncommon

 

[ICE]

the recessed box becomes an inaccessible junction box when the new surface panel is installed over it.

There is a requirement for an accessible J-box, however I would not call the old cabinet a J-box.

 

[ICE]

the state has allowed this practice for past 15 years he has been doing electrical work. So it is not uncommon

The first time I turned this down was the first time that I encountered it. I was a new inspector with a large organization. I didn't know that I was going to be alone on this. Of course I heard the whine that I am the only inspector that does this but I get that a lot and most of the time it is BS. After more than a few of these, the contractors went over my head to the Electrical Section head engineer. That still happens after all these years. My correction stands. But if you think about it, the engineer couldn't say otherwise.

Several times I have asked the head engineer to send a bulletin to each district office and every inspector explaining the problem and the correct way to deal with it. I was told to prepare a draft with pictures, which I did. Nothing has been sent. I quit asking.

So I still turn it down....not just because it is wrong. I do it because it can be so wrong.

Here's a good example that I have posted previously. The cabinet is mounted over 16 gauge sheet steel which has been placed over the existing recessed cabinet. I was assured that the sheet steel was caulked to the building and water can't get in. It seems that any time silicone caulk is used, leaks are an impossibility.



They swore up and down that there were no splices in the wall. I said show me...so they did by cutting through a bedroom wall.



They were somehow convinced that if they opened the wall and there were no splices, I would have to approve the work.

If service cabinets are allowed over existing recessed cabinets and holes, nobody is looking at what's in the wall.

This is the kind of stuff that is left in walls when nobody is looking.



The correction isn't a small thing. The entire job must be done over. Too often the cabinet won't work and must be replaced. The contractor loses the customer's confidence. And probably any referrals. That could hurt in a small jurisdiction.

Well then mtlogcabin, you are a levelheaded guy that "gets it" and I would like to know how you handle this when it's your turn at bat.

 

[ICE]

There's about 30 of these.





There's about 40 of these. I probably shouldn't inspect these when it's raining but it beats sitting around an office.

There's a couple dozen of these.



They always act like I am crazy when I require a torque wrench.. They never have one. They always say that the company has only one and it is on another job.

The kid told me that he didn't crank them too tight and the lugs are made that way. I asked him to remove one and kept it.



He and I were standing on the roof when his phone rang. It was his boss. The kid told the boss that they didn't pass inspection by a long shot. Then I heard him say, "Oh by the way, I left the gate open and the customers dog took off". I guess the boss didn't like hearing that....The last I saw of the kid, he was running down the middle of the street. I left the correction slips on his windshield.

 

[mmmarvel]

They always act like I am crazy when I require a torque wrench.. They never have one. They always say that the company has only one and it is on another job.

You really want to see them go nuts?? Ask when the last time the torque wrench was calibrated? Ask for the paperwork on it. The look on their faces is priceless.

 

[ICE]

I was there for a rough inspection on roof-top PV. I always ask to see the service at the rough inspection.

The cord and plug is there in case they want to power the house with a generator.



That attachment plug is filled with water....and is energized.



The panel dead-front is missing but the owner says "not to worry, it's in the back yard somewhere".

 

[e hilton]

T

.

Is there something visibly wrong in the picture?

 

[TheCommish]

to me either the conductor is to small for the fitting of the screw is at an angle that may prohibit proper tightening to the conductor

 

[Phil]

e Hilton

It looks like the screw was over tightened and this bent the lug. (Notice the tilted screw)

 

[TheCommish]

no stress marks on this one

The kid told me that he didn't crank them too tight and the lugs are made that way. I asked him to remove one and kept it.

 

[ICE]

No stress marks but obviously bent.

 

[TheCommish]

Hmm, how did they bend it with a small conductor?

 

[SCBO1]

Is that type of grounding clamp required to have a (UL) stamping?

pc1

 

[Mech]

Manufacturing process defect?

 

[ICE]

Hmm, how did they bend it with a small conductor?

It was bent with a screw driver. I removed the setscrew and tried to thread it in upside down. It will not work because the screwdriver forced apart the sides of the slot. Force applied to the setscrew is what bent the body of the lug.

 

[ICE]

Is that type of grounding clamp required to have a (UL) stamping?pc1

To be used for grounding PV panels and rack, the lugs must be listed to Standard #2703. This is an Ilsco product.

 

[TheCommish]

gorilla electricians

It was bent with a screw driver. I removed the setscrew and tried to thread it in upside down. It will not work because the screwdriver forced apart the sides of the slot. Force applied to the setscrew is what bent the body of the lug.

 

[e hilton]

gorilla electricians

Or maybe they set the screw with an impact driver and didn't let go of the trigger soon enough. Remember ... they only have one torque wrench and it's on another job.

 

[ICE]

We don't get a lot of lightning but it's not like it's unheard of. This is Edison at work and it rained most of the day.

 

[ICE]

When it is temporary power, a lot of contractors think that whatever they do is good enough.





The gas station is open for business.

 

[ICE]

There was nobody there and this is all there was for a plan. Our stamp is not on this plan. I didn't have a magnifying glass so I couldn't read it.



The orange rebar caps should all be in a straight line with the first and the last.



When I pushed the rebar to a vertical position the bottom steel ended up against the dirt.



And all of the dobies are on the wrong bar.

 

[ICE]

The caller was frantic. It seems that his neighbor has removed two huge pine trees as well as tons of dirt. There is now a cliff where there once was a hill. He is worried that the gardener might fall to his death. Who can help him?, he asks. Where is the property line/....he needs to know. Should he start with a lawyer and then come to the Building Dept.? Or is it the other way around? Oh Please Mr. Building Inspector, Help Me, Help Me.