Got sick and tired of extension cvords

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

And I'm having a whole crew in for HVAC which of course would lead to the inspections and all my ad hoc wiring and twisted extension cords just looked awful sooooo

I got all my shop wired up nice an proper. - Finally.


Installed 2 new 100 amp sub panels, one 30 amp outlet, 8 duplex 120 amp outlet boxes, 8 4' dual fluorescent lamps and put it all together like it oughta be and then I applied for a permit.

What is it about permits that I tend to shy away~??

Anyhoo the inspector guy comes over today for the rough/ almost finish and said "Well you know what you are doing." To which I merely smiled. He'd a given me a finish 'cept I had a copper ground connected to an aluminum main in a sub panel and he didn't like that.

[Brian Elfert]

My father and I wired up some bedrooms and a bath in my house. The electrical inspector was here less than five minutes from the time he parked his car to the time he drove away.

He looked around for about 30 seconds, said it looked like I knew what I was doing and signed off the rough inspection.

Brian Elfert

[Al Willits]

"""""""""
What is it about permits that I tend to shy away~??
""""""

Well, here anyway, they're a pain to get, count on your property taxes to go up, and generally you know more than the inspector does....that'd be my guess.

Al

[Jim Becker]

There was a piece on GMA in the last week or two about how overburdened inspectors are in some areas. It's pretty much impossible for them to actually "inspect" anything beyond a cursory glance if they are going to be able to get through their daily case load. The candid video of exactly how long some of them were on site was scary!

[Brian Elfert]

There was a piece on GMA in the last week or two about how overburdened inspectors are in some areas. It's pretty much impossible for them to actually "inspect" anything beyond a cursory glance if they are going to be able to get through their daily case load. The candid video of exactly how long some of them were on site was scary!

I can't imagine the inspectors around here are that busy with the construction downturn. Heck, I had a building inspector come out that afternoon when I called after they never acknowledged my email. (Never got it.)

I can understand why the electrical inspectors don't spend a lot of time as the city charges $27 per trip out and the outsourced inspector probably only gets a portion of that. My last electrical inspection took at least 15 minutes instead of two or three minutes.

Per Al's point, yes inspections raise taxes, but probably not for a simple electrical permit. It would be very hard for me to sell my house without proof of a permit for the $20,000 worth of work I am just finishing.

Brian Elfert

[Jim Becker]

Interesting thing here, Brian, is that no permit is required for electrical...just an independent inspection sticker. Plumbing, however...is a "bend over and count your toes" permit situation!

[David G Baker]

When I had my pole barn built I got a permit. The inspector came out to sign off on the building, looked at the outside of the building, asked me if I was happy with the construction, signed the permit and left.

[Dan Gill]

It varies widely around DFW, depending on which little city you are in. In Haltom City, I got a permit several years ago for a room addition, and we never saw an inspector. No plumbing, but lots of wiring, framing, concrete, roofing, etc.

In Hurst, one of my cousin's neighbors got flagged for having drywall screws instead of nails. I'm sure there's an old code that says "xx nails per foot" or some such for drywall. The contractor had to remove all the screws and put in nails, which we all know are inferior to the screws. I never found out if it was just an incompetent inspector, or one who didn't get the payoff he wanted.