New England B.S. Thread

I hate inspectors. The one for my pool was such a donkey..came out 3 times and each time found something else to break balls about. Mind you it was all stuff he inspected the first time but instead of saying "do this, this, and this" he'd tell my electrician to do one thing..then when he came back out "ok now do this". Held us up 3 weeks in all.

Problem is, arguing with an inspector is like wrestling a greased pig. You get all dirty and tired, then realize the pig is having a good laugh at your expense.

What Mike said about the debris, I put all my drywall in garbage bags and humped it out to the curb at about midnight. 30-something bags of the crap, ugh

 

Unfortunately I can't let them in because I am completely redoing a bathroom (never touched plumbing/electrical), but I am sure they will find something to be a prick about. Technically speaking I am only replacing items, not adding or removing fixtures; but I know that I am increasing the value of my property and they just want more tax money. The bathroom has all new drywall and cement board up, getting ready to place tile and then the new vanity. If they do show up with a stop work order, I am going to fight it and not just bend over. The weight is on them to prove I am doing work that requires a permit and that is going to be really tough without actually being allowed to enter my house.

Innocent until proven guilty and I am going to be damned to let someone see me throwing away a few pieces of drywall be considered enough probable cause to fine me. It just really gets me going when someone with nothing to do drives around looking for any violation to screw the average person over.


The worst part is that they don't take ANY liability if the project was to fail at some point. They will tell me to do this and that saying that it now conforms to the Mass Building Code. If that item fails because of their direction, they will cross their arms and I can't do anything about it.

 

I am prob wrong but if the homeowner is doing the work do you need a permit

 

I think North Providence has a Dunkin Donuts addiction! (or infestation)




Seriously, points A and B are about 1000 feet away from each other!

 

I'm the one who retrofits 06-09 grilles for the 03-05's

 

Honestly, don't get worked up just yet. There's a good chance he won't come back and was just trying to get you to cave and let him in. Throwing away some drywall isn't a crime and doesn't tip him off to anything. You said the right thing in that all you're doing is hanging drywall, general repair. You generally do not need a permit for that sort of work. The bathroom reno is questionable but don't let that cat out of the bag.

Careful with the fighting them thing. Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to appease them. Believe me, I understand your frustration but getting on the bad side of some of those guys could be the worst thing you could do in a smaller town, especially since you just bought the house. Say they do show up with a stop work order, get online and do some research to find out what that really means for you. Also, STOP, if you keep going with the work, you could end up taking down finishes to show there isn't anything behind the walls. Especially if you fight it and lose, they could make you open up walls just out of spite at that point and this inspector seems like the type if he gets his way. Again though, don't get worked up yet, he could be on to bigger and better things at this point.

There's more to it than that, it's not that black and white and it varies by town (at the inspector's discretion also). I called my town inspector a few times and have done work with the knowledge of the inspector and he didn't have me pull a permit.

 

Inspectors are like assholes...

Tread lightly with this guy, he's already shown you he's got a really small penis, and he CAN totally ruin your reno project. The best thing to do is 1. play nice with him, and 2. know the laws and codes better than he does (having the most current editions on hand is a good idea).

 

I wasn't sure but a friend of mine ;-) does all his own work and has never pulled a permit. I, ahh I mean he put up a new shed and never pulled a permit. Just lucky I guess

 

That being said inspectors are there for our protection

 

I would caution you on that 2nd one. Knowing the codes better than him can create a pissing match. I've been on projects (large commercial projects) where we knew the code, knew we were correct but the inspector dug in his heels and wouldn't approve our construction. We ended up having to appeal with the state to get past the inspector's unwillingness to listen to us and aknowledge we were correct.

Some of these inspectors have way too much authority and it's not easy to get their decisions overturned. If he does come back with a stop work order, appeal it then but once he's in your house and making determinations, right or wrong, it's tough to get around him. Keep in mind, codes are open to interpretation. They are not always written to perfectly describe what to do in a given situation and, in that case, the inspector's interpretation could be much different than yours.

 

We rebuilt the entirety of the house I'm living in, no permits. We finally pulled one for the dormers because it is 1. super obvious and 2. an actual change to the structure. I bet your codes in MA make NH codes like like a travel brochure.

 

I agree we see it in my business all the time. They come out with a chip on their shoulder and looking for a fight even if they are wrong. I let them write what they want then fight it. It sucks to be in that situation but don't push his buttons

 

I firmly believe that inspectors should be a public service, not an enforcement. If you get into something and you need help or a judgement made, then you should call in an inspector. Otherwise, I don't believe they should have the right to step in and tell me what I can do with my own house. When they start paying in on the mortgage, then I'll start listening to their B.S.

This is my opinion though and it stems from me actually knowing what i'm doing. I have seen a lot of homeowners do some really sketchy shit. I understand why inspectors do what they do on one hand but on the other hand, if someone tackles an electrical job, botches it and destroys their own house, that's their own fault. To me, it's no different than someone attempting a brake job on their vehicle and not knowing what they're doing. It's up to them to research it or hire a professional if their over their head.

 

MA codes are some of the craziest in the country. International Building Code, pssh, fuck that, we'll write our own

 

#2 is key, my electrician was told to ground the water on my pool. Turns out it was a new reg..and while researching it he found another new reg that I'm sure woulda got us another holdup. This inspector seemed to like playing the cross this line game.

That's just it, I only got caught with no fence on my last pool b/c the lot next door was being built.

 

2nd part, totally. I'm that guy who will back out and ask for a pro's help if I realze I can't do it. Problem is,for every one of me there's at least several who will just bull their way forward.

 

1. This is a townie douchebag, not a big city inspector.
2. Knowledge is everything. He says "jump", you need to be smart enough to know that he is wrong, full of it, or you need to comply. Some ass-hat inspector tells you to rip out a 2" vent stack (meets code) and install a 4", you need to know he's an idiot and wasting your time and money.
3. I'm no brain-trust, but every residential code I've had to read (1 or 2 story homes, none of this condo/highrise/city stuff) are much more straight forward. Some have "wiggle room", but those aren't the ones that cost an arm and a leg if you and the inspector don't see eye to eye. Hell, even the NEC isn't that hard to decipher.

 

Destroying their own house may be considered a health hazard...

 

Especially if (to run with the electrical example) they fry their own house but somehow damage the wiring on the street..or cause a fire on their property which is right next to mine..

 

Same with elev codes