Are they all this STUPID?

[chim]

As a trustee of our church, I get involved in anything having to do with any repairs or construction. We own a rental property that the borough inspects periodically. The house is an old structure and on the last inspection the borough codes guy found a short floor joist with a crack at each end. It appears to have been cracked for decades. The inspector said we had to have a structural engineer design a repair. We did. The repair detailed jacking the one end and driving a wooden wedge under it. The other end is to be jacked up and a $3 Simpson nailed in. BUT we are required to get a building permit and have a third party inspection. Those items cost $310.60.

I called the borough code administrator and asked if we could discuss the matter. Although we did discuss it, he indicated there was no flexibility. I asked why someone from the borough couldn't come see that we installed a wood block and a $3 piece of sheet metal as shown on the engineer's drawing. He said the borough has its rules and they don't inspect. Well BS! I am to believe that their code inspector has the credentials to condemn something and doesn't have the credentials to check the repair?

Just what do these people do to earn over $100K per year in a burg of 8,000 residents?

 

[Scm]

Great book more people should read.
Most Dangerous Superstition

 

[fatjay]

Building inspection has gotten out of hand. I put up a metal patio roof, just some square tube welded together, anchored to the concrete. Township caught wind, said I need a PE inspection. Got 3 quotes, ranging from $7000-$15,000. I paid $1200 in material. I told the township that this was entirely unreasonable, and I'm not going to do it. What are the other options. The guy said I could reclassify it as a carport, there's no structural signoff required on them. So now I have a "carport" over my back patio.

 

[chim]

Great book more people should read.
Most Dangerous Superstition

I did look at the situation honestly and objectively. I still cannot fathom why the person who made the determination that there was a problem, can't simply stop by and see if the very simple fix matches the very simple engineer's drawing. The repair cost is under $5 because as trustees we perform the work without compensation.

I worked in construction from 1968 until retirement 4 years ago. Some people in authority are reasonable, but some are not. Some help with problems while others enjoy seeing / causing them. We seem to have competition between local governments to see how expensive and over-regulated they can make life for the residents.

Both the borough in this case and the township I live in created positions for cronies and the cronies hired assistants. The population has not increased at the same rate as the local government employees. Additionally, work is farmed out to third parties instead of them getting off their butts.

 

[Tarmy]

Out here it is over 800 bucks for moving 3 electrical outlets. I know the city manager and she looked into it. Over 200 of it was for city hall debt, about 100 was for retirement funds and then literally the rest was everything but the actual inspection costs…that was only about 120 bucks…

 

[chim]

There's no fiscal responsibility being shown. They recently broke ground on a "municipal complex" that may cost in excess of $14M for a town of 8,000 people! Next they'll be hiring assistants for the assistants - all of whom will be highly compensated.

 

[Scm]

I think the craziest part is, after extorting you, they are not liable if something goes wrong after THEIR "inspection".

 

[lynnmor]

There's no fiscal responsibility being shown. They recently broke ground on a "municipal complex" that may cost in excess of $14M for a town of 8,000 people! Next they'll be hiring assistants for the assistants - all of whom will be highly compensated.

Of that 8,000 there is likely only a small percentage that will ever have any use of the complex, (whatever that is).

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Great book more people should read.
Most Dangerous Superstition

How about a spoiler? I'm not buying the book regardless.

 

[jimh406]

The problem is lack of accountability. That isn't specific to govt employees though. Some are stupid some just don't care. Fwiw, there are no building inspections in my area. It's both a good and bad thing.

 

[chim]

The problem is lack of accountability. That isn't specific to govt employees though. Some are stupid some just don't care. Fwiw, there are no building inspections in my area. It's both a good and bad thing.

If the construction would never change hands it wouldn't be so bad. The real danger is when some unsuspecting soul falls for the lipstick and doesn't see the pig. Having seen some so-called "improvements" made to houses when I was going along house shopping with #3 Son, that's correct. When it comes to doing good work and understanding basic structure, it's like a line "Some cats got it and some cats ain't". It's an absolute certainty that some of the things we saw were never inspected.

 

[Sawburner]

I am also a church trustee, we just had a fire inspection. He found some things once pointed out were obvious, they had been that way for we don't know how many years, the church is inspected every year so the last inspectors were not looking or what . It was stuff we could fix with out having to higher any body, lucky for us.

 

[Scm]

How about a spoiler? I'm not buying the book regardless.

It is pretty expensive.
Here is a good video about it

 

[armylifer]

It is pretty expensive.
Here is a good video about it

That book sounds like a bunch of anarchist pablum.

 

[Daren Todd]

I did look at the situation honestly and objectively. I still cannot fathom why the person who made the determination that there was a problem, can't simply stop by and see if the very simple fix matches the very simple engineer's drawing. The repair cost is under $5 because as trustees we perform the work without compensation.

I worked in construction from 1968 until retirement 4 years ago. Some people in authority are reasonable, but some are not. Some help with problems while others enjoy seeing / causing them. We seem to have competition between local governments to see how expensive and over-regulated they can make life for the residents.

Both the borough in this case and the township I live in created positions for cronies and the cronies hired assistants. The population has not increased at the same rate as the local government employees. Additionally, work is farmed out to third parties instead of them getting off their butts.

I've found the ones who are unreasonable are really rigid and by the book people.

They usually have gone into the position out of school instead of working in the industry first.

Thus by the book and inflexible.

On a side note. The Amazon fulfillment center down the street that has been in operation for a few years now just got shut down by code enforcement.

Apparently the 5 story, 3 million sqft facility doesn't meet the local building requirements for seismic activity.

You would have thought they would have caught that sooner

When I looked it up last week, google said that the center support pillars weren't tied to the concrete. But has later changed it's story. And has gotten vague.

If it was the columns thats sn expensive fix jack hammering around the posts, tying it to the steel, and then pouring more concrete.

The same construction company that built the amazon fullfillment center, is in the process of building the 150 acre Trex facility on the other side of us

It makes me wonder if they are making the same mistake at the Trex facility

 

[PoTreeBoy]

It is pretty expensive.
Here is a good video about it

Thanks. I've never had a problem disobeying authority, only recognizing the ultimate authority. I watched ~20 minutes of the video; another person thinks he's got the foundational human condition figured out.

 

[D2Cat]

Many inspectors enjoy the power they are assigned. They like a clipboard in their hand and a decal on their vehicle. It seems to be an ego trip.

I learned early on to purposefully make something obviously wrong so they can see it and start barking. They have to find something to have a job, so make them feel the power! Always dumped a bucket of leaves on the rebar in a footing what a certain inspector was coming. He walk around for a while, then say clean those leaves out of there and pour it!

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Some people in authority are reasonable, but some are not.

Nobody in government ever got in trouble for obeying the rules to the letter. Many have gotten in trouble for NOT obeying the rules to the letter.


You can take it from there.

 

[Speed25]

I've found the ones who are unreasonable are really rigid and by the book people.

They usually have gone into the position out of school instead of working in the industry first.

Thus by the book and inflexible.

So true. School doesn't seem to teach them WHY the code was there in the first place. Old inspectors understand the WHY and are reasonable in how you fix a problem, even if it isn't to the letter of the code book.

More frustratingly is that the international code most places use is 50 shades of gray and ten different guys can read the same passage and come up with five different interpretations.

 

[chim]

A career in construction exposed me to all sorts of people I wouldn't invite to a BBQ. A couple of us retirees gather for breakfast monthly and one of the topics of discussion is that we should get together and write a book.

Sometimes people are so intent on causing trouble that they are too blind to see what can happen next. Like the nitwit fed inspector who insisted we have a big meeting about our conduit rusting. It was aluminum conduit and that meeting didn't last long.

Or the state inspector who upon reading the spec on backfill for a PVC conduit that called for "natural sand" and wanted proof we were using natural sand. I never heard of sand referred to as anything but "sand" so I called the supplier and asked. They said we were receiving "manufactured sand", ground up sandstone. The design engineer was a good guy. I called him and asked what we could do other than dredge the Susquehanna or haul sand from New Jersey. He advised me to write him a Request For Information as ask if manufactured sand was OK. He sent a reply stating he actually preferred manufactured sand. That quieted the inspector down until he started asking for steel certs for our copper wire