# Two week wait for plumbing inspection



## jail (Apr 25, 2021)

Called for a plumbing rough in on a residential remodel. Soonest inspection I could get is two weeks out. This is becoming common in this town. Don't building departments have an obligation to do it sooner? Getting impossible to work here. How can I line up insulation and drywall contractors.


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## cda (Apr 25, 2021)

jail said:


> Called for a plumbing rough in on a residential remodel. Soonest inspection I could get is two weeks out. This is becoming common in this town. Don't building departments have an obligation to do it sooner? Getting impossible to work here. How can I line up insulation and drywall contractors.




One horse/ inspector town???

Covid???

Do they make you pay if you schedule and cancel??? If not book ahead, when you think you may be ready.

Do they charge for reinepection of failed work?


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## jail (Apr 25, 2021)

This town has separate inspectors for plumbing, electrical, framing and HVAC. Can't schedule a framing inspection until all mechanical inspections are signed off. This is not a Covid issue, there were long waits for inspections pre Covid.


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## ICE (Apr 25, 2021)

Well at least it wasn't a surprise.


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## cda (Apr 25, 2021)

jail said:


> This town has separate inspectors for plumbing, electrical, framing and HVAC. Can't schedule a framing inspection until all mechanical inspections are signed off. This is not a Covid issue, there were long waits for inspections pre Covid.



Can you pay for third party??


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## jail (Apr 26, 2021)

No third party inspections


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## tmurray (Apr 26, 2021)

2 days max here. 

Sometimes what need to happen is that politicians need to hear complaints about how it is affecting development and ultimately tax revenue. Then they initiate maximum turnaround times for services.

The catch to this, is they then need to staff the department properly to meet the workload.


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## jail (Apr 26, 2021)

There is a local conspiracy theory amongst the contractors that this is a deliberate attempt to slow growth in our small city. I don't buy it, I think they just don't want to hire another inspector. 
It seems to me there should be a time limit specified by the code. Wasn't it 48 house in the old BOCA code?


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## Rick18071 (Apr 26, 2021)

jail said:


> This town has separate inspectors for plumbing, electrical, framing and HVAC. Can't schedule a framing inspection until all mechanical inspections are signed off. This is not a Covid issue, there were long waits for inspections pre Covid.


This is not reasonable.


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## steveray (Apr 26, 2021)

Probably a part time plumber that works one day a week and can't keep up so the Town needs to coin up.....Ask them how much profit they make...If none, then ask if you and the other contractors are willing to pay higher fees


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## Keystone (Apr 26, 2021)

Two weeks is common practice for inspections at the city right next to my area and has been for years. They will not allow Third Party Assistance, union shop. Complaints have been made to the state with no resulting change.


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## Sifu (Apr 26, 2021)

Two weeks is extreme, but not unheard of.  When I was a contractor I would call for an inspection and they would see what slots were available.  Sometimes it was the next day, sometimes it was a week out.  I understood this to be just part of the business.  I ended up in a couple of small departments and even ran a one man shop after becoming an inspector and I utilized the same format, and it worked just fine.  Inspection departments are staffed for an average load, and can be overwhelmed.  At some point the "average" changes and staffing must be re-evaluated.  But it is a slow and difficult process.  Departments are either going to end up with too much staff and face tough decisions, or too little, and force delays.  What I have seen happen over the past 5 years or so is a love affair with providing next-day guarantees.  While this can and often does work just fine, it ignores the fact that it can be overwhelmed and becomes a sell out to to the "next-day" as opposed to providing a quality inspection.  I have worked in departments that would send out inspectors with multiple dozens of inspections because they had to honor the "next-day" promise.  Is this really a service to anyone?

Two weeks for a normal operating condition sounds like they need to re-evaluate, but getting budgets may prove difficult.  On the other hand, blind devotion to providing "next-day" inspections is also extreme and IMHO is an admission that competent inspections is taking a back seat to "customer service".  If it is budgetary and controlled by the elected and appointed officials, they should be getting enough complaints to force an evaluation.  Somewhere a happy medium should exist.


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## cda (Apr 26, 2021)

jail said:


> There is a local conspiracy theory amongst the contractors that this is a deliberate attempt to slow growth in our small city. I don't buy it, I think they just don't want to hire another inspector.
> It seems to me there should be a time limit specified by the code. Wasn't it 48 house in the old BOCA code?



Media always looking for a live at five or investigative report


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## No Soup for you (Apr 26, 2021)

two weeks is not that unheard of. 

The "city" where i used to work had one plumbing inspector that worked part time , 3 days a week. 

Thats the way it is, YOU need to plan ahead.

Now in the "town" where I work , I get out usually the next day if I can. sometimes the same day. But sometimes its a week. Depends on the schedule

I try and only do inspections in the morning leaving the afternoons to input inspections, review plans, phone calls returned, meetings etc

So..... im only out in the field half a day at best. 

So give your inspector a break, and plan ahead like said above.


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## No Soup for you (Apr 26, 2021)

Oh, and the 48 hours mentioned...... is the notice what The Building Dept requires before scheduling.

Not that we will be there in 48 hours


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## jail (Apr 26, 2021)

Planing ahead only goes so far. We can't schedule framing inspection until plumbing and electric is signed off. Even if the plumber puts in for inspection when he starts, it can be another two weeks before framing inspection. So I am home painting my house while my client is without a kitchen.


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## Keystone (Apr 26, 2021)

jail said:


> Called for a plumbing rough in on a residential remodel. Soonest inspection I could get is two weeks out. This is becoming common in this town. Don't building departments have an obligation to do it sooner? Getting impossible to work here. How can I line up insulation and drywall contractors.



I’m interested in knowing how long each inspection will take, do let us know.!


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## Sifu (Apr 26, 2021)

jail said:


> Planing ahead only goes so far. We can't schedule framing inspection until plumbing and electric is signed off. Even if the plumber puts in for inspection when he starts, it can be another two weeks before framing inspection. So I am home painting my house while my client is without a kitchen.


If I remember correctly, and that is a big IF, I could schedule subsequent inspection ahead of time.  The caveat was that if I failed a rough plumbing, for example, it was on me to cancel the subsequent inspections or they would show up, see no sign-off and leave me a slip showing how much I just cost myself for not being ready.  I know for a fact that is the system I used in my one-man show.  Not being able to at least do that is pretty unfriendly.  Lots of things changed when the move towards online application, scheduling and review started.  It was easier to use the old system when one used a telephone and a day-planner.  When I got a call, I checked the book, if I thought it could be fit in I would write it down, if not I looked at the next day, and so on.  We couldn't easily or readily track what had been done before other than by seeing the signed card in the field.  So they could schedule them, but they might not get them if previous inspections hadn't passed.  This was an incentive to make sure you were ready.  BTW, when re-fees were due, they had to be paid in person, which was a way bigger penalty than the 50$.  

The situation you describe doesn't really fit with where a lot of us are today, and is a big reason so many people go without permits.


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## JCraver (Apr 26, 2021)

It is completely unacceptable to wait 2 weeks for a residential inspection anywhere in the country.  There's no amount of BS "justification" anyone can come up with that can make it legit - it's just wrong.  If it's a regular occurrence and not some freak, temporary, natural-disaster-response type situation, some city boss has a job he shouldn't have.


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## No Soup for you (Apr 26, 2021)

jail said:


> Planing ahead only goes so far. We can't schedule framing inspection until plumbing and electric is signed off. Even if the plumber puts in for inspection when he starts, it can be another two weeks before framing inspection. So I am home painting my house while my client is without a kitchen.



I understand your frustration having been on both the GC side for 25 years and now on the other side, but... If you know that is the deal in the town you happen to be working in then, YOU need to plan ahead, make sure your client knows the deal, and make sure all your subcontractors have their act together and are on board.

Have the homeowner call the town and voice their concerns to the Town Supervisor , Mayor or whoever runs the show. Most Municipalities are running on a shoestring budget, you see the piece of crap cars the Building Dept gets?   

I know of some municipalities that say 4 weeks , which is absurd, but the manpower is not there. 

Hey, look at the bright side..............At least your getting your house painted.


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## steveray (Apr 26, 2021)

jail said:


> Planing ahead only goes so far. We can't schedule framing inspection until plumbing and electric is signed off. Even if the plumber puts in for inspection when he starts, it can be another two weeks before framing inspection. So I am home painting my house while my client is without a kitchen.


I "understand" this policy, but it is stupid....if the trades are in place, no more violation of structure will take place...Approve the structure....Hell...I have approved framing with a note that it will heave to be reinspected when the trades are complete....


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## No Soup for you (Apr 26, 2021)

When you have different inspectors for every phase of the job it is a scheduling disaster for the trades.

But , if you know that already then you need to deal.

I do all the inspections except for electrical, If I can, I will inspect anything I can while on site to keep the jobs moving. 
Having been on the GC side I understand time is money. I also give the trades a time I will be there and I am punctual as can be, I give them a real time not a "morning" or "afternoon" time.

I am not going to have a plumber or carpenter waste a day waiting for an inspection... but some guys do.


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## ICE (Apr 26, 2021)

Sifu said:


> competent inspections is taking a back seat to "customer service".


Inspectors willing to do that Shirley don't know the difference.


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## Rick18071 (Apr 26, 2021)

As a 3rd party inspection company (profit) we would loose jurisdictions if we couldn't do all inspections the next day. Except for some very large jobs we never had trouble doing the inspection the next day. Sure we have some slow days when we catch up with plan reviews or get some CED's, or go home early paid. That's the nature of the job. But we always have enough inspectors to get all inspections requested done.

I don't understand why in other places the rough electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspection must be done before the framing inspection. Most of the time we do it all at one time.


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## Sifu (Apr 27, 2021)

ICE said:


> Inspectors willing to do that Shirley don't know the difference.


Lots of inspectors know the difference but are given way too many inspections in a day and not near enough time to do them.  They are told they must get them done, _"we don't roll inspections"_!  ISO and IAS, as big a PITA as they can be have guidelines for workload, and 30 or 40 inspections (I have seen a lot more on occasion) don't fly.  Sure, an inspector could refuse and say "I can't do a quality inspection in that amount of time", and then he could apply for unemployment.  MOST places have found a happy medium, some, maybe like the OP situation, have not.


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## tmurray (Apr 27, 2021)

Sifu said:


> Lots of inspectors know the difference but are given way too many inspections in a day and not near enough time to do them.  They are told they must get them done, _"we don't roll inspections"_!  ISO and IAS, as big a PITA as they can be have guidelines for workload, and 30 or 40 inspections (I have seen a lot more on occasion) don't fly.  Sure, an inspector could refuse and say "I can't do a quality inspection in that amount of time", and then he could apply for unemployment.  MOST places have found a happy medium, some, maybe like the OP situation, have not.


I would suggest that a poor quality inspection done promptly is not much better customer service than a good quality inspection that is not completed until well after the needs of the industry demand it to be complated.


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## Sifu (Apr 27, 2021)

tmurray said:


> I would suggest that a poor quality inspection done promptly is not much better customer service than a good quality inspection that is not completed until well after the needs of the industry demand it to be complated.


Exactly why I asked if we are providing any service if we overload inspectors and do sub-standard work.  "Customer service" gets thrown around a lot and I always ask them to define it.  "Do the best you can in the time provided" isn't really a helpful answer.


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## ICE (Apr 27, 2021)

Sifu said:


> Lots of inspectors know the difference but are given way too many inspections in a day and not near enough time to do them.  They are told they must get them done, _"we don't roll inspections"_!  ISO and IAS, as big a PITA as they can be have guidelines for workload, and 30 or 40 inspections (I have seen a lot more on occasion) don't fly.  Sure, an inspector could refuse and say "I can't do a quality inspection in that amount of time", and then he could apply for unemployment.  MOST places have found a happy medium, some, maybe like the OP situation, have not.


30 and 40 inspections is alternate facts.  An inspection is an address.  For all of my time as an inspector I averaged fifteen addresses.  There can be one trade or four that need an inspection.

I have never been too busy to perform a competent inspection.  I have run past quitting time...but that was rare.  I have no use for an inspector that would do anything less.  

The excuse of getting fired unless one is willing to sacrifice quality for quantity falls short of being a moral position.  I do not have the contractor’s concerns at the forefront.  I am there for the owner and ultimately, the occupant.  I endeavor to aid the contractor in the production of code compliant work.  I am not there to provide outstanding customer service.

“Customer service” What is that coming from a building department?  It is a BS term used to make everyone feel special.  If an inspector shows up and conducts an inspection without missing violations...that’s all the customer service anyone is entitled to.  It doesn’t get better than that.

Some jurisdictions gauge their customer service performance on the level of complaints they field.  I submit that the more complaints there are....the greater the customer service.


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## Sifu (Apr 27, 2021)

They may be alternate facts where you are but I have seen it and stand by it.  What typically happens is they run in, fail them for not being ready and run out, and hope for an easier day the next time it rolls around (GREAT SERVICE).  15 to 18 "stops" is about as much as can be done effectively.  However, a frame inspection on a 15,000^ft house can chew up a lot of time and reduce that number.  Add plumbing and mechanical and you can spend 1/2 the day or more there.  Add a restaurant inspection or office building and you're pretty much done.  Then you have 10 more.  I HAVE LIVED IT, so I know the facts are not distorted.  15 full frame and roughs....best case is 1/2 hour per stop.  That's about 7 minutes each to look at frame, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical (if included).  Add in drive time and you are on OT, and never mind a lunch break, time to make data entry, get the list in the morning, etc.  That may work for some but many AHJ's are allergic to OT.  Then what?  I have talked with some AHJ's that require a mandatory 2 hours of OT a day, you have no choice.  That too is sketchy, based purely on fatigue.  On the other hand 20 roofs isn't a big deal.  Most AHJ's know how to dole out an equitable schedule but some are so busy there is no equity.  It's just GO!  

Fear of getting fired, written up or otherwise disciplined may not be moral, but it is the real world.  You may be blessed where you are but not everyone works in a moral department where they pay more than lip service to doing the right thing.  

But I am in complete agreement about the BS term "customer service".  Every month we get to hear the results of the "customer satisfaction survey" with the building department.  

Anyway, the thread has drifted, and we probably aren't helping the OP anymore.  Probably just making him mad.


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