# What does an inspector make?



## mtlogcabin (Apr 24, 2015)

After watching the video. I am thinking as an inspector, what do we make with regards to our jobs and how we interact with contractors.

http://faithtap.com/2486/taylor-mali-what-does-a-teacher-make/


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## Frank (Apr 24, 2015)

The building code and inspection process provides for Construction that is stated to be to certain minimum standards that is relied upon by the mortgage and insurance companies to be able to lend on them and insure them without more expensive private inspection services.

With the accompanying case and statutory law provides a liability shield for contractor and designers in that if it meets code it is presumed to be safe.

IE if in a jurisdiction that has ammended out residential sprinklers a child is killed in a house fire in an unsprinklered home--the builder and architect cannot be sued for negligence in not providing the fire sprinklers that would likely of saved the life of that child.  IF there were no code--then an argument could be made as to what the safety level should be.


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## Inspector Gift (Apr 24, 2015)

Great video!!  Thanks, mtlogcabin!

Now to translate the same to apply for Building Officials and Inspectors.   After all, we prevent untold misery and loss. We save more lives from falling and hazardous glass, from fires and electrical shock, from poisonings of CO and back-flow cross-contamination, and ensure safer homes and qualities of living all because we do our jobs.

How much do we make?   A better world.


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## cda (Apr 24, 2015)

Dang,

Now I want to be a teacher!!


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## MASSDRIVER (Apr 24, 2015)

Inspectors make good, innocent, benevolent contractor's lives unbearable.  

Brent.


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## conarb (Apr 24, 2015)

Some people need a _raison d'être_.


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## ICE (Apr 24, 2015)

MASSDRIVER said:
			
		

> Inspectors make good, innocent, benevolent contractor's lives unbearable.   Brent.


Some more than others.


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## Frank (Apr 25, 2015)

conarb said:
			
		

> Some people need a _raison d'être_.


That is true of most people after the basic needs are met--we all need to feel that we are doing good.


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## ICE (Apr 25, 2015)

None of that LaTeDa, feel good bullshlt in the video applies to building inspectors where I work.  I've saved more lives on the freeway than I have as an inspector.


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## conarb (Apr 25, 2015)

View attachment 1174


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## jdfruit (Apr 27, 2015)

Every job has its detractors and boosters; some more noticeable than others.

Unfortunately code enforcement of any kind is ranked by the general public at just above or below IRS auditor, depending on situations, until something happens to showcase the inspectors value like an earthquake. During the calamity and immediate aftermath, inspectors are well regarded for a while then opinions shift back to the "dept of building obstruction".

IMHO we do make a difference, just can't quantify it.


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## conarb (Apr 27, 2015)

\ said:
			
		

> inspectors are well regarded for a while then opinions shift back to the "dept of building obstruction".


Interesting that you say that, a few years ago I was going through the multiyear process of permitting a home in your jurisdiction, I was arguing with the plan checker who had been assigned to my project and it went after 5:00 so the office became deserted, I can't hear well so I have to ask others to speak up and talk loudly myself, at some point I guess the discussion over the work of my SE became loud enough that the CBO came out and stood behind us, he did repeatedly tell her that I was right and she left the counter in a huff.  After she left he said to me: "Sorry we have to do this but it's for our liability."  I said: "I am not your County Consul but if I was I'd go ballistic that you are dictating structural design, it's not going to happen but if a Japan style earthquake hit right under this house and it collapsed, the owner would sue me, I would cross-complain against the SE, and he would cross-complain against you on the basis that you forced the steel frame to be too rigid and the welds failed, if we had been able to follow his design the structure may have been more flexible and could have survived."

Before the plan checker left in a huff I had agreed to have my SE make some changes so a few days later I brought the plans and calcs back, on the long drive down I was thinking about my argument to get her sign-off, when she came out she a her plastic box with all of her stamps, as I started to make my argument she just started stamping away saying that she was approving everything without looking anymore, I guess the CBO had a talk with her.

As I updated my owner (a mechanical engineer by education) he asked one day: "What does CBO stand for, Chief Building Obstructionist?"

On the other hand I feel sorry for all civil servants and am reminded of Thoreau's famous saying:

*“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”     *

  ―     Henry David Thoreau,            _Civil Disobedience and Other Essays_


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## MASSDRIVER (Apr 27, 2015)

I have learned some universal truths.

One of those is that whomever has a job, it is the hardest job in the world. My job may be hard, but it pales in comparison to yours.

What I came to realize is that the world operates on respect, or should. I always try to give it, and I know I expect it. In the vein of general a55kissery, and knowing the forum I'm currently addressing, I at the very least try give inspectors their due. They are an authority.

I assume, by default, and I think rationally so, that they have more code knowledge than myself. I, however, know how to build better than them. That's our societal arrangement. I view this the same as interaction with police. As the road is no place to contest a policeman (that's for the court) My jobsite is no place to have an ongoing disagreement. That's not to say that if I think I can resolve a misunderstanding I won't do it there. But if we go to loggerheads I don't fire up, but either ask for a code section to confirm his argument, or actually ask if he minds me visiting the office and clarifying it with a superior. That is rare.

At some point in my past I learned to remove my ego from the equation and if possible just make corrections as needed, especially if it impacts me very little, or I might think we are just in a grey area and MAYBE I'm wrong.

The benefit to this is I very rarely get any correction other than I may have missed something not quite obvious.

Having set all that up, I have an understanding that inspectors are 99% just doing what they are supposed to do, and that we both have the same goal of providing a great product built to standards. Only a few times in my career have I felt malice, as if there was an effort to cause me harm or cost me money.

The benefits of being a civil servant, as I see it, is a stable job, minimal risk, consistent income, assurance of retirement, and possibly making the world a better place. I would hang my hat on the last one. But much like a cop, there are no milestones. They might have the most awesomest crime fighting day in their life, but theres some more waiting the next shift baby. The inspector has that same issue I think. So he has to keep pulling water from that endless well, and one fine day it will payoff with lots of fishing at lake Oroville.

From my perspective, I want them to realize that I really don't know where the next check is coming from, more often than not I'm paying out most of what I take in, I am dealing with the same rotten people he is, there is no retirement in my future, the world seems to be trying to make my job as hard as it can, and really, I'm trying to produce the best product I can.

My benefits are freedom, obvious milestones than I can attribute to goals, possible "wealth" if I make all the right moves, doing what I love, and doing things for the most part the way I want to do them.

What I hate, and I mean hate about SOME civil servants is an entitlement mentality. By that I mean complaining about things they think they deserve for free. Like certifications, ongoing education, materials to do their jobs; stuff like that.

If I am to better myself, I, ME have to pay for it, and to continue to do business I have no choice but to do it. The world owes me nothing. If you want to be GREAT at your job then by all means, spend a dime and do it. I knows guys do, but I also know a big percentage have expectations of being provided for. It's a mentality I usually reserved for union tradesmen, but it has bled into civil service as well.

So, you take what you can from the path you have chosen. You had better see the positives or you will go nuts. I think, especially as we get older, the urge to "make your mark" gets stronger and stronger. I know it has for me, and I do some things quietly that give me that satisfaction. The right people know who I am and what I'm about. I have left my mark in beneficial ways. I've missed good opportunities as well, like not joining the military when I had the chance.

For those that have a low opinion of me, I would'nt plss in there mouth if their teeth were on fire. They are low grade vindictive types that I have wiped from my memory. Persona non grata.

But for most of us, and you, trying to do wants right, ...HEY! Man up (even the girls) and do what you do best, do it the best you can, remember we are on the same team here, and that alone will make a difference and leave your good name on those you contact.

Brent.


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## tmurray (Apr 28, 2015)

My local contractors have recently commented that they feel they can quote jobs on how they should be done to meet code and don't have to worry as much about someone undercutting their price by not getting permits, etc.

What do inspectors make?

A positive contractor ecosystem where good, honest contractors can keep food on their table without sacrificing their workmanship.


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## steveray (Apr 28, 2015)

Well said Brent...

The benefits of being a civil servant, as I see it, is a stable job  (I have been cut from one town budget in my short years doing this, and there are no guarantees), minimal risk (probably true, but will get tougher as lawyers and insurance companies look for deeper pockets and other people to blame), consistent income (true for the most part), assurance of retirement, (you can put into a SEP or something similar to my 401, no pension here pal) and possibly making the world a better place.

Not complaining, just clarifying, if Taxachusetts hadn't started fining me for not having health insurance just as I started contracting on my own, I may never have chosen this path. But then again I never did like the business part of it, just liked the work. Now I get to do it for free on nights and weekends, and not worry about keeping the lights on.

The gubmint jobs(at least around here) are not what they used to be. Pensions are going or gone. Health care is cranking up and/or quality is being cut. And the "do more with less or your gone" mentality is pretty heavy in some of the places I have seen.


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## linnrg (Apr 28, 2015)

interesting topic.

I often say that if the contractors are truly doing their job correctly that I am a waste of time.... but I keep finding lots of work!

The challenge is trying to keep 20 or 30 books somewhat locked into my memory, letting them change and be modified and still understand some of it.  Up here where I am at we are far from sophisticated (hassle the public) in terms of plan review, permitting, and maybe even inspection.  I rely heavily on other BO's near me for advice (and vice versa for them) - we actually view the world similarly and make code calls fairly consistent.  We do make a difference in a lot of unseen ways.  The biggest is trying to make sense of it all for others whether they be a contractor, developer, of home owner.  Many a thanks comes from long time contractors when you dig up that pesky ASTM document they need or when you help them find a code compliant solution (especially in remodels).

Yes we have all faced the puffed up bully and there is a true test for your character.  I am sure we all also have been offered cookies by sweet old ladies (another test of your character by the way).  I have experienced the worst where you get to tell the crying lady she can't move into her beautiful log home because the electrical work was the shoddiest and most dangerous it could be and that her friend the "Builder" had rejected all of my calls for inspection and ignored stop work orders, etc.

Private versus public.  I am old enough to have spent way over half my career on the private side and often wonder how I became a municipal employee.  This job is hard to beat.  I get to help people with their DREAMS and work sometimes quietly and sometimes noisily so that when they enter or live in a building they can at least rely on the facts that the people in this industry do care.


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## ICE (Apr 29, 2015)

linnrg said:
			
		

> I am sure we all also have been offered cookies by sweet old ladies.  ....................................crying lady


Deleted by me.  It could have gotten me in trouble.  I didn't do anything, yet I could still be in trouble.  And I would have to just stand there and take it too.


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## rktect 1 (Apr 30, 2015)

We make people safe.  Hopefully.  Or at least safer.


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