Electrical inspection

[Jim Becker]

John, that kinda mirrors my recent experience. The inspector actually did come back for the final, but he saw how neat the conduit, etc., was and was more inclined to make small talk about woodturning. He didn't really look at anything much at all. But in a sense, this is what I wanted out of pulling a permit. It provided the opportunity to work with the local folks in this new-to-us jurisdiction before taking on a major project. I got to get to know them and vice versa.

[Randall J Cox]

John, that kinda mirrors my recent experience. The inspector actually did come back for the final, but he saw how neat the conduit, etc., was and was more inclined to make small talk about woodturning. He didn't really look at anything much at all. But in a sense, this is what I wanted out of pulling a permit. It provided the opportunity to work with the local folks in this new-to-us jurisdiction before taking on a major project. I got to get to know them and vice versa.

Smart move and good planning! Randy

[Charlie Velasquez]

John, that kinda mirrors my recent experience. The inspector actually did come back for the final, but he saw how neat the conduit, etc., was and was more inclined to make small talk about woodturning. He didn't really look at anything much at all. But in a sense, this is what I wanted out of pulling a permit. It provided the opportunity to work with the local folks in this new-to-us jurisdiction before taking on a major project. I got to get to know them and vice versa.

I recently moved to a new community. One of the toughest things about moving was leaving all my “guys” (although one was a gal). After 45 years in the community I had accrued a set of tradesmen that I trusted and felt comfortable with, some were the second generation.
When I asked my car guy for a recommendation of a mechanic in Des Moines he had nothing. But he advised me to go to city hall and ask the city inspectors. He said asking for a carpenter or plumber may be a conflict of interest, but not mechanic. He said the inspectors know the trades people and tradesmen talk amongst themselves. Always good to get to know the inspectors in your area.

[Tom M King]

Most of the time, I would try to be away when any Inspector came. They always want to stay, and talk about other stuff, and waste my time.

[Scott Clausen]

For the final always leave one cover plate off so it is easy for the inspector to point out that it is missing. "oh I am sorry, I have one right here to put on it". It makes them feel loved and important. It also distracts them from picking out other things. The other thing is to make sure there is nothing closer than three feet in front of any breaker panel.

[Mike Henderson]

I found that if the wiring was done "neatly" the inspection goes better. I had one inspector tell me that he can tell a lot by how the wiring looks.

Mike

[Jim Becker]

I found that if the wiring was done "neatly" the inspection goes better. I had one inspector tell me that he can tell a lot by how the wiring looks.

Mike

My local inspector "resembles that remark"...he didn't even look at anything for the final other than how neat the conduit was and that everything was labeled. We switched to talking about woodturning at that point while he scribbled his signature on the form. (he could have opened anything up or asked me to open anything up and I wasn't worried, anyway)

[Tom M King]

I sold one of my spec houses, one year, to an Electrician. He was more impressed with the looks of the electrical work than anything else. He said he didn't understand a lot of what I showed him, but he knew electrical work, and if the rest of the house was done to that level, it was good enough for him.

[John K Jordan]

I think one thing impresses inspectors is the wiring inside the breaker box. Everything neat and straight, wires from that same circuit bundled with tiny wire ties with 90-deg bends at the breakers and ground/common blocks instead of spaghetti wiring I often see done by “pros” in a hurry. For me it makes things easier to trace, understand at a glance, and work on later if needed. If that level of attention to detail is done in the panel perhaps they assume the same care is done everywhere.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

I think one thing impresses inspectors is the wiring inside the breaker box. Everything neat and straight, wires from that same circuit bundled with tiny wire ties with 90-deg bends at the breakers and ground/common blocks instead of spaghetti wiring I often see done by “pros” in a hurry. For me it makes things easier to trace, understand at a glance, and work on later if needed. If that level of attention to detail is done in the panel perhaps they assume the same care is done everywhere.

JKJ

White I'm sure being neat is uber-effective with an inspector, I do it that way for my own sake! The wiring in the main panel of our new home is a nightmare including the old practice of not differentiating grounds and neutrals on their separate busses, even though they are bonded. That's going to make for major fun when we either add solar or a generator and the main panel becomes effectively a subpanel.

[John K Jordan]

White I'm sure being neat is uber-effective with an inspector, I do it that way for my own sake!...

I mentioned that for me, it makes things easier. I always do it the same way whether it might be inspected or not. So many times I've dug into someone's panel and spent forever just figuring out what went where.

The worst I've seen was at a children's camp, church building, and some area shops and homes in the central highlands in Mexico. Not only was wiring a mess, many times it was simply wired incorrectly, sometimes unsafely. A mess in a panel makes it so much harder to understand what is good and what is not. In one I found a 50 amp breaker feeding a conductor which was twisted and taped (no junction box) to 14 ga wires feeding a water heater maybe 100' away on top of the rafters in an attic.

[Derek Meyer]

My dad built spec houses for 30 years, and when my older brother was in high school he worked on them with my dad. When the electician came in (my dad used the same guy on as many houses as he could) he would run the wire but my brother wire the panel. The electrical inspector told my dad that he could always tell when my brother had wired the panel, as his work was 10 times cleaner and neater than the electrician's work on other houses. My dad never had issues with his electrical inspections.