a hat trick of inspectors

I am intrigued by the role of city inspectors. I am sure there is a lot of training and know there are specific rules that must be followed, but there also seems to be a honking big gap between what must be done and what an individual inspector will allow or not.

For example, the plumbing inspector for our area came out when we realized we have to do the drain tile. He looked at our existing sump, a small cuve of which sneaked under the fence onto the neighbour's property. The location of the sump was non-conforming, but had been there probably for 80 years, certainly before the next door property was partitioned from this one and the house built on it, so the inspector said it was grandfathered and okay to leave in place.

The drantile was finished and the final inspection booked. That first inspector was on holiday so another one came out and said he wouldn't pass it until we dug in a new sump in a different location. Of course work had been done in good faith based on the first inspection and so it was frustrating that a second guy could just change everything because he wanted to, causing more work and more cost to a project that was otherwise done. Obviously not used to anyone asking a question about the seemingly arbitrary nature of inspections and on what decisions like this were based the guy shrugged and indicated it was up to each inspector and what they say goes regardless of what another says. When asked if there had been something missed before, or something missed now (he hadn't actually looked at the previous inspection notice, he said testily "We're human, or don't you get that?"

!!!?!!!

Attitude is obviously a part of some inspectors' creed!

It boggled us and the contractor who was there. If either of us had made such an about face, affecting a client's position, there'd be some protocol, some form of accountability to justify it. City inspectors rule their small roost, and some of them have a common sense approach (being safe and to code is the important thing, and no house is the same as another) and others have a lord of the kingdom approached (you must follow whichever set of rules I decide are to be followed regardless of how reasonable or not it may seem to you o lowly houseowner).

Take the electrical inspector. His final inspection picked two things that weren't really that big a deal, but had elements of safety. The smoke detector was to be changed to a CO2 detector and one of the outlets in the bar area needed to be a GFI even though it's not that close to water. A little persnickety but totally justifiable. Work was done, he came back to check only those two things, and the inspection passed.

Yesterday was the final inspection. We've done everything asked of us, and it's all to code, but this is still a basement in an old house and an inspector with a chip on his or her shoulder could have probably found something. Many make the assumption that a suite is being put in, and the fact that we have a bathroom and a bar kitchen might make some inspectors leap to that concluson. The fact that a suite is not being put in, and will not be as long as we own the house and continue to run our office downstairs, may not mean anything to an inspector with attitude. The inspector arrived, walked around a bit, checked the mechanical room, the shower, and the height of the office space, then took her copy of the insulation forms and signed off. That's it. Job done.

After 6 months of slogging work it felt a little anti-climatic to have 5 minutes and a dashed off signature. But it also felt so good!