On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:30:58 -0500, Duane Bozarth
wrote:

Eric R Snow wrote:
...
In Washington state you are allowed to wire your own house. It then
must pass inspection.

So far, so good...

...After that you must live in it for five years
before you can sell it. ...

How could they possibly enforce that?
Beats me. When I wired my shop I learned all sorts of regulations. But
hardly any reasons. In WA the inspection is done by Labor &
Industries. They come out when they come out. And do hold up projects.
My father-in-law is a licensed electrician. I flew him up to WA to
help with the wiring to make sure it all done to code. He told me that
in Santa Clara county in CA the inspectors have 24 hours to show up
and do the inspection. If they don't then the wiring can be covered
and is considered to be up to code. BTW, just because a house is wired
by a "professional" and has passed inspection it doesn't mean that the
wiring will be done correctly. My last house had all the wiring in the
garage and laundry room backwards. So all the white wires were hot and
the black wires neutral. The problem was in a junction box where
someone had connected the wires in reverse. This box had undisturbed
mud and paint on it from the original drywall. So the wiring had not
been changed by any previous owners.
ERS