I'm considering doing some wiring myself. As I poke around the
innards of my house I've found various examples of previous homeowner
wiring that doesn't meet code. I haven't seen anything dangerous, but
it wouldn't have passed an inspection had one been sought.

I'm sure many old homes must have things like this. My question is
what happens if I call for an inspection to look at work *I've* done,
but this inspection will bring the inspector within view of work that
was done before I bought the house that isn't quite right (e.g. an NM
cable strung across an attic space instead of being stapled to
joists). Will that inspector require everything old they find that
isn't up to code to be fixed before they approve of the new work?

I know this may vary from place to place but wondered what general
thoughts were.

wrote in message
I know this may vary from place to place but wondered what general
thoughts were.

Well, there's your answer.

In many cases, the inspector is bound by inspection of the permitted section
only. A good inspector would at least point out the problems and ask that
they be brought up to code. If it was my, I'd get the permit, call the
inspector and when he arrives, let him know that other changes need to be
done and he may help you by showing you the best way to meet the code. Or
he may just be a prick.

On Dec 12, 11:46 am, wrote:
I'm considering doing some wiring myself. As I poke around the
innards of my house I've found various examples of previous homeowner
wiring that doesn't meet code. I haven't seen anything dangerous, but
it wouldn't have passed an inspection had one been sought.

Ditto to the other postings; I've recently asked this of the local
inspection authority and they were pretty clear: they will inspect
just the new work, but will not ignore unrelated stuff that's
obviously and immediately dangerous.

However, a few years back I was getting an inspection of new kitchen
wiring, and as the inspector was eyeballing things he asked if my gas
piping was grounded. This had nothing to do with the new kitchen
circuits. It appeared not to be and he said I should ground the gas
pipe to the water main; he helped pick a good spot to do it. I didn't
push him on whether he'd pass my kitchen without it, I just said sure,
thanks, and that was it.

So I would be prepared for such helpful advice.

Chip C
Toronto

"Chip C" wrote in message
...
On Dec 12, 11:46 am, wrote:
I'm considering doing some wiring myself. As I poke around the
innards of my house I've found various examples of previous homeowner
wiring that doesn't meet code. I haven't seen anything dangerous, but
it wouldn't have passed an inspection had one been sought.

Ditto to the other postings; I've recently asked this of the local
inspection authority and they were pretty clear: they will inspect
just the new work, but will not ignore unrelated stuff that's
obviously and immediately dangerous.

However, a few years back I was getting an inspection of new kitchen
wiring, and as the inspector was eyeballing things he asked if my gas
piping was grounded. This had nothing to do with the new kitchen
circuits. It appeared not to be and he said I should ground the gas
pipe to the water main; he helped pick a good spot to do it. I didn't
push him on whether he'd pass my kitchen without it, I just said sure,
thanks, and that was it.

So I would be prepared for such helpful advice.

Chip C
Toronto


Most inspectors are pretty reasonable. When I got my new service hooked up,
the inspector dinged me on a couple of small items that he wanted changed,
but he was not a prick about it. He signed off on the permit and allowed
the POCO to go ahead and hook up the house, even though I had not made the
changes he requested yet. I changed the things he asked for and life is
good!

Thanks for all the feedback. I would welcome any information from the
inspector about things that could/should be changed, especially
anything that might be dangerous. I don't think I have any of the
latter, but if I did I'd want to know about it. I just didn't want
some bad (but not dangerous) practices by previous homeowners to
derail me from my current project.

On Dec 13, 8:27 am, wrote:
On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:22:36 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Thanks for all the feedback. I would welcome any information from the
inspector about things that could/should be changed, especially
anything that might be dangerous. I don't think I have any of the
latter, but if I did I'd want to know about it. I just didn't want
some bad (but not dangerous) practices by previous homeowners to
derail me from my current project.

You will probably be dissapointed that you think he didn't look hard
enough at your project. These guys are usually worked too hard to
spend too much time there. They usually have a few things they look at
and they move on.

Yeah, this happened to me on that kitchen I mentioned. I was all
prepped to show off my splices, answer code questions, trace the
circuits, like a kid at a 4-H show. The inspector stuck his head into
the kitchen for like three seconds, never set foot through the door,
and said "looks fine. let's see the panel".

I think thre's a few glaring errors they look for and they can spoth
them pretty fast. Of course,just having the work inspected sets you
into an elite minority.

Chip C
Toronto

I've heard from a couple local electricians that the inspector in my
town is a major PITA to deal with. They said that he will require all
kinds of things to be done that aren't part of the permitted work, and
that he never approves anything or trusts anyone to do anything
right. They further described instances where they had done things
according to code and the inspector required it changed because he
just didn't like it---regardless of the code. I was told that some
electricians charge a hefty extra fee to work in my town just because
of this guy, and had one electrician propose not getting a permit at
all. (I think this also helps explain why so many electricians just
never return my call)

I've really been leaning towards doing this work myself (w/
inspection) but this gives me pause. I of course would want anything
dangerous to be pointed out and required corrected, but other things,
just because they don't meet current code (and aren't part of the
permitted work), is not something I want to deal with.

One example an electrician told me is that this inspector will require
every bedroom to be wired with wired smoke detectors, all on the same
wiring run, even if the work being done has nothing to do with
bedrooms. This is all for a 50 year old house.

So what are people's thoughts on going without an inspection? I hate
to do it but also don't want to open myself up to unnecessary work
beyond what I'm planning.

What exactly are you planning on doing?

On Dec 22, 4:53*pm, wrote:
I've heard from a couple local electricians that the inspector in my
town is a major PITA to deal with. *They said that he will require all
kinds of things to be done that aren't part of the permitted work, and
that he never approves anything or trusts anyone to do anything
right. *They further described instances where they had done things
according to code and the inspector required it changed because he
just didn't like it---regardless of the code. *I was told that some
electricians charge a hefty extra fee to work in my town just because
of this guy, and had one electrician propose not getting a permit at
all. *(I think this also helps explain why so many electricians just
never return my call)

I've really been leaning towards doing this work myself (w/
inspection) but this gives me pause. *I of course would want anything
dangerous to be pointed out and required corrected, but other things,
just because they don't meet current code (and aren't part of the
permitted work), is not something I want to deal with.

One example an electrician told me is that this inspector will require
every bedroom to be wired with wired smoke detectors, all on the same
wiring run, even if the work being done has nothing to do with
bedrooms. *This is all for a 50 year old house.

So what are people's thoughts on going without an inspection? *I hate
to do it but also don't want to open myself up to unnecessary work
beyond what I'm planning.

On Dec 22, 4:23 pm, wrote:
What exactly are you planning on doing?

installing a subpanel on the 2nd floor and running several circuits
from it. i have a clear path from the panel to the circuit locations
(attic access behind the wall) and a path figured out for the feeder
cable. i'll feed the panel from the main with a 60A over 6/3 and run
about 7 20A 120v circuits using 12/2. i can pull an unused 40A double-
pole breaker from the main to accommodate the new feeder breaker. i
know to keep the neutral and ground isolated in the sub. however,
this is the first time i've done something this extensive wiring-wise.