If, as a homeowner, I come home and find that ANY part of a job has been opened up, 5 years after the job was completed, just to satisfy an inspector who did NOT do their job 5 years previously, I’d be absolutely ballistic at the next town council meeting.
Its the contractor's responsibility to obtain sign off of all required inspections. Its also ultimately the contractor's responsibility to be knowledgeable on ALL required inspections pertaining to the scope of work being done within the city/jurisdiction the project is located. On the permit, the building final had 2 **. I doubt the contractor inquired further to seek clarification. Again, it is NOT the responsibility of the Inspection Jurisdiction to obtain sign off, that is the duty and responsibility of the contractor. Inspectors don't chase inspections down to sign em off. A proper Inspection request must take place before any Inspector is required to do any Inspection. I understand the contractors perspective as well as a homeowner. But the responsibility ultimately always falls on the contractor.
@@aquaholixsd I understand that but if you noticed there is no footnote for the asterisks on either sheet of paper. Again if it isn’t written down it doesn’t apply
@@aquaholixsd so when they just throw in another $20,000 of "regulations" you'll just comply like a good little sheep won't ya? Lol sorry but asking permission from government to do something on your property is just another way they have conditioned you to ASK the government to do anything.. this is America. If I want to hire someone to do anything on my property the government should mind its own business.. things will change soon enough.. the corruption between industry insurance and government is coming to an end..
@@aquaholixsd so what happens when you call in the inspection and they just do not show? So you mean the contractor has to now chase the inspector to do his job? I have a feeling in this case the inspection was done but the paperwork wasn’t completed. Now 5 yrs later someone realized it and we have what we have.
As an inspector for 33 years, that is pathetic that the inspection office did not perform their due diligence to review their open permits on a regular basis. Someone should have investigated why a 5 year old permit was still in the open/active status
Id think the contractor would stay right on the inspectors ass till it was signed off as finall/complete. Once i get that last signature THEN your job is done. Leave it to the homeowner. Lol. Fools!
@@jeffreybuckner4483 the issueis the homeowner can come back on the contractor and the state legally for failing to do thier job and destruction of private property after project has been completed. Thats heavy fines and loss of license and job.
That inspector could have driven by and done the "Final". In the real world there is a list of ALL Inspections they want to Inspect at every stage of the job and then a Final and that is the completed job. The you should have known, is complete BS and would not stand up in any court of Law. And In that case if that Contractor had not done any of the proper foundation work and that wall fell down 5yrs later that permite would have been zero help in any courtroom for the customer. When it comes to the court room if it is not in writing it does not mean anything.
The fact that this inspector is FINALLY getting around to this 5 YEARS after the fact is beyond ridiculous. Just another example of gov't incompetence.
They usually are the guys who never could use a tool and hated to see real menbwith them. In my town i have 4 of the fuggers who graduated the college program below me as i was the standard of the class. I knew before graduating, because i had already had my GC for 4 years, that they would give me hell. They haven't failed my expectations
It's just a step above the guy at Home Depot who says he used to be a contractor. What contractor would leave the industry to go to HD, unless he retired or became disabled?
I'm an inspector in Texas. Master Plumber in 2 states. Owned my own business for 21 years. Got a divorce, lost my retirement. Tore a meniscus, both rotator cuffs, and screwed my back up. I don't speak Spanish, all the white guys that are good plumbers start their own business. 2 years ago I started inspecting because I wanted the insurance and retirement. Didn't feel like starting over. First I went to work for another company. Hard to do after being self employed for so long. Plus, 25 an hour was killing me.
That footage should have satisfied the inspector. Digging it out was uncalled for. Blurring out his face was not required either, he is a public official in the capacity of his official duties. A public servant.
Arguing with the PEOPLE'S servants is terrorism upon the PEOPLE'S themselfs. CONSTITUTION IS BLACK & WHITE......yet you all mostly fail to punish our employees the generations before mine have allowed this to happen remember WE THE PEOPLE isn't them to control🗽
FYI: A "permit" is a legal and binding contract; bilateral agreement; and a meeting of the minds. If the issuing authority omitted any necessary inspections - it's their negligence (not yours).
I'm a contractor in Wyoming n no way in hell would i of dug any hole 5 years later. I would of told him to provide proof it had to be inspected n also told him if it was supposed to be inspected why wasn't it done at the time of building inspection. You handled that very well
After 5 years, if you’re a qualified inspector, you should be able to do a visual inspection on a wall and know whether or not it was built correctly, that wall and every pebble you touched is where you left it 5 years ago. Beautiful work!
I agree this whole process is BS and he should be able to tell it was done right but I’ll defend the inspector on some comments. He did say he would accept pictures. Stanley assumed they didn’t because other places didn’t so he didn’t try. He didn’t have to dig it up had he just tried to show the video first. Though the inspector should have said that considering the situation. If a jobs been finished for 5 years especially today with cell phones he should have mentioned pictures were an option.
So basically it sounds like a good old case of "we didn't do our part, so now you need to redo your part to verify what we forgot to do in the first place".
"I don't want to hold up the contractor waiting for me to show up." Yet you tracked a contractor down to dig some holes 5 years after the fact and enforced an inspection that wasn't needed. Gotta love government! Good on ya Stan for keeping your cool!
Takes me months to get a permit through in my city and yet these guys can hunt down a five year old project. If the city wants these inspections done they need to state it in the paperwork, sounds like a really lazy permit office to me.
In my area the only reason why code enforcement is worried about a 5 year old job is because the house is in contract and the buyers mortgage company is requesting a property search. The Code Officer is refusing to sign off on any work that was done on the property that he/she hasn’t personally inspected (due to liability issues). When I saw you had a video of it my very 1st thought was to show it to the building/code department and you may save your self some digging. Second, the required inspections should absolutely be written on the permit, we are not mind readers. Calling the building department and asking dumb questions because they can’t be bothered to put it in writing is time wasted. Word to the wise: get your inspections or it could hold up the sale of your house
Excellent video. I was really pleased with how you worked with Bruce and then let him know that there was no argument, but more of a "please help me understand how this could happen." I am an architect and thirty five years ago, helped get a city ordinance modified so as to give a time limit for permits and notifications. Two years after a request for a final with no reply meant that the final was approved. Period.
as a former building inspector, this guy and his entire team back at the department, need to be fired and have their pensions taken back, give them to the legit contractors who STILL care more about the homeowner than the cushy job back in the office
Yea as an electrician inspectors are a joke for the most part. Yea they could catch the obvious stuff. But in there 5min stroll through a job they are only keying in on specific things that they went over that day or week. Hell had one inspector start requiring that we put gaskets on all of our box opening on the inside of house if in an exterior wall. Our wholesale houses didn’t even stalk those gaskets. So then all of our wholesale houses had to start carrying these gaskets to pass inspection! Was able to weasel his way in code book that references back to fire protection think it’s NFAPA. Adding extra cost to everyone because this guy got a little power. Have had inspectors call my union on me. Yea have had some real pieces of crap as inspectors. But there are a couple of good ones.
No, he needs to be fired so he can realize what a major "A" hole he is. I have seen one inspector ignore a keep clear sign and just drive through the yellow tape and park his car. The falling materials totaling his car was the result. Lost his job.
That is a perfect scenario of an inspector overstepping his authority, when he said “ I want this done this way”. There is no list of required inspections on your permit other than final inspection.
If you look in your city's Code Compliance book you will most likely see multiple times that it is the code officer's discretion, if you question his authority he might go as far as to say do it my way or I will red tag your house with a substandard dwelling sticker on the door and have you kicked out of your before 5 o'clock the same day and the police will arrest you if you try to come back there and live. This cold officer's discretion is wrong because he is supposed to follow the code to the letter of the law but I have experienced it myself and if he tells you to do something that goes against the code there is nothing you can do except what he asked you to do and in the future you will find the next inspector after him will say this is not up to code and when you say the previous inspector said he wanted it this way, the new inspector will say he doesn't care he is the inspector now and you will do it his way
@@analizad9409 our second amendment is specifically for situations like this, nobody has the balls to use it. It's coming I'm waiting for the day and it might just be me who does it, sooner or later I'm going to have to neutralize a corrupt cop or out of bounds city official like this inspector and claim second amendment free state.
Did Bruce basically just say they don't put them on the permits so they can skip them if they want to? "Well, if I got called out for everything that got put on for inspections, I'd never leave a job site". Dude. That's your JOB.
according to Bruce its too much work for them to write down what inspections are needed. Instead I am supposed to call and ask because thats not as much as work.
Isn't it just as much work for them to stop what they are doing to figure out, over the phone, exactly what all inspections are needed? Instead of just typing it on the permit at their leisure, before they hand you the approved permit....
As a paving contractor I built quite a few walls , this job is A+++ and you only need to look along the lines and check the camber of the wall to see it is as good as it gets... Dirt monkey is a great contractor, I thoroughly recommend you use this guy just looking at this one job it's top of the line.
That is literally the inspectors job, you know the job he's PAID to do! It's egregious that the city or county can be so negligent, then feel entitled to force the company to dig up their work because of the planning departments failure to plan and do their job in a timely manner. I'm so glad that you filmed it, lesson to all, you're a good man and very professional.
In Australia we would say, "he needs his head red"! What a shonk ! He hasn't done his job ! Five years down the track ! JUST PLAIN LAZY ! Taking a pay check without doing the work .... SHAMEFUL ! You did the right thing by fulfilling your part ... he should be made accountable !
It's government mentality. LIke taxes. They requier you to pay taxes, they requier you to account all of your taxes for them. If you are wrong you go to jail or pay fines. This is the bass akwardness of government burocracy. Everyone want public money but no one wants to work for it.
Did he just admit that he’s making “inspections” up? Well it may not be on the permit but they exist…. Excuse me!! If it ain’t on the permit then it ain’t required!
Hey Jeff Morgan@ it still doesn't make any sense if they have the video footage of the part that is in question. Why would he be required to destroy the finished product. This whole thing sounds personal to me...five years after the project was finalized.
As an inspector, I agree with you 100%. I had opened this video expecting to disagree with you, but you were 100% correct. You received a list of required inspections and you complied. For him to say that there are implied inspections is BS and unprofessional. The only thing I can suggest is that, when a permit is to be closed by the homeowner at a later date, call the inspector and say "I am done at this job. Can you come and approve the work I did?" EDIT: I never do drive by inspections. I always get out of the vehicle and look at what I need to look at.
Shouldn't have to call anyone. Government just wants to boss people around, but don't actually want to do anything. You heard him "you could send pictures" there's a lot you can't tell by pictures.
Here's an inspector story for ya...I'm a welder by trade, we installed and then I personally welded an entire store front consisting of 4 42' columns, beams between the columns at mid way up and at the top as well as 6 very short beams to embeds in the cmu wall. Took a couple days, inspector comes out and fails a couple welds because from the ground they didn't look welded. Whatever, Saturday I lay some more weld on them, everything is clean and good. Monday comes around and he comes back and fails the entire store front now. Tuesday I show up (pretty pissed off) and ask the super if he heard anything and go up to do a once over. Everything is clearly good. Different inspector shows up (who I've worked with a couple times) and we harness up and go for a ride. 5 minutes and a couple pictures and the same store front the failed the previous morning is signed off without even starting the generator. Sometimes it seems inspectors just want you to know they can ruin your day for no good reason.
You could always have an inspector that deliberately fails everything you do to get you thrown off of contracted jobs so they can have their buddies come in and do almost nothing yet get the credit for the job as well as get paid for it while you get just enough to cover your expenses with little to no profits if anything at all. My dad had an inspector attempting to do that with an electrical panel replacement from fuses to breakers. On the first inspection it was the backboard was "to small" it needed to be bigger by 3 inches one way and 4 inches the other. This is for a 100 amp breaker panel box. Next day the back board passed but the panel was "to small" and then they suggested my dad bring in "his guy" to do the work. Mind you that the person my dad had doing the work is a certified electrician through the Army Corp of Engineers and is certified to do the wiring for power plants. The guy he wanted us to use barely had their certification to do just residential wiring. He had only been in business for 2 years while the one my dad was using had 10 years in the Army Corp of Engineers and was still on active reserve duty for another 10 after the fact until he retired. When it came time for the next inspection a different guy showed up and we discussed all what had been "failed" and "fixed" according the the previous inspector and he told us that inspector was no longer working there as an inspector and will not be allowed to work there ever again because of him pushing his buddy onto people to do the work and never once failing anything. He also told us that he had to go for a final inspection for one of the other guys buddies work and found 20 things wrong that the other guy had passed. He also told us that they had found out the other inspector was getting a cut of the profits from his buddy and was also a "silent partner" in his buddies business. He also told us that the other inspectors buddy lost his certification and the business was shut down.
Ehhh.... The inspector's wife probably rejected him the night before and lucky you, you got to be the whipping boy for his frustration that day. Had that happen one time when I went down to the Building Department one time to ask what reinforcement I needed to put in a decorative Adobe/concrete wall I was installing at my own place (3' tall x 18" wide). The inspector just plain-flat came unglued, "What ?! You want to build an unreinforced masonry wall in earthquake country ?! What if it fell over ?!" (in my opinion, any yappy little dog small enough to get hit by a 3" high wall... good riddance) I told him, "That's why I'm here !! I want to know what you want in it !!". Went back and forth for a bit with me telling him I'd put whatever he wanted in the wall. He then told me he would get back to me after consulting with the other inspectors. Funny thing is, by the time I got home there was already a message from him saying I didn't need anything, and that I did not even need to pull a permit, (Yes, I did put in rebar and mesh in, anyways. 15 years later when we sold the place it had only had one crack in 35 feet !!) Weird thing is, all my other contractor buddies said he was normally the most laid-back inspector with the city. Lucky me, I caught him on a bad day.
@@victoreous626 : This was in California and was along both my front property lines. This was around '03. Decorative (Spanish adobe look), with no play areas or anything else that could be damaged other than few plants or maybe a little lawn. I didn't normally do walls in my jobs (actually, I don't recall anybody ever actually requesting them). This was for my own place, and I didn't want any potential issues with the city. I had gone down to city hall on a "Discovery"/informational quest. I'm in the SF Bay Area, surrounded on all sides by faults and wanted to do it right. Nothing fancy, so I didn't want to involve an engineer. Turns out, they didn't have any special spec's nor did they require me to pull a permit. Me being me, I over engineered it, plus I embedded a 2-ton Fieldstone boulder in my side of one of the walls. The Adobe/concrete (cement stabilized Adobe) didn't even crack where it went over part of the rock !! (got just one, but elsewhere).
I’m not an inspector or a general contractor but I am a land survey/civil tech. I’ve seen many “engineered” walls fail due to poor drainage and no geogrid. If that wall is 5 years old and still shows no signs of slumping/settling down or leaning over, then the wall was built right.
Ridiculous that an inspector would say, “well it’s standard in the industry” but the paperwork for the permit only says “final” (but lines for all permits necessary to be noted). It doesn’t seem to me, that this would stand up in any court. The inspector says, I wouldn’t have time to make all those inspections, but thinks the contractor has time to dig up 5 yr completed jobs. Contractors should take them to court to get this foolishness resolved.
It's required but I can't explain why or where. You should just have understood the knowledge of it dwells in the ether and you didn't pay attention. Why I despise government. Just sounds corrupt to me.
The game is rigged. Contractor needs time and money to fight court battle. Guess who foots the bill for the inspectors court costs? Taxpayers come on down! Your the next contestant on "Government regulation in nutshell!". As the contractor you get to choose between fighting a court battle you have no guarantee of winning or just doing whatever the inspector asks as the latter is usually cheaper.
I'm a carpenter contractor for +35 years. Your inspector was just being a bully. He was really digging for a problem. I would file complaint if I had the time. Enjoy all your videos tools, tools, tools. Thanks
"If I got called out for everything that got put on for inspections.." also known as "doing my job". If it's a required inspection, then it should be on that list. You cannot put the responsibility on the contractor to call the inspector "just in case", for everything. This guy is saying it would be a waste of time to come inspect everything, but then here we are 5 years later with too much time on our hands.
Yep I thought that, if he doesn't like inspecting the North-South orientation of bricks, or the angle at which nails are driven into the wood, then they shouldn't be putting pointless stuff on their inspection forms. He's looking for a bribe IMO
I'm a former building inspector. I think this coming back later is B.S. If we missed a required inspection, it would be on us, not have the contractor come back 5 yrs later. And if its not listed on the permit, its not required, period. This was B.S. because he got caught not doing inspections that were required so now he's doubling down. And as far as doing all inspections, yes, you do them. You get out of your damn truck and you walk the site. I have been on commercial inspections that took hours.
I'd be calling him 20 times a day to ask questions about what needed inspected on every job I had. Have my contractor buddies do it too. Make their lives miserable until they fix the permits
The inspector contradicted himself! "If I got called out for everything that got put on those inspections, I'd never leave the job site" Then why don't you just put the ones YOU want! BS!- especially FIVE F...KING years latter!! BS. BS BS!!
Bruce had been getting a lot of scrutiny before this. He's been running his buttocks off closing out all his open inspections, before the city looks too deep and replaces him for not doing his job the last several years. Have the homeowner file a complaint for the holes in the yard.
So many building inspectors are just slugs sucking of the teet of the tax payers. This is totally unacceptable and then building inspector needs to be held accountable for his negligence. I can't believe you broke ground because some inept tool fails to do his job.
Advise: keep a log of all the time you spent complying with the inspection. Visit the city clerk's office and get a form that you use to charge the city for damages. Fill that out and attach your claim of damages and state the reason for your claim. You will get a check in the mail. If the city does not pay you then send a letter to your council person. Do your due diligence and if you still get no response or a refusal then use the small claims court and follow the courts procedure. if the amount is higher than hire an attorney. Stay on it, do not let this slide.
It is 100% the responsibility of the city to list (on the permit) every inspection you will be required to invite them to inspect. If they don't list an inspection that they should have, it is now their responsibility to figure out how to make it right and at their expense. You even have the right to take them to court (if it comes down to that) to make your case on inspections or procedures that they ask you to do when it above and beyond reason for your particular job site. I have witnessed contractors doing much more than digging holes to satisfy an inspector when they could have just said "No, I'll see you in court". Inspectors have off days too, and they can be too proud to admit that they (or their staff) were in the wrong.
Are you a contractor? Do you only want to do 1 job in that town? I've seen electricians bringing inspectors against the board and they wished they never did. Saved $25 in parts because of a principle... now all jobs are gone over with a fine, fine, comb. I had an inspector telling me I had to hardwire a c/o detector because he wants it even though the gas code is battery operated is OK. He said put it in so I'll pass your job. Guess what? I don't have a problem putting it in and charge the customer...I will have problems if I told him no and take him to the board. He teaches classes too.... sometimes you just pick the fight.
@@umadbra Would you do that if it was five years later and you had to remove the finished wall (if that's where it is) and redo it at your expense? Yer spot on at the time of construction and that you truly cannot fight Shi...err...City Hall but I would guess you'd balk at it 5 years later. I don't think it's wrong to push it a little but it could blow up in your face if you go too far. In this case it seems simple, which may be the entire reason the inspector is doing it, so he's probably right to just do this easy step to appease the guy. Could you imagine what would happen if the guy decided Dirt Monkey had to redo it? Hopefully he rewrites his quotes to handle it better but he's still on the hook when some "inspector", and I use that word loosely, comes along to exert their authority. It's pathetic but that's what government these days and power gets you. This town needs an enema.
@@steverichter9825 if it's signed off and my job is done according to today's standards. Why would I need to pay for anything to open anything up? It's the contractor's job to close the jobs. I've seen homeowners having to remove a completely finished basement because he said he did it because of covid and had to bring his family in. Too bad town hall was open.
@@umadbra Oh, I agree that the signature COULD help but, (though I'm no contractor myself-just a homeowner) I have friends who are who've dealt with it where it's meaningless. The inspecting authority finds some error, even on their part, and you have to decide whether to just do what they want, or fight it and risk getting punished some other way. As you stated with whether you wanna work in this town again. It does look like he should have had a signature somewhere for his protection even though it's meaningless if the right (wrong?) inspector shows up. SOP for government.
@@steverichter9825 they show up to make sure you pulled a permit and the town is aware you are doing the work. They don't check your work from start to finish because they expect the license holder to do their jobs correctly. Imagine a shopping mall? How long would it take a person to go through all the boxes? They just want to make sure paperwork is in order and if something burns down, I have my insurance to pay for it.
My biggest reaction from this video was the point you made about having to get multiple licenses from every jurisdiction that you work in, and they all have different rules. What a nightmare! I'm a contractor in Michigan where we fought long and hard for a single state building code. No local government can supersede or require things that are not in that code. Sounds like Minnesota needs to do the same!
We used to haul 50 wheel 13 axle oversize. The rules for oversize are far from standardised and you can get all manner of permits and then get tripped up on stupid stuff like the permit for amber safety lights expiring. In Newport News, Leibherr has a factory and the interstate entrance ramp is less than 150' from the factory but the local cops claim a permit is required and they won't return calls made to the local cop permit number. BTW: Off M59 west of Pontiac, there is a place called Duck Lake and my friend used to live at it in a house that looks like a windmill. We could take the boat to the bar until Michigan started doing sobriety tests on boaters.
Super impressed with your dedication to doing things right! My suggestion would be to build a data base or simple spreadsheet for 80% of what you do in that area and to have the city verify each year that none of their needs have been changed/updated from the previous year. The 20% can be one-off efforts. That being said, we’re new to your channel and love your quality of work!
Stanley, this definitely sounds ridiculous. I'm passing this to my dad (who is the MN state building official). You always have the state to appeal to if you have some weird city inspector giving you grief, because they approve their certification.
I'm a Building Inspector in Cali and came out of the trades which I was in for 38yrs and I think absolutely you are correct, it is up to the Authority Having Jurisdiction, AHJ, to outline inspection procedures.
AHJ does outline an inspection but they can’t enforce something that isn’t code. Having someone dig up a yard 5 years later is a recipe to end up dead for the A hole asking for that. Should be legal to euthanize the piece-o-shit building inspector.
@@RadDadisRad they can and do enforce things that aren't code he is in charge of that jurisdiction and of course the worker didn't check to see if he passed inspection which is just good workmanship that way he knows he passed and the homeowner knows he did the job correctly it is his responsibility to get a final inspection not the government's
This sounds like the jerk I had doing inspections for my solar. We had a specific inspection schedule by the city and we meet all of them. Every inspection he would come up with some new reason he didn't like the install and then say it needed reinspection and an added inspection for some other item since we are changing it. The final inspection took 2 weeks and 6 visit. On the last visit I asked him if we can just get a complete list of issues before he leaves if he is going to ask for changes and a reinspection and he said "I will do inspections at my pace how I see fit, it will take as long as I like, and if your contractor bothered to call me before demanding an inspection then maybe this could have been worked out before I had to tag things." These dudes are mini power trips and just full of themselves.
You have to get inspections for solar too? Jesus, see this is why I bought land that's surrounded by forest on all sides. Only thing you can see is through the break in the forest where there's a driveway. If nobody can see you, and doesn't know what you're doing, you don't need permits or inspections lmao
@@GlorifiedGremlin in the US shooting down a drone is a federal offense with huge fines and prison time.... Not saying it's right, just saying. There really is no such thing as private property, you lease it from the government. Don't believe me, don't pay your lease payment(property taxes) and see how long they let you keep it. Again not saying it's right, just saying.
Lol next time you're in his town where he's the inspector, I would call him 30 times to ask him to come out and take a look each step of the way, not send him any pics.
@@Mr_Zimm You can't just leave it with the inspector. You need to get his boss in the loop, too. And make sure they know WHY they're in the loop. Nothing better than pissing off someone's boss for maliciously complying with their demands.
When I was a kid, my parents built their house. The building inspector refused to inspect the place for 2 years because he didn't get an envelope. But he passed final inspection on a housing development that hadn't even cleared the land. Then he bought a beach house.
I've dealt with this in Florida. If it came down to a court fight, the inspector is wrong. It is what is on the permit. But legal costs to fight the inspection department will be high, and inspector retribution in the future can be harsh.
You can defend yourself if you are well learned like this man. He can present this in court easily and defend himself. You dont always need to purchase a lawyer. Also if there is proven retribution due to a legal dispute you are definitely liable to payment for damages or losses due to said retribution. Revenge cases are very common. For that id definitely recommend a lawyer
After 5 years that wall is amazing. Looks like it hasn’t moved an inch. Quite a testament to you and your employees. ESPECIALLY given that slope and situation. Looking down the sidewalk shot, that sucker is as straight as an arrow!
ridiculous, laziness on their end, they are just making their job easy for their case load and if they want to pick and choose their fights to make us miserable. thank goodness you document your jobs. cya. awesome tips and advice 👌
Exactly! If it is not on the permit as a required inspection , it is not required, especially 5 years after the job is done. Thst inspector should be fired.
Dude, I'm born and raised in Minnesota, work construction, I'm a project supervisor for a small company out of Blaine, we always appreciate those who work their tails off and I'll be supporting your channel. God bless you brother
You are 1000% correct. Any inspections should be listed on your permit. That kind of the point of having that section on the permit. You did what they had asked you to do. Any cost associated with "retro inspections" should be covered by the city. They should actually have covered your time, gas and any other cost associated with this. It's not your fault that you did what was asked and it wasn't good enough for them.
Absolutely. 4 years and no settlement, it hasbeen done correctly. And if the cities listed inspections are inadequate, the city is liable to the homeowner.
Actually, Bruce should have been arrested on the spot and charged with harassment. I suspect his argument that certain inspections being required with no physical evidence of such would be fodder for a competent atty. I realize that things may be different in W. St. Paul but in my neck of the woods such an inspector would not keep his job for long.l
True. I did our was 10 years age! Still look great! If the inspection paperwork doesn't call for any inspection or paperwork then the guy has no leg to stand on
Beautiful work on the wall. Never heard of an inspector coming back years after a project has been passed unless they see an issue later which has obviously not happened. The work done is exactly what will keep the home and wall in place for a lifetime. Great job!!
Unfortunately where I live they have subbed out the inspections now and I've had up to 5 years of work that had the same documents of what inspections were required and were done at that time. They now have imposed new rules and the inspector wants that phone call to come there during the contracting , which I have had a guy race in whoa whoa whoa what's going on here haha to have nothing going wrong . anyways I feel that pain of going back and opening up all my old work, customers hate it, restaurants during lunch rush etc. Great job Stanley love your videos!
He was jumbling his words. You were more prepared for him then he was ready for and you threw him off. I think he got dinged on an inspection for not properly inspecting and now he has to go back around checking all his previous jobs.
Bruce is totally checked out I’m surprised he had to even talk as he was clearly on his way to go four wheeling (people don’t risk that being stolen by leaving in back of truck)
He's telling you to call in. If you start doing that, you'll eventually get someone at the inspection department telling you to read the permit for the requirements. They will wonder why you are calling in, thinking that you're a newbie contractor.
Inspector said, "Usually they call in to ask how I wanna do it." The rules don't change with your whims, dude! It's either required or it ain't, and it should be on the sheet. Period.
A lawyer would shred that up....paper didn't say it was required...its not required. He said you should have assumed. Not taking responsibility for your crappy building dept
Just listening to the inspector "I routinely will take pictures of the progress" after he conceded the fact that only a final was called for. My question to him would have been...If I didn't have a professionally produced video to support the quality of the bid where would we be now? What a laugh, this municipal inspection "professionals" cause more disruption and costs of a project that either lands in the contractors lap or the customer's purse. Good Job!
Should be a solid lesson learned. I love Google photos and taking pics of projects and organizing by date and gps marked location. I often keep photos for property owners as they like to know where their money is going as well.
I would have sent a bill to this particular municipality for my time being this is 2021 not 2007 so they are severely behind on inspections or something is wrong there. Great documentation on your end
Kudos to you for keeping your composure while knowing full-well that you're 100% correct. Time is money in your field and so surely, this nonsense certainly cost you a few bucks. Conversely, Bruce the "inspector" wins the a-hole of the year award! According to a McQuivey’s Forrester study, "if a picture is worth 1000 words, then a one minute video is worth 1.8 million". Further proof that recording your work will almost always save your ass on so many different fronts. Hopefully you followed up with the city regarding Bruce's ridiculous request. His obvious superiority complex shines bright. Keep up the good work man, I really like your channel.
I had a female Inspector carrying a huge book come up to me and tell me that you cannot vent a furnace using pvc pipe. I whispered to her to go back and read some more. I didn't want her to look stupid in front of the other inspectors.
First it goes by building codes not what you feel like doing not every town / state let's u use pvc to vent anything an pvc manufacturers don't recommend it be used it for that
As a contractor for over 30 years, I agree with the contractor on this one. Everything at the end of the day is what's in the writing. As we all have seen, many contact disputes that end up in court, will be judged by what's in writing. Seeing a building inspector coming out after 5 years to look at a job is unbelievable. Looks like the town dropped the ball on this one, in more ways than one!!
I agree. If instead of complying, the contractor and homeowner had gone full Karen mode and sued the city, the inspector would have lost his ass. If he needed those inspections they should have been listed in the list of required inspections.
It's funny because he says "you could have provided the video back then". How is the contractor supposed to know that unless you document it on your permits or during the process?
As a contractor myself I always take alot of pictures of everything I build. If they want to go back and see the wiring, or plumbing, framing. I always take pictures of every stage of construction and I don't ever cover anything up unless it's been signed off on approving what's been done. Do the wiring get inspection. Do the plumbing and/or septic get a inspection before you cover it. The last septic tank I did they had me dig everything out for the tank, the distribution box and the field lines down to the specific depths of the perk test and plans from it. Then he had me put the tank in and schedule 35 to the distribution box and then 8 inches of gravel in the field lines and the pipes going out of the distribution box and down the field lines. Then he came out and inspected it again and told me to put another 6 inches of gravel over the field lines and call him back and he came out one last time and told me that I could cover it up now and signed off on it.
@@rebeccaanderson2907 He said the size of the Inspector, not the Inspector's Ego/Attitude... Making it the size of his Ego/Attitude would require a Nuclear Blasting Charge... 😄😁😆😅😂🤣
Put it on the inspection sheet if it needs inspection....seems pretty simple doesn't it....wait till ya get 2 inspectors giving ya 2 different inspections and failing ya every time they come out!
I've had 4 different inspectors on a correction ... did it the way the first one said,,, had to change if when the second one showed up,, then the 3rd guy had me do is his way ... so I ask if I could get the same guy to show up next time ... guess they were done playing and the 4th guy passed it ...
@@Mr.Torres831 I will be retiring soon with 50 years in the building trade and it IS the responsibility of the city to make sure everything they want is on the permit paperwork! 100% on the building department! I have pulled permits in over 40 states and not once was it the contractor's job to determine how many or what kind of inspections need. I have never given out a white envelope to any inspector but I have seen a few walked out in handcuffs for asking for one. It is YOUR job to train your clerks or do not allow them to issue permits to anyone without knowing how your city wants things done. Lastly, it is NOT the contractor's job to communicate anything to you the inspector! It is however your job to ensure that everything is communicated to the contractor. How else can a contractor KNOW what your city or state wants? It seems that your clerks are not the only ones that are non-educated.
@@chuckcobb5857 absolutely! I once fooled an entire building department with the term "steep escarpment"..... Built a house on deep peers 10' from the edge of a basalt cliff overlooking a 10 mile long Beach. "you can't build this close, it wasn't on your plans...." ooops.
@@chuckcobb5857 100% percent correct. I do business in three states. And all three states no matter the locality will have what they want to see on the permits. And they even color code permit placards in some places. For the inspectors! So go figure.
When dealing with inspectors, or anyone else. The one and only thing we are obligated to do is what is asked of us. That simple. we can obviously go above and beyond, but that isn't an obligation. You were perfectly in the right here! Glad you stood your ground! And I'm supportive of the way that you did so, with respect and integrity! Great job Stan! what a great example!
You are very well-rehearsed in your job and how to deal with the inspector. You have a lot of knowledge. I've helped put in a couple retaining walls back in my younger days and I know that it can be back breaking work and I've seen your guys really hustling and doing a good job. You should be proud of what you have put together.
lol. "Im not trying to argue with you Bruce," while he argues with Bruce. Were you just obviously video recording him as you called him on his bull? I love it man. Respect for standing up to that.
I like how the inspector said "if I got called out for everything needing inspections...I'd never leave the jobsite"...yeah, and you'd STILL GET PAID and STILL EARN your city/county pension and paid holidays & medical and have no risk whatsoever unless your city-supplied office chair gave you hemmorrhoids.
Excuse me, but that's EXACTLY the way it used to work. On "municipal" projects, there was "routinely" a "on-site" inspector!! On jobs like this one, you would call a day or two in advance and make an appointment. Not so difficult when we all used "two hands" (instead of constantly holding the phone with one) and used our brains instead of poking a "app" key!!! The inspector came out, looked at the "exposed" work, signed the permit, and the work got covered up. The "FINAL" was for all the "remaining" work it took to "complete" the job!!
I worked both sides of this video. I was in construction for years and then moved to inspection. I've both worked on everything from underground utilities and drainage systems to roadways, retaining walls, bridges and buildings . That inspector was fee hunting for the city by checking old files for unfinished reports. If you hadn't had that recording that was easily identified as the location you worked, then he was ready to have you dig up the yard to prove the work was done (and redone) by the time you were through. If I could give one piece of advice to contractors it would be record everything and be sure that it can be identified as to the location, date, conditions and work done. That can save you in the long run, should even help with court and arbitrations if necessary.
Just out of curiosity - if the video hadn't been available, and the yard then had to be dug up - how does the city make money (I'm assuming that's what you mean by 'fee hunting'?) from this?
My late husband built a small addition to the back of a house that ran the entire width. This is in Texas. My husband took detailed notes, pictures & video. The addition was mostly all windows, part office space, part screened in porch. On a hill, so it was a thick slab. 2 years after completion we get a letter from an attorney that we were being sued because the foundation was failing. He went to the house, with the homeowners permission, too take a look. The wife answers the door & after taking a look, it is failing. First question my husband asked was, did you hire a landscaper to redirect the sprinkler system to water this foundation? The homeowner thought he could hire someone cheaper than us. The wife, on video, said no he never hooked it back up. Off a letter is sent from our lawyer, with the structural engineer notes for the addition, our notes & the video. We never heard from them again!
So he wouldn’t have the time (cause quote: “I’d never be able to leave the job site”) to inspect all the steps needing an inspection? Somebody in the local government doesn’t have the time to even list the steps they want inspected on the permit? But you are required (five years later) to spend a half a day or more of your time to come out and tear the job apart to appease an ego? BS! The permit should list every step the contractor needs to call for inspection and what it should look like to pass. This is just another example of when it comes to dealing with the government your guilty, even when it’s governments fault, until you prove your innocent!
I would have asked the City Manager to come out and deal with a improperly filled out Inspection Card and to meet at the job site with the inspector. The conversation would have went like this, City Manager, "Hey inspector your office screwed up and didn't put the proper inspection on the card." Inspector, "yes sir we screwed up. And I can't boss this guy around and say, you should have known. So this job is complete." Stanley, "And next time I'll make sure they have that inspection on the card. And Mr. Manager, I want an audit of this department to find out who's in charge and responsible for failing to get this issue resolved for over five years."
It's not an ego ... they've got a long running corruption scam going on in their office, and they are Sooo arrogant they think they can now get away with anything.
Makes you wonder how city-state and federal employees spend their time not working but working on private business on government time and we pay taxes for them to live high on the hog and not work.
1) You're exactly right, the inspections should be noted before the project begins. You can order a code book from the city. Any questions, call the city and document it. 2) Cutting thru that geo-fabric will have ZERO effect on holding back that soil. Don't worry about it. Contractors do it all the time when they're excavating for footings. 3) That's a beautiful wall. You did a very nice job. A grenade (seriously) wouldn't even bring that wall down. I'm an Engineer, so it's my job to know these things. Btw, nice choice in fabric.
Stan, it never ceases to amaze me how a non-paying party can DEMAND action/work. While inspections are worthwhile, the process needs to be clear, or if there is a five year call back, somebody needs to pay for your day/labor, and fighting city hall often proves futile. Thank goodness for your video!
A small part of me would have acted like there was no video till we were in court. Their failure of notice to inspect is not your issue. I would have let them burn their time and legal dollars to see a 2 min video in court.
Absolutely avoid court with any public paid employees. You lose potential customers just for being in court. Even if it is a million dollar lean you have one them personally.
@@Dirtmonkey I feel for you I went through the same horrible experience dug the holes argument pictures didn't seem like it was good enough finally the inspector that showed up wasn't even the one that started all of it his comment to me was why am I here looking at holes!! have a great day love videos keep up the hard work!
The nice part of it is that after 5 years, that wall was straight as an arrow. The job was well done and to be honest, didn't need soil pulled to see that. If 5 winters go by and that wall is still good, just check the box and move on, lol
LoL 🤣 I'm a personal trainer tried to pull my own permit to build a shed! I was dealing with bureaucrats for over 7 months and I never even pulled the shed out of the box !! This was a shed from home depot that didn't pass Florida wind requirements!! I hired an architect !! When I saw all the trouble the architect had and having to resubmit drawings over and over I just gave up!!! I canceled everything and then put the shed together in a day with my girl friend with no permit!!! Too much red tape never again those bureaucrats are professional time wasters!!! Good luck in your career dealing with those guys!!
On a job we had, there was new bulkheading going in (On a canal, existing bulkhead and dock were rotted away) a 20x25 area was dug out to lay in deadmen (basically it was a phone pole laid in the ground, with 3/4 inch steel bars through it, going out 8-10 feet to the bulkhead to prevent it from pushing out). Like this video, no inspection was called for. Until the local inspector showed up, and told us, like the video, we would have to dig them up to prove it was there - "no, the Video and Pictures are not good enough" - My position was "Here's a shovel, have a look at whatever you want - I KNOW it's there, I SHOWED you it's there, if you really need to TOUCH it to believe it, YOU can dig". We overbuild - the dockbuilder is a friend and neighbor to the customer - he is known to overbuild.... The inspector finally decided to accept the pics and video and be reasonable. Fun stuff.
I think its ridiculous that they made you open that up after five years. I feel that in this specific situation, if there was going to be a problem due to shoddy work, it would have happened by now. Also, I think the homeowner probably needs to install some gutter on the house above that wall. I hope you have begun to capture more videos of your jobs! Good job, stay safe!
They made him open it up after 5 years to teach him a lesson in contracting outside of his county. Next time he builds a wall in that county he will do it right and call the inspector when the time is ✅
If it's not listed on the permit document then I'd be very confident that it isn't a requirement. If there is a county regulation, it should be stated clearly.
I’ve been in construction for 40 years. I’m from a 3 generation construction family. To say that I’ve been around the block once or twice is an understatement. This inspector should be fired and arrested.
He is doing his job. He might not even be responsible for this job....picking up an old case from someone who had left, was busy or off sick. To say he should be arrested is absurd.
@@Sean006 yes for stealing from the government and this gentleman!! Obvious buy the little 4 wheeler in the back of his truck, he has kids to feed and he dug these holes himself for nothing.
That’s what you’re supposed to do that’s why you’re the best at what you do I love learning from you keep up the good work brother God bless make sure this inspected doesn’t want money😂
We were building houses above a 28 foot high retaining wall that required pylons. I wanted to make sure we didn't have any foundation issues and told my guys to beef up the rebar in the footings. The inspector said we weren't allowed to exceed code. A quick meeting with the inspector's boss and everything was approved. The next day the inspector told me that was his first time a builder wanted to exceed code and he didn't know that was allowed.
Well you are not allowed to go above and beyond the code requirements tear it down. ROFLMAO.... Some inspectors have no clue what they are doing let alone know that above and beyond code is more than acceptable. When I was dong roofing and remodeling on a few jobs I had to rebuild decks and porches. I would always put in more bracing and supports than required. One inspector asked my why I did that and I flat out told him that I don't need to have some 500 pound fat ass fall through one of my rebuilds and come after me for improper bracing and supports after the fact especially on the larger decks and porches.
"We won't tell you what notations are required on your plans or which inspections we require - you're supposed to give it your best guess and we'll be happy to fail you." I've been dealing with this bullcrap for 25 years, and it's the planning departments that are getting out of control. They sit behind monitors all day and it's like a video game competition they play to shoot down the most applications per day.
It’s impressive how much inspection you guys have to deal with in the USA. I’ve built a couple of houses for my now ex wife’s and the inspection times have been minuscule. A meeting when to make sure that we all speak the same language in the build to come. During the build only two inspections are done, one of them is done just because I’m not a contractor. When the build is finished the inspector does a final check that all documents have been given to me from my electrician, plumber etc. The total time dealing with the authorities for my last house was about five hours in total.
Calling and verifying is an absolute waste of time. It absolutely should be called out on the building permit. He clearly disagrees so he should maybe get that changed on the actual permit.
@@Dirtmonkey what now? Just letting it go? Is that area not profitable enough to spend the time to get this resolved? Seems like a good chance to see real local government in action
@@georgehoppes6456 Good point. Consider that he doesn't make money as a political activist. In his business, the less time he spends on bureaucrats, the better. Perhaps a local brave viewer might do it.
Whenever I have a problem with an inspector or any city worker that I'm dealing with. I just contact their superior and tell them that I am very uncomfortable with them flirting with me. They will assign another person immediately every time. You have to learn to use the power of bureaucracy against them.
I was building houses for a general contractor in Bethesda MD. The finial inspection was an absolute hair pulling experience. The first 3 times we failed (each time a different inspector) the inspector would be walking up to the house and call out someting they wouldn’t pass (the house numbers not being clear enough, downspout splash guard not in its proper spot….etc…) not even on sight for 2 mins. I called the building department and was able to have a conversation with the head inspector and he said they shouldn’t be failing on one item and actually walking the entire property. The next time they showed up they did the entire walk and had very few items. My only time having a bad experience with an inspectors.
I did QC inspections for a soils engineering firm back in the day. On one earthen dam project the crew got highly pissed at me because they started before I got there and had to rip out several hours worth of compacted soil and then spend more time scraping out an organic layer they were supposed to have removed at the very beginning. It was all in the specs including the start time but they didn't pay attention to it.
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If, as a homeowner, I come home and find that ANY part of a job has been opened up, 5 years after the job was completed, just to satisfy an inspector who did NOT do their job 5 years previously, I’d be absolutely ballistic at the next town council meeting.
i agree. that is 5 years that something could have went horribly wrong. putting you and your family at risk
Its the contractor's responsibility to obtain sign off of all required inspections. Its also ultimately the contractor's responsibility to be knowledgeable on ALL required inspections pertaining to the scope of work being done within the city/jurisdiction the project is located. On the permit, the building final had 2 **. I doubt the contractor inquired further to seek clarification. Again, it is NOT the responsibility of the Inspection Jurisdiction to obtain sign off, that is the duty and responsibility of the contractor. Inspectors don't chase inspections down to sign em off. A proper Inspection request must take place before any Inspector is required to do any Inspection. I understand the contractors perspective as well as a homeowner. But the responsibility ultimately always falls on the contractor.
@@aquaholixsd I understand that but if you noticed there is no footnote for the asterisks on either sheet of paper. Again if it isn’t written down it doesn’t apply
@@aquaholixsd so when they just throw in another $20,000 of "regulations" you'll just comply like a good little sheep won't ya? Lol sorry but asking permission from government to do something on your property is just another way they have conditioned you to ASK the government to do anything.. this is America. If I want to hire someone to do anything on my property the government should mind its own business.. things will change soon enough.. the corruption between industry insurance and government is coming to an end..
@@aquaholixsd so what happens when you call in the inspection and they just do not show? So you mean the contractor has to now chase the inspector to do his job? I have a feeling in this case the inspection was done but the paperwork wasn’t completed. Now 5 yrs later someone realized it and we have what we have.
As an inspector for 33 years, that is pathetic that the inspection office did not perform their due diligence to review their open permits on a regular basis. Someone should have investigated why a 5 year old permit was still in the open/active status
We had one that was open since 1999 and just being dealt with 2 years ago lol. And it was for fire suppression.
Id think the contractor would stay right on the inspectors ass till it was signed off as finall/complete. Once i get that last signature THEN your job is done. Leave it to the homeowner. Lol. Fools!
That's on the State, they obviously do not keep thuer inspection reports up to date per monthly requirements.
@@jeffreybuckner4483 the issueis the homeowner can come back on the contractor and the state legally for failing to do thier job and destruction of private property after project has been completed. Thats heavy fines and loss of license and job.
That inspector could have driven by and done the "Final". In the real world there is a list of ALL Inspections they want to Inspect at every stage of the job and then a Final and that is the completed job. The you should have known, is complete BS and would not stand up in any court of Law. And In that case if that Contractor had not done any of the proper foundation work and that wall fell down 5yrs later that permite would have been zero help in any courtroom for the customer.
When it comes to the court room if it is not in writing it does not mean anything.
The fact that this inspector is FINALLY getting around to this 5 YEARS after the fact is beyond ridiculous. Just another example of gov't incompetence.
Local and city government.
Pot bellied government employee living in a BLUE state. That says it all folks
@@brianl.8723 Government is government my man. Terrible.
The responsibility to schedule the inspection lies with the CONTRACTOR… not the inspector.
Exactly
"I used to be a contractor myself" is classic city inspector jargon for "I wasn't good enough to make it out on my own."
They usually are the guys who never could use a tool and hated to see real menbwith them. In my town i have 4 of the fuggers who graduated the college program below me as i was the standard of the class. I knew before graduating, because i had already had my GC for 4 years, that they would give me hell. They haven't failed my expectations
It's just a step above the guy at Home Depot who says he used to be a contractor. What contractor would leave the industry to go to HD, unless he retired or became disabled?
I'm an inspector in Texas. Master Plumber in 2 states. Owned my own business for 21 years. Got a divorce, lost my retirement. Tore a meniscus, both rotator cuffs, and screwed my back up. I don't speak Spanish, all the white guys that are good plumbers start their own business. 2 years ago I started inspecting because I wanted the insurance and retirement. Didn't feel like starting over. First I went to work for another company. Hard to do after being self employed for so long. Plus, 25 an hour was killing me.
@@othalee Yup, I was going to say that there are people who want the stability and benefits of a government job.
@@cchavezjr7 once I retire I'm going back into business. Maybe.
That footage should have satisfied the inspector. Digging it out was uncalled for.
Blurring out his face was not required either, he is a public official in the capacity of his official duties. A public servant.
He may have to work with that asshole again, best to keep the social damage to a minimum.
I truly believe he was hoping for a bribe. Payoffs the name of the game.
@@spikenomoon lmao its 2021 this aint the 1930s when everyone wants a bribe
@@ChathamFireDeptfan greed is all decades my friend. I bet Cain wanted Ables allowance.
Watching on my broke phone screen. When he first got out of the car with a black circle over his face, I'm like "oh no! Another spot!"
There’s nothing wrong with arguing. It’s our DUTY as an American to hold our government accountable.
Don’t argue too loudly or they will call the FBI for domestic terrorism lol.
Arguing with the PEOPLE'S servants is terrorism upon the PEOPLE'S themselfs. CONSTITUTION IS BLACK & WHITE......yet you all mostly fail to punish our employees the generations before mine have allowed this to happen remember WE THE PEOPLE isn't them to control🗽
You are the Government
@@neilsmith1736 But they don’t see it that way.
, never argue with an inspector unless you KNOW you’re in the right 100%.
FYI: A "permit" is a legal and binding contract; bilateral agreement; and a meeting of the minds. If the issuing authority omitted any necessary inspections - it's their negligence (not yours).
Sooo true... FJB...F building insp.
I'm a contractor in Wyoming n no way in hell would i of dug any hole 5 years later. I would of told him to provide proof it had to be inspected n also told him if it was supposed to be inspected why wasn't it done at the time of building inspection. You handled that very well
After 5 years, if you’re a qualified inspector, you should be able to do a visual inspection on a wall and know whether or not it was built correctly, that wall and every pebble you touched is where you left it 5 years ago. Beautiful work!
that was my first thought.
I agree this whole process is BS and he should be able to tell it was done right but I’ll defend the inspector on some comments. He did say he would accept pictures. Stanley assumed they didn’t because other places didn’t so he didn’t try. He didn’t have to dig it up had he just tried to show the video first. Though the inspector should have said that considering the situation. If a jobs been finished for 5 years especially today with cell phones he should have mentioned pictures were an option.
5 years laTER POuND Sand inspector
@@joshcowart2446 Then again it should have listed the inspection as a requirement in the list of required inspections.
@@olstar18 agreed
So basically it sounds like a good old case of "we didn't do our part, so now you need to redo your part to verify what we forgot to do in the first place".
🤣🤣
"I don't want to hold up the contractor waiting for me to show up." Yet you tracked a contractor down to dig some holes 5 years after the fact and enforced an inspection that wasn't needed. Gotta love government! Good on ya Stan for keeping your cool!
Almighty government 🤮
@@Dirtmonkey yeah whatever more like tyrannical government.
Takes me months to get a permit through in my city and yet these guys can hunt down a five year old project. If the city wants these inspections done they need to state it in the paperwork, sounds like a really lazy permit office to me.
In my area the only reason why code enforcement is worried about a 5 year old job is because the house is in contract and the buyers mortgage company is requesting a property search. The Code Officer is refusing to sign off on any work that was done on the property that he/she hasn’t personally inspected (due to liability issues).
When I saw you had a video of it my very 1st thought was to show it to the building/code department and you may save your self some digging. Second, the required inspections should absolutely be written on the permit, we are not mind readers. Calling the building department and asking dumb questions because they can’t be bothered to put it in writing is time wasted.
Word to the wise: get your inspections or it could hold up the sale of your house
You should have bribed the inspector and then turned him in. Get him fired or jailed.😡
Excellent video. I was really pleased with how you worked with Bruce and then let him know that there was no argument, but more of a "please help me understand how this could happen." I am an architect and thirty five years ago, helped get a city ordinance modified so as to give a time limit for permits and notifications. Two years after a request for a final with no reply meant that the final was approved. Period.
To save time the Building Inspector could have asked, do you have any pictures! Duh!
as a former building inspector, this guy and his entire team back at the department, need to be fired and have their pensions taken back, give them to the legit contractors who STILL care more about the homeowner than the cushy job back in the office
Every inspector I've ever had to deal with is exactly like this guy. I am glad you are an exception but this guy is the norm.
Power hungry
Don't think they need to be fired mate, but fucking harsh, these are people with families and mortgages etc. maybe re-educated.
Yea as an electrician inspectors are a joke for the most part. Yea they could catch the obvious stuff. But in there 5min stroll through a job they are only keying in on specific things that they went over that day or week. Hell had one inspector start requiring that we put gaskets on all of our box opening on the inside of house if in an exterior wall. Our wholesale houses didn’t even stalk those gaskets. So then all of our wholesale houses had to start carrying these gaskets to pass inspection! Was able to weasel his way in code book that references back to fire protection think it’s NFAPA. Adding extra cost to everyone because this guy got a little power. Have had inspectors call my union on me. Yea have had some real pieces of crap as inspectors. But there are a couple of good ones.
No, he needs to be fired so he can realize what a major "A" hole he is. I have seen one inspector ignore a keep clear sign and just drive through the yellow tape and park his car. The falling materials totaling his car was the result. Lost his job.
That is a perfect scenario of an inspector overstepping his authority, when he said “ I want this done this way”. There is no list of required inspections on your permit other than final inspection.
For some reason I had a feeling this was about an unpaid bribe
If you look in your city's Code Compliance book you will most likely see multiple times that it is the code officer's discretion, if you question his authority he might go as far as to say do it my way or I will red tag your house with a substandard dwelling sticker on the door and have you kicked out of your before 5 o'clock the same day and the police will arrest you if you try to come back there and live. This cold officer's discretion is wrong because he is supposed to follow the code to the letter of the law but I have experienced it myself and if he tells you to do something that goes against the code there is nothing you can do except what he asked you to do and in the future you will find the next inspector after him will say this is not up to code and when you say the previous inspector said he wanted it this way, the new inspector will say he doesn't care he is the inspector now and you will do it his way
There can be many inspections before final, depending on job
@@niyablake Me too!
@@analizad9409 our second amendment is specifically for situations like this, nobody has the balls to use it. It's coming I'm waiting for the day and it might just be me who does it, sooner or later I'm going to have to neutralize a corrupt cop or out of bounds city official like this inspector and claim second amendment free state.
Did Bruce basically just say they don't put them on the permits so they can skip them if they want to?
"Well, if I got called out for everything that got put on for inspections, I'd never leave a job site".
Dude. That's your JOB.
according to Bruce its too much work for them to write down what inspections are needed. Instead I am supposed to call and ask because thats not as much as work.
@@Dirtmonkey yeah just hold up you and them with a phone call instead of having it on the paperwork that seems logical... NOT
Lazy inspector
@@xpor6988 lazy city and permit writer.
Isn't it just as much work for them to stop what they are doing to figure out, over the phone, exactly what all inspections are needed? Instead of just typing it on the permit at their leisure, before they hand you the approved permit....
As a paving contractor I built quite a few walls , this job is A+++ and you only need to look along the lines and check the camber of the wall to see it is as good as it gets... Dirt monkey is a great contractor, I thoroughly recommend you use this guy just looking at this one job it's top of the line.
That is literally the inspectors job, you know the job he's PAID to do! It's egregious that the city or county can be so negligent, then feel entitled to force the company to dig up their work because of the planning departments failure to plan and do their job in a timely manner. I'm so glad that you filmed it, lesson to all, you're a good man and very professional.
In Australia we would say, "he needs his head red"!
What a shonk ! He hasn't done his job ! Five years down the track !
JUST PLAIN LAZY ! Taking a pay check without doing the work .... SHAMEFUL !
You did the right thing by fulfilling your part ... he should be made accountable !
@@glendadowe.....head red.....or.........read.?
They issued the ticket.....and you have to ring up and check.?
It's government mentality. LIke taxes. They requier you to pay taxes, they requier you to account all of your taxes for them. If you are wrong you go to jail or pay fines. This is the bass akwardness of government burocracy. Everyone want public money but no one wants to work for it.
Did he just admit that he’s making “inspections” up? Well it may not be on the permit but they exist…. Excuse me!! If it ain’t on the permit then it ain’t required!
Oh but "everybody knows" ???
Every city has that one inspector.
@@niyablake A failed contractor that becomes an inspector is the worst.
If I’m being honest here, that is one hell of a killer retaining wall you constructed. You guys do excellent work
This man is total bullshit!!!
Hey Jeff Morgan@ it still doesn't make any sense if they have the video footage of the part that is in question. Why would he be required to destroy the finished product. This whole thing sounds personal to me...five years after the project was finalized.
I was thinking the same thing
Are you dishonest otherwise?
Wall looks great 5 years later.
Great idea to take pictures/video jobs.
As an inspector, I agree with you 100%. I had opened this video expecting to disagree with you, but you were 100% correct. You received a list of required inspections and you complied. For him to say that there are implied inspections is BS and unprofessional. The only thing I can suggest is that, when a permit is to be closed by the homeowner at a later date, call the inspector and say "I am done at this job. Can you come and approve the work I did?" EDIT: I never do drive by inspections. I always get out of the vehicle and look at what I need to look at.
There is no such thing as an 'implied' inspection. Ether it is REQUIRED or it is BS.
@@moseszero3281 Well said.
Shouldn't have to call anyone. Government just wants to boss people around, but don't actually want to do anything. You heard him "you could send pictures" there's a lot you can't tell by pictures.
it seems just like a personal thing or his just bored and wants to be on camera either way its an ego thing
This inspector says “guys in the industry, they know..” (implying unlisted required inspections) 🥴. This inspector was dead wrong
Here's an inspector story for ya...I'm a welder by trade, we installed and then I personally welded an entire store front consisting of 4 42' columns, beams between the columns at mid way up and at the top as well as 6 very short beams to embeds in the cmu wall. Took a couple days, inspector comes out and fails a couple welds because from the ground they didn't look welded. Whatever, Saturday I lay some more weld on them, everything is clean and good. Monday comes around and he comes back and fails the entire store front now. Tuesday I show up (pretty pissed off) and ask the super if he heard anything and go up to do a once over. Everything is clearly good. Different inspector shows up (who I've worked with a couple times) and we harness up and go for a ride. 5 minutes and a couple pictures and the same store front the failed the previous morning is signed off without even starting the generator.
Sometimes it seems inspectors just want you to know they can ruin your day for no good reason.
give someone a bit of authority and they mostly turn into tyrants
You could always have an inspector that deliberately fails everything you do to get you thrown off of contracted jobs so they can have their buddies come in and do almost nothing yet get the credit for the job as well as get paid for it while you get just enough to cover your expenses with little to no profits if anything at all.
My dad had an inspector attempting to do that with an electrical panel replacement from fuses to breakers. On the first inspection it was the backboard was "to small" it needed to be bigger by 3 inches one way and 4 inches the other. This is for a 100 amp breaker panel box. Next day the back board passed but the panel was "to small" and then they suggested my dad bring in "his guy" to do the work.
Mind you that the person my dad had doing the work is a certified electrician through the Army Corp of Engineers and is certified to do the wiring for power plants. The guy he wanted us to use barely had their certification to do just residential wiring. He had only been in business for 2 years while the one my dad was using had 10 years in the Army Corp of Engineers and was still on active reserve duty for another 10 after the fact until he retired.
When it came time for the next inspection a different guy showed up and we discussed all what had been "failed" and "fixed" according the the previous inspector and he told us that inspector was no longer working there as an inspector and will not be allowed to work there ever again because of him pushing his buddy onto people to do the work and never once failing anything. He also told us that he had to go for a final inspection for one of the other guys buddies work and found 20 things wrong that the other guy had passed. He also told us that they had found out the other inspector was getting a cut of the profits from his buddy and was also a "silent partner" in his buddies business. He also told us that the other inspectors buddy lost his certification and the business was shut down.
Ehhh.... The inspector's wife probably rejected him the night before and lucky you, you got to be the whipping boy for his frustration that day.
Had that happen one time when I went down to the Building Department one time to ask what reinforcement I needed to put in a decorative Adobe/concrete wall I was installing at my own place (3' tall x 18" wide). The inspector just plain-flat came unglued, "What ?! You want to build an unreinforced masonry wall in earthquake country ?! What if it fell over ?!" (in my opinion, any yappy little dog small enough to get hit by a 3" high wall... good riddance)
I told him, "That's why I'm here !! I want to know what you want in it !!". Went back and forth for a bit with me telling him I'd put whatever he wanted in the wall. He then told me he would get back to me after consulting with the other inspectors.
Funny thing is, by the time I got home there was already a message from him saying I didn't need anything, and that I did not even need to pull a permit, (Yes, I did put in rebar and mesh in, anyways. 15 years later when we sold the place it had only had one crack in 35 feet !!)
Weird thing is, all my other contractor buddies said he was normally the most laid-back inspector with the city.
Lucky me, I caught him on a bad day.
@@jimbayler4277 36" (Maybe it's 30") here in California need ZERO reinforcing. Or at least that was the way it was up until I retired in "05"
@@victoreous626 : This was in California and was along both my front property lines.
This was around '03. Decorative (Spanish adobe look), with no play areas or anything else that could be damaged other than few plants or maybe a little lawn. I didn't normally do walls in my jobs (actually, I don't recall anybody ever actually requesting them). This was for my own place, and I didn't want any potential issues with the city. I had gone down to city hall on a "Discovery"/informational quest.
I'm in the SF Bay Area, surrounded on all sides by faults and wanted to do it right. Nothing fancy, so I didn't want to involve an engineer.
Turns out, they didn't have any special spec's nor did they require me to pull a permit. Me being me, I over engineered it, plus I embedded a 2-ton Fieldstone boulder in my side of one of the walls. The Adobe/concrete (cement stabilized Adobe) didn't even crack where it went over part of the rock !! (got just one, but elsewhere).
"Don't question us. Just do what we say, regardless of how little sense it makes or how legal it is."
Hahaha basically.
I've learned to say "yesir boss, I does what your sez"
It’s a testament to your guy’s workmanship. After five years your wall is straight and the ground looks great
This inspector lives with the mentality of assumptions and 30 years ago. He is beyond his shelf life.
Oh my goodness 🤣😂
Agree, A lot of inspectors can't make it as contractors so they go into inspection.
Seems as though this inspector didn't look at the permit on file?
You are so right. Beyond his years.
@@Dirtmonkey That makes no sense. It shld be on the permit if it requires you for more.
I’m not an inspector or a general contractor but I am a land survey/civil tech. I’ve seen many “engineered” walls fail due to poor drainage and no geogrid. If that wall is 5 years old and still shows no signs of slumping/settling down or leaning over, then the wall was built right.
Ridiculous that an inspector would say, “well it’s standard in the industry” but the paperwork for the permit only says “final” (but lines for all permits necessary to be noted). It doesn’t seem to me, that this would stand up in any court. The inspector says, I wouldn’t have time to make all those inspections, but thinks the contractor has time to dig up 5 yr completed jobs. Contractors should take them to court to get this foolishness resolved.
Then the city inspector would possibly start a vendetta against the contractor. Nothing is fair in life
It's on the contractor to pick up the phone? What happens if you speak to the wrong person?
@@sophocles1198 Just like the IRS. What an IRS agent says does not represent the IRS. You're screwed either way.
It's required but I can't explain why or where. You should just have understood the knowledge of it dwells in the ether and you didn't pay attention.
Why I despise government. Just sounds corrupt to me.
The game is rigged. Contractor needs time and money to fight court battle. Guess who foots the bill for the inspectors court costs? Taxpayers come on down! Your the next contestant on "Government regulation in nutshell!".
As the contractor you get to choose between fighting a court battle you have no guarantee of winning or just doing whatever the inspector asks as the latter is usually cheaper.
I'm a carpenter contractor for +35 years. Your inspector was just being a bully. He was really digging for a problem. I would file complaint if I had the time. Enjoy all your videos tools, tools, tools. Thanks
"If I got called out for everything that got put on for inspections.." also known as "doing my job". If it's a required inspection, then it should be on that list. You cannot put the responsibility on the contractor to call the inspector "just in case", for everything. This guy is saying it would be a waste of time to come inspect everything, but then here we are 5 years later with too much time on our hands.
Yep I thought that, if he doesn't like inspecting the North-South orientation of bricks, or the angle at which nails are driven into the wood, then they shouldn't be putting pointless stuff on their inspection forms.
He's looking for a bribe IMO
I'm a former building inspector. I think this coming back later is B.S. If we missed a required inspection, it would be on us, not have the contractor come back 5 yrs later. And if its not listed on the permit, its not required, period. This was B.S. because he got caught not doing inspections that were required so now he's doubling down. And as far as doing all inspections, yes, you do them. You get out of your damn truck and you walk the site. I have been on commercial inspections that took hours.
This inspector would need his own call center for all the phone calls he'll be receiving x)
I'd be calling him 20 times a day to ask questions about what needed inspected on every job I had. Have my contractor buddies do it too. Make their lives miserable until they fix the permits
The inspector contradicted himself! "If I got called out for everything that got put on those inspections, I'd never leave the job site" Then why don't you just put the ones YOU want! BS!- especially FIVE F...KING years latter!! BS. BS BS!!
I love the "well, people in the industry... know". Hello, he's in the freakin' industry, he built the damn wall 5 years ago and it's still PERFECT!
Bruce had been getting a lot of scrutiny before this. He's been running his buttocks off closing out all his open inspections, before the city looks too deep and replaces him for not doing his job the last several years. Have the homeowner file a complaint for the holes in the yard.
I would get a copy of the inspection sheet in a month to see if he backdated his inspection.
That makes sense.
Sounds like it. Personally I think he is lying about the additional inspections and “contractors know” .
@@michaelanderson1187 Great idea.
So many building inspectors are just slugs sucking of the teet of the tax payers. This is totally unacceptable and then building inspector needs to be held accountable for his negligence. I can't believe you broke ground because some inept tool fails to do his job.
Advise: keep a log of all the time you spent complying with the inspection. Visit the city clerk's office and get a form that you use to charge the city for damages. Fill that out and attach your claim of damages and state the reason for your claim. You will get a check in the mail. If the city does not pay you then send a letter to your council person. Do your due diligence and if you still get no response or a refusal then use the small claims court and follow the courts procedure. if the amount is higher than hire an attorney. Stay on it, do not let this slide.
Correct
Yeah right. 😂😂😂😂
Good luck with that. The city makes the rules about who can sue the city and for what -- guess what? They don't like getting sued.
It is 100% the responsibility of the city to list (on the permit) every inspection you will be required to invite them to inspect. If they don't list an inspection that they should have, it is now their responsibility to figure out how to make it right and at their expense. You even have the right to take them to court (if it comes down to that) to make your case on inspections or procedures that they ask you to do when it above and beyond reason for your particular job site. I have witnessed contractors doing much more than digging holes to satisfy an inspector when they could have just said "No, I'll see you in court". Inspectors have off days too, and they can be too proud to admit that they (or their staff) were in the wrong.
Are you a contractor? Do you only want to do 1 job in that town? I've seen electricians bringing inspectors against the board and they wished they never did. Saved $25 in parts because of a principle... now all jobs are gone over with a fine, fine, comb.
I had an inspector telling me I had to hardwire a c/o detector because he wants it even though the gas code is battery operated is OK. He said put it in so I'll pass your job. Guess what? I don't have a problem putting it in and charge the customer...I will have problems if I told him no and take him to the board. He teaches classes too.... sometimes you just pick the fight.
@@umadbra Would you do that if it was five years later and you had to remove the finished wall (if that's where it is) and redo it at your expense? Yer spot on at the time of construction and that you truly cannot fight Shi...err...City Hall but I would guess you'd balk at it 5 years later. I don't think it's wrong to push it a little but it could blow up in your face if you go too far. In this case it seems simple, which may be the entire reason the inspector is doing it, so he's probably right to just do this easy step to appease the guy. Could you imagine what would happen if the guy decided Dirt Monkey had to redo it? Hopefully he rewrites his quotes to handle it better but he's still on the hook when some "inspector", and I use that word loosely, comes along to exert their authority. It's pathetic but that's what government these days and power gets you. This town needs an enema.
@@steverichter9825 if it's signed off and my job is done according to today's standards. Why would I need to pay for anything to open anything up? It's the contractor's job to close the jobs. I've seen homeowners having to remove a completely finished basement because he said he did it because of covid and had to bring his family in.
Too bad town hall was open.
@@umadbra Oh, I agree that the signature COULD help but, (though I'm no contractor myself-just a homeowner) I have friends who are who've dealt with it where it's meaningless. The inspecting authority finds some error, even on their part, and you have to decide whether to just do what they want, or fight it and risk getting punished some other way. As you stated with whether you wanna work in this town again. It does look like he should have had a signature somewhere for his protection even though it's meaningless if the right (wrong?) inspector shows up. SOP for government.
@@steverichter9825 they show up to make sure you pulled a permit and the town is aware you are doing the work. They don't check your work from start to finish because they expect the license holder to do their jobs correctly. Imagine a shopping mall? How long would it take a person to go through all the boxes?
They just want to make sure paperwork is in order and if something burns down, I have my insurance to pay for it.
Dude was power tripping his ass off. Looking at that wall 5 years later should tell any previous "contractor" it was done to code or better.
My biggest reaction from this video was the point you made about having to get multiple licenses from every jurisdiction that you work in, and they all have different rules. What a nightmare! I'm a contractor in Michigan where we fought long and hard for a single state building code. No local government can supersede or require things that are not in that code.
Sounds like Minnesota needs to do the same!
Seriously! When I heard that I thought "what a nightmare!".
We used to haul 50 wheel 13 axle oversize. The rules for oversize are far from standardised and you can get all manner of permits and then get tripped up on stupid stuff like the permit for amber safety lights expiring. In Newport News, Leibherr has a factory and the interstate entrance ramp is less than 150' from the factory but the local cops claim a permit is required and they won't return calls made to the local cop permit number. BTW: Off M59 west of Pontiac, there is a place called Duck Lake and my friend used to live at it in a house that looks like a windmill. We could take the boat to the bar until Michigan started doing sobriety tests on boaters.
Louisiana is the same
Super impressed with your dedication to doing things right! My suggestion would be to build a data base or simple spreadsheet for 80% of what you do in that area and to have the city verify each year that none of their needs have been changed/updated from the previous year. The 20% can be one-off efforts. That being said, we’re new to your channel and love your quality of work!
Stanley, this definitely sounds ridiculous.
I'm passing this to my dad (who is the MN state building official). You always have the state to appeal to if you have some weird city inspector giving you grief, because they approve their certification.
Good to know- thanks!
Please do..I don't know why anybody is still in Minnesota.
Hey after 5 years with the freeze cycle anyone with 2 eyes would just say "great work"
Bruce was def instigating conflict and seeking a bribe here.
Yeah that inspector is sketchy as hell. Definitely need to review all of his recent work (past 2 years)
I'm a Building Inspector in Cali and came out of the trades which I was in for 38yrs and I think absolutely you are correct, it is up to the Authority Having Jurisdiction, AHJ, to outline inspection procedures.
AHJ does outline an inspection but they can’t enforce something that isn’t code. Having someone dig up a yard 5 years later is a recipe to end up dead for the A hole asking for that. Should be legal to euthanize the piece-o-shit building inspector.
@@RadDadisRad they can and do enforce things that aren't code he is in charge of that jurisdiction and of course the worker didn't check to see if he passed inspection which is just good workmanship that way he knows he passed and the homeowner knows he did the job correctly it is his responsibility to get a final inspection not the government's
This sounds like the jerk I had doing inspections for my solar. We had a specific inspection schedule by the city and we meet all of them. Every inspection he would come up with some new reason he didn't like the install and then say it needed reinspection and an added inspection for some other item since we are changing it. The final inspection took 2 weeks and 6 visit. On the last visit I asked him if we can just get a complete list of issues before he leaves if he is going to ask for changes and a reinspection and he said "I will do inspections at my pace how I see fit, it will take as long as I like, and if your contractor bothered to call me before demanding an inspection then maybe this could have been worked out before I had to tag things."
These dudes are mini power trips and just full of themselves.
You have to get inspections for solar too? Jesus, see this is why I bought land that's surrounded by forest on all sides. Only thing you can see is through the break in the forest where there's a driveway. If nobody can see you, and doesn't know what you're doing, you don't need permits or inspections lmao
Job security.
@@GlorifiedGremlin they are using drones to find unpermitted structures/work. They are total leeches with unchecked arbitrary power.
@@bolo2393 If someone flies a drone over my land, it's gunna get shot down lol the airspace belongs to me as well, up to a certain height
@@GlorifiedGremlin in the US shooting down a drone is a federal offense with huge fines and prison time.... Not saying it's right, just saying. There really is no such thing as private property, you lease it from the government. Don't believe me, don't pay your lease payment(property taxes) and see how long they let you keep it. Again not saying it's right, just saying.
That is a very good point ... The building inspection form should state call in for other detailed inspection requirements not listed here.
Lol next time you're in his town where he's the inspector, I would call him 30 times to ask him to come out and take a look each step of the way, not send him any pics.
oh- you are mean but that is such a good idea.
@@Dirtmonkey malicious compliance my dude.
@@Mr_Zimm You can't just leave it with the inspector. You need to get his boss in the loop, too. And make sure they know WHY they're in the loop. Nothing better than pissing off someone's boss for maliciously complying with their demands.
@@toddlynch7282 did you mean meticulously? I actually like maliciously in this case as well lol
My old Foreman (Concrete Foundation Walls) does exactly that, he doesn't leave it to chance with these bozos.
When I was a kid, my parents built their house. The building inspector refused to inspect the place for 2 years because he didn't get an envelope. But he passed final inspection on a housing development that hadn't even cleared the land. Then he bought a beach house.
🤨 I'd be fuming...
Mob don't like new guys or non union
He seems like the type of inspector who doesn't get out of his car usually. Love the non clear answers government as usual
yeah with that huge beer gut, looks like it dude could use the exercise!
That 5 yr old wall looks great. You guys do good work bud.
I've dealt with this in Florida. If it came down to a court fight, the inspector is wrong. It is what is on the permit. But legal costs to fight the inspection department will be high, and inspector retribution in the future can be harsh.
You can defend yourself if you are well learned like this man. He can present this in court easily and defend himself. You dont always need to purchase a lawyer. Also if there is proven retribution due to a legal dispute you are definitely liable to payment for damages or losses due to said retribution. Revenge cases are very common. For that id definitely recommend a lawyer
After 5 years that wall is amazing. Looks like it hasn’t moved an inch. Quite a testament to you and your employees. ESPECIALLY given that slope and situation. Looking down the sidewalk shot, that sucker is as straight as an arrow!
Much appreciated sir!
Yeah I thought the same.. one look after 5 years should be enough proof the wall is well above standard
I agree. Seems like a simple drive-by after 5 years should be sufficient to rule out wrong doings
ridiculous, laziness on their end, they are just making their job easy for their case load and if they want to pick and choose their fights to make us miserable. thank goodness you document your jobs. cya. awesome tips and advice 👌
Exactly! If it is not on the permit as a required inspection , it is not required, especially 5 years after the job is done. Thst inspector should be fired.
Dude, I'm born and raised in Minnesota, work construction, I'm a project supervisor for a small company out of Blaine, we always appreciate those who work their tails off and I'll be supporting your channel. God bless you brother
You are 1000% correct. Any inspections should be listed on your permit. That kind of the point of having that section on the permit. You did what they had asked you to do. Any cost associated with "retro inspections" should be covered by the city. They should actually have covered your time, gas and any other cost associated with this. It's not your fault that you did what was asked and it wasn't good enough for them.
Bruce should have eyeballed that wall, said "all good" and been on his way.
Absolutely. 4 years and no settlement, it hasbeen done correctly. And if the cities listed inspections are inadequate, the city is liable to the homeowner.
Actually, Bruce should have been arrested on the spot and charged with harassment. I suspect his argument that certain inspections being required with no physical evidence of such would be fodder for a competent atty. I realize that things may be different in W. St. Paul but in my neck of the woods such an inspector would not keep his job for long.l
True. I did our was 10 years age! Still look great! If the inspection paperwork doesn't call for any inspection or paperwork then the guy has no leg to stand on
@@disqusmacabre6246 hi handsome. I agree with your comment. Bruce is breaking the rules and should be fired .
Well they guy said ruff instead of roof so inspector may be worried the job wasn't done right since the guy has hard time speaking correctly
That's a beautiful wall, looks like new and still straight as an arrow 5 years later.
4 years but still.
Beautiful work on the wall. Never heard of an inspector coming back years after a project has been passed unless they see an issue later which has obviously not happened. The work done is exactly what will keep the home and wall in place for a lifetime. Great job!!
Thank you!!!
I don't recall him saying that the final inspection had happened.
Unfortunately where I live they have subbed out the inspections now and I've had up to 5 years of work that had the same documents of what inspections were required and were done at that time. They now have imposed new rules and the inspector wants that phone call to come there during the contracting , which I have had a guy race in whoa whoa whoa what's going on here haha to have nothing going wrong . anyways I feel that pain of going back and opening up all my old work, customers hate it, restaurants during lunch rush etc.
Great job Stanley love your videos!
@@NiceMuslimLady do you recall him saying that the final inspection has nothing to do with him?
@@devilsadvocate1685 Yes...but the inspector didn't seem very concerned about that.
THIS CONTRACTOR KNOWS HIS TRADE, NO DOUBT! Well DONE!
He was jumbling his words. You were more prepared for him then he was ready for and you threw him off. I think he got dinged on an inspection for not properly inspecting and now he has to go back around checking all his previous jobs.
🤣🤣🤣
Tom - was thinking that or is he checking another inspectors goofs or mess ups.
Yup Totally agree, he's trying to cover is a---
Yup, I get inspectors like that all the time. Inspector made mistakes in the past and got in trouble, so now they take it out on future inspections.
Bruce is totally checked out I’m surprised he had to even talk as he was clearly on his way to go four wheeling (people don’t risk that being stolen by leaving in back of truck)
"Before electronics." "Guys in the industry...they know." This guy is dangerous. Those comments show absurd.
Exactly electronics make it easier to put every detail on the permit. The guy is a simple jerk.
yeah, it would have been hard not to say " what industry so you think I am in"?
He's telling you to call in. If you start doing that, you'll eventually get someone at the inspection department telling you to read the permit for the requirements. They will wonder why you are calling in, thinking that you're a newbie contractor.
yep RTFM
I'm glad you kept this Video, never delete them,because of incompetent & lazy people not doing there jobs making your job much harder!👌
Inspector said, "Usually they call in to ask how I wanna do it." The rules don't change with your whims, dude!
It's either required or it ain't, and it should be on the sheet. Period.
True if it's not in paper then it's there problem...
That's not how this Sht works
A lawyer would shred that up....paper didn't say it was required...its not required. He said you should have assumed. Not taking responsibility for your crappy building dept
This just felt like he was fishing for a bribe
I thought you handled this guy like a champion. You didn't back down and yet respectful.
Appreciate that 👍
Just listening to the inspector "I routinely will take pictures of the progress" after he conceded the fact that only a final was called for. My question to him would have been...If I didn't have a professionally produced video to support the quality of the bid where would we be now? What a laugh, this municipal inspection "professionals" cause more disruption and costs of a project that either lands in the contractors lap or the customer's purse. Good Job!
I thought his approach to this matter was pushing his authority.
@@Dirtmonkey I agree with you. He is being a prick.
@@Dirtmonkey bless you, brother, you have lore patience than I for such irritating individuals
Should be a solid lesson learned. I love Google photos and taking pics of projects and organizing by date and gps marked location. I often keep photos for property owners as they like to know where their money is going as well.
I would have sent a bill to this particular municipality for my time being this is 2021 not 2007 so they are severely behind on inspections or something is wrong there. Great documentation on your end
Kudos to you for keeping your composure while knowing full-well that you're 100% correct. Time is money in your field and so surely, this nonsense certainly cost you a few bucks. Conversely, Bruce the "inspector" wins the a-hole of the year award!
According to a McQuivey’s Forrester study, "if a picture is worth 1000 words, then a one minute video is worth 1.8 million". Further proof that recording your work will almost always save your ass on so many different fronts. Hopefully you followed up with the city regarding Bruce's ridiculous request. His obvious superiority complex shines bright. Keep up the good work man, I really like your channel.
I had a female Inspector carrying a huge book come up to me and tell me that you cannot vent a furnace using pvc pipe. I whispered to her to go back and read some more. I didn't want her to look stupid in front of the other inspectors.
😂😂👍
First it goes by building codes not what you feel like doing not every town / state let's u use pvc to vent anything an pvc manufacturers don't recommend it be used it for that
@We Don't Have Supreme Love for Negations I think its more of a major grammer failure.
@@user-none1313 Look up high-efficiency furnace venting requirements.
"I used to be a contractor myself." Translation: I couldn't make it as a contractor so I went to work for the government.
😅
I took it as "I used to be a..." so don't you dare question me!
This is absolutely it. Most of these inspectors are jealous, wanna bes that never got to do what we do
As a contractor for over 30 years, I agree with the contractor on this one. Everything at the end of the day is what's in the writing. As we all have seen, many contact disputes that end up in court, will be judged by what's in writing. Seeing a building inspector coming out after 5 years to look at a job is unbelievable. Looks like the town dropped the ball on this one, in more ways than one!!
I agree. If instead of complying, the contractor and homeowner had gone full Karen mode and sued the city, the inspector would have lost his ass. If he needed those inspections they should have been listed in the list of required inspections.
It's funny because he says "you could have provided the video back then". How is the contractor supposed to know that unless you document it on your permits or during the process?
@@thatsux0rz Whole lot of back peddling and and double speak on this one from the inspector.
@@1realtruthrightnow742 Yep. I am feeling too much rage with this video.
As a contractor myself I always take alot of pictures of everything I build. If they want to go back and see the wiring, or plumbing, framing. I always take pictures of every stage of construction and I don't ever cover anything up unless it's been signed off on approving what's been done. Do the wiring get inspection. Do the plumbing and/or septic get a inspection before you cover it. The last septic tank I did they had me dig everything out for the tank, the distribution box and the field lines down to the specific depths of the perk test and plans from it. Then he had me put the tank in and schedule 35 to the distribution box and then 8 inches of gravel in the field lines and the pipes going out of the distribution box and down the field lines. Then he came out and inspected it again and told me to put another 6 inches of gravel over the field lines and call him back and he came out one last time and told me that I could cover it up now and signed off on it.
Stan, next time make the hole the same size as the building inspector!
lol- Im not sure if he would get the clue
That would take an excavator!
Hahahahhaha.
@@rebeccaanderson2907 He said the size of the Inspector, not the Inspector's Ego/Attitude...
Making it the size of his Ego/Attitude would require a Nuclear Blasting Charge...
😄😁😆😅😂🤣
No you just make sure the site is almost impossible to drive through- mud- so he has to walk in and he can't drive it in his truck
Put it on the inspection sheet if it needs inspection....seems pretty simple doesn't it....wait till ya get 2 inspectors giving ya 2 different inspections and failing ya every time they come out!
It sounds like mother nature would start to build her own retaining wall after 5 years anyway.😂
I've had 4 different inspectors on a correction ... did it the way the first one said,,, had to change if when the second one showed up,, then the 3rd guy had me do is his way ... so I ask if I could get the same guy to show up next time ... guess they were done playing and the 4th guy passed it ...
@@Mr.Torres831 I will be retiring soon with 50 years in the building trade and it IS the responsibility of the city to make sure everything they want is on the permit paperwork! 100% on the building department! I have pulled permits in over 40 states and not once was it the contractor's job to determine how many or what kind of inspections need. I have never given out a white envelope to any inspector but I have seen a few walked out in handcuffs for asking for one. It is YOUR job to train your clerks or do not allow them to issue permits to anyone without knowing how your city wants things done. Lastly, it is NOT the contractor's job to communicate anything to you the inspector! It is however your job to ensure that everything is communicated to the contractor. How else can a contractor KNOW what your city or state wants? It seems that your clerks are not the only ones that are non-educated.
@@chuckcobb5857 absolutely! I once fooled an entire building department with the term "steep escarpment"..... Built a house on deep peers 10' from the edge of a basalt cliff overlooking a 10 mile long Beach. "you can't build this close, it wasn't on your plans...." ooops.
@@chuckcobb5857 100% percent correct. I do business in three states. And all three states no matter the locality will have what they want to see on the permits. And they even color code permit placards in some places. For the inspectors! So go figure.
When dealing with inspectors, or anyone else. The one and only thing we are obligated to do is what is asked of us. That simple. we can obviously go above and beyond, but that isn't an obligation. You were perfectly in the right here! Glad you stood your ground! And I'm supportive of the way that you did so, with respect and integrity! Great job Stan! what a great example!
You are obligated to do what the contract says. In this case, the contract is the permit.
@@royreynolds108 Exactly what I said. Thank you for reinforcing exactly what i said.
Thank you sir! I did have to bite my tongue a few times though lol.
@@Dirtmonkey Integrity! and respect! Those are the things that impressed me exactly!
You are very well-rehearsed in your job and how to deal with the inspector. You have a lot of knowledge. I've helped put in a couple retaining walls back in my younger days and I know that it can be back breaking work and I've seen your guys really hustling and doing a good job. You should be proud of what you have put together.
lol. "Im not trying to argue with you Bruce," while he argues with Bruce.
Were you just obviously video recording him as you called him on his bull?
I love it man. Respect for standing up to that.
I like how the inspector said "if I got called out for everything needing inspections...I'd never leave the jobsite"...yeah, and you'd STILL GET PAID and STILL EARN your city/county pension and paid holidays & medical and have no risk whatsoever unless your city-supplied office chair gave you hemmorrhoids.
😂 yep- true!
Excuse me, but that's EXACTLY the way it used to work. On "municipal" projects, there was "routinely" a "on-site" inspector!! On jobs like this one, you would call a day or two in advance and make an appointment. Not so difficult when we all used "two hands" (instead of constantly holding the phone with one) and used our brains instead of poking a "app" key!!! The inspector came out, looked at the "exposed" work, signed the permit, and the work got covered up. The "FINAL" was for all the "remaining" work it took to "complete" the job!!
I worked both sides of this video. I was in construction for years and then moved to inspection. I've both worked on everything from underground utilities and drainage systems to roadways, retaining walls, bridges and buildings . That inspector was fee hunting for the city by checking old files for unfinished reports. If you hadn't had that recording that was easily identified as the location you worked, then he was ready to have you dig up the yard to prove the work was done (and redone) by the time you were through. If I could give one piece of advice to contractors it would be record everything and be sure that it can be identified as to the location, date, conditions and work done. That can save you in the long run, should even help with court and arbitrations if necessary.
Just out of curiosity - if the video hadn't been available, and the yard then had to be dug up - how does the city make money (I'm assuming that's what you mean by 'fee hunting'?) from this?
@@okafka5446 They are hunting for work that wasn't dont correct or for the owner to refuse to dig up the yard and get fined.
So you were on the side of tyranny then? Having to ask permission from the government to do anything on your own property is in of itself tyranny..
I’m watching this a year after it’s release. Bettin you started taking more videos of each step of the jobs after this.
My late husband built a small addition to the back of a house that ran the entire width. This is in Texas. My husband took detailed notes, pictures & video. The addition was mostly all windows, part office space, part screened in porch. On a hill, so it was a thick slab. 2 years after completion we get a letter from an attorney that we were being sued because the foundation was failing. He went to the house, with the homeowners permission, too take a look. The wife answers the door & after taking a look, it is failing. First question my husband asked was, did you hire a landscaper to redirect the sprinkler system to water this foundation? The homeowner thought he could hire someone cheaper than us. The wife, on video, said no he never hooked it back up. Off a letter is sent from our lawyer, with the structural engineer notes for the addition, our notes & the video. We never heard from them again!
❤️loves Mary :)
But did you get the proper permits when you did the addition?
@@magicmillhouse9586 Absolutely!
These days I don't trust just talking to someone. I would always want everything in writing.
Absolutely and it should be demanded that everything be in writing. No exception
So he wouldn’t have the time (cause quote: “I’d never be able to leave the job site”) to inspect all the steps needing an inspection? Somebody in the local government doesn’t have the time to even list the steps they want inspected on the permit? But you are required (five years later) to spend a half a day or more of your time to come out and tear the job apart to appease an ego? BS! The permit should list every step the contractor needs to call for inspection and what it should look like to pass. This is just another example of when it comes to dealing with the government your guilty, even when it’s governments fault, until you prove your innocent!
I would have asked the City Manager to come out and deal with a improperly filled out Inspection Card and to meet at the job site with the inspector. The conversation would have went like this, City Manager, "Hey inspector your office screwed up and didn't put the proper inspection on the card." Inspector, "yes sir we screwed up. And I can't boss this guy around and say, you should have known. So this job is complete." Stanley, "And next time I'll make sure they have that inspection on the card. And Mr. Manager, I want an audit of this department to find out who's in charge and responsible for failing to get this issue resolved for over five years."
@@fishon7301 lmao good luck, you must not have dealt with these departments. Worse than the dmv IMO
It's not an ego ... they've got a long running corruption scam going on in their office, and they are Sooo arrogant they think they can now get away with anything.
Makes you wonder how city-state and federal employees spend their time not working but working on private business on government time and we pay taxes for them to live high on the hog and not work.
We payed $70,000 (after negotiations) for a building permit. We wrote the check, they never once came to the site to inspect.
It's ALL about money!!
1) You're exactly right, the inspections should be noted before the project begins. You can order a code book from the city. Any questions, call the city and document it.
2) Cutting thru that geo-fabric will have ZERO effect on holding back that soil. Don't worry about it. Contractors do it all the time when they're excavating for footings.
3) That's a beautiful wall. You did a very nice job. A grenade (seriously) wouldn't even bring that wall down. I'm an Engineer, so it's my job to know these things. Btw, nice choice in fabric.
Stan, it never ceases to amaze me how a non-paying party can DEMAND action/work. While inspections are worthwhile, the process needs to be clear, or if there is a five year call back, somebody needs to pay for your day/labor, and fighting city hall often proves futile. Thank goodness for your video!
You got that right 👊
A small part of me would have acted like there was no video till we were in court. Their failure of notice to inspect is not your issue. I would have let them burn their time and legal dollars to see a 2 min video in court.
yeah- but its my time thats getting wasted. their time is all getting paid for by the tax payers. plus their attorney costs etc.
Absolutely avoid court with any public paid employees. You lose potential customers just for being in court. Even if it is a million dollar lean you have one them personally.
@@Dirtmonkey I feel for you I went through the same horrible experience dug the holes argument pictures didn't seem like it was good enough finally the inspector that showed up wasn't even the one that started all of it his comment to me was why am I here looking at holes!! have a great day love videos keep up the hard work!
The nice part of it is that after 5 years, that wall was straight as an arrow. The job was well done and to be honest, didn't need soil pulled to see that. If 5 winters go by and that wall is still good, just check the box and move on, lol
Your lucky you had the video. Most inspectors are incompetent anyway. Town hall makes up rules a lot.
*Shrugs shoulders* "It's required"
Then put it on the inspection sheet.
LoL 🤣 I'm a personal trainer tried to pull my own permit to build a shed! I was dealing with bureaucrats for over 7 months and I never even pulled the shed out of the box !! This was a shed from home depot that didn't pass Florida wind requirements!! I hired an architect !! When I saw all the trouble the architect had and having to resubmit drawings over and over I just gave up!!! I canceled everything and then put the shed together in a day with my girl friend with no permit!!! Too much red tape never again those bureaucrats are professional time wasters!!! Good luck in your career dealing with those guys!!
Inspection at that point was not required, inspector was flexing his muscles.
"Muscles" lol...he clearly ain't got none
This is the only way he can get an erection.
On a job we had, there was new bulkheading going in (On a canal, existing bulkhead and dock were rotted away) a 20x25 area was dug out to lay in deadmen (basically it was a phone pole laid in the ground, with 3/4 inch steel bars through it, going out 8-10 feet to the bulkhead to prevent it from pushing out). Like this video, no inspection was called for. Until the local inspector showed up, and told us, like the video, we would have to dig them up to prove it was there - "no, the Video and Pictures are not good enough" - My position was "Here's a shovel, have a look at whatever you want - I KNOW it's there, I SHOWED you it's there, if you really need to TOUCH it to believe it, YOU can dig". We overbuild - the dockbuilder is a friend and neighbor to the customer - he is known to overbuild.... The inspector finally decided to accept the pics and video and be reasonable. Fun stuff.
I think its ridiculous that they made you open that up after five years. I feel that in this specific situation, if there was going to be a problem due to shoddy work, it would have happened by now. Also, I think the homeowner probably needs to install some gutter on the house above that wall. I hope you have begun to capture more videos of your jobs! Good job, stay safe!
They made him open it up after 5 years to teach him a lesson in contracting outside of his county. Next time he builds a wall in that county he will do it right and call the inspector when the time is ✅
“I get the phone call” sounds like “I take bribes and do favors for friends”
a lot of people are seeing that
If it's not listed on the permit document then I'd be very confident that it isn't a requirement. If there is a county regulation, it should be stated clearly.
I’ve been in construction for 40 years. I’m from a 3 generation construction family. To say that I’ve been around the block once or twice is an understatement. This inspector should be fired and arrested.
He is doing his job. He might not even be responsible for this job....picking up an old case from someone who had left, was busy or off sick. To say he should be arrested is absurd.
But *FIVE YEARS LATER*?
@@Sean006 yes for stealing from the government and this gentleman!! Obvious buy the little 4 wheeler in the back of his truck, he has kids to feed and he dug these holes himself for nothing.
Agree
Are you a commie?
That’s what you’re supposed to do that’s why you’re the best at what you do I love learning from you keep up the good work brother God bless make sure this inspected doesn’t want money😂
We were building houses above a 28 foot high retaining wall that required pylons. I wanted to make sure we didn't have any foundation issues and told my guys to beef up the rebar in the footings. The inspector said we weren't allowed to exceed code. A quick meeting with the inspector's boss and everything was approved. The next day the inspector told me that was his first time a builder wanted to exceed code and he didn't know that was allowed.
Well you are not allowed to go above and beyond the code requirements tear it down. ROFLMAO.... Some inspectors have no clue what they are doing let alone know that above and beyond code is more than acceptable. When I was dong roofing and remodeling on a few jobs I had to rebuild decks and porches. I would always put in more bracing and supports than required. One inspector asked my why I did that and I flat out told him that I don't need to have some 500 pound fat ass fall through one of my rebuilds and come after me for improper bracing and supports after the fact especially on the larger decks and porches.
Lmao code is the minimum requirement, what an idiot
@@Billpeterson4785 💯💯
It’s insane how people like that are inspectors . The only thing he has built is a double stack cheeseburger
"We won't tell you what notations are required on your plans or which inspections we require - you're supposed to give it your best guess and we'll be happy to fail you." I've been dealing with this bullcrap for 25 years, and it's the planning departments that are getting out of control. They sit behind monitors all day and it's like a video game competition they play to shoot down the most applications per day.
It’s impressive how much inspection you guys have to deal with in the USA.
I’ve built a couple of houses for my now ex wife’s and the inspection times have been minuscule.
A meeting when to make sure that we all speak the same language in the build to come. During the build only two inspections are done, one of them is done just because I’m not a contractor. When the build is finished the inspector does a final check that all documents have been given to me from my electrician, plumber etc.
The total time dealing with the authorities for my last house was about five hours in total.
Calling and verifying is an absolute waste of time. It absolutely should be called out on the building permit. He clearly disagrees so he should maybe get that changed on the actual permit.
That sounded like a total batch of hog wash in my book. Who is going to call each city to verify which inspections are needed? Right!
@@Dirtmonkey what now? Just letting it go? Is that area not profitable enough to spend the time to get this resolved? Seems like a good chance to see real local government in action
@@georgehoppes6456 Good point. Consider that he doesn't make money as a political activist. In his business, the less time he spends on bureaucrats, the better. Perhaps a local brave viewer might do it.
@Ken Shek :
Fortunately, he can't get it changed on those permits that have already been issued!
😁
"Well if I got called out for everything that was on the paper I'd never leave my job"
First time I've heard an inspector say that
Whenever I have a problem with an inspector or any city worker that I'm dealing with. I just contact their superior and tell them that I am very uncomfortable with them flirting with me. They will assign another person immediately every time. You have to learn to use the power of bureaucracy against them.
Wow, great advice
hahahahah- you have that one dialed in! smart
I was building houses for a general contractor in Bethesda MD. The finial inspection was an absolute hair pulling experience. The first 3 times we failed (each time a different inspector) the inspector would be walking up to the house and call out someting they wouldn’t pass (the house numbers not being clear enough, downspout splash guard not in its proper spot….etc…) not even on sight for 2 mins. I called the building department and was able to have a conversation with the head inspector and he said they shouldn’t be failing on one item and actually walking the entire property. The next time they showed up they did the entire walk and had very few items. My only time having a bad experience with an inspectors.
I did QC inspections for a soils engineering firm back in the day. On one earthen dam project the crew got highly pissed at me because they started before I got there and had to rip out several hours worth of compacted soil and then spend more time scraping out an organic layer they were supposed to have removed at the very beginning. It was all in the specs including the start time but they didn't pay attention to it.
Do the same work rn, have had similar things happen in different areas of a project.
5 years and still looks great. Around my area after 1 year you see these retaining walls falling apart. We don't see too many inspections either.
Anything required by ordinance HAS to be in writing. That’s universal . I would red flag this township/ city.
That part about calling in sounds like BS. I don't do construction but sounds strange.
Yep, if its not in writing, the inspection can just deny you ever called in.
What a duck that inspector was. Koodo's to you for keeping your cool!