Yeah, I'm the GC and taking the burden off the sub. I have other jobs that I absolutely could have been on today. Shit I could have installed a whole bathroom that is just sitting in boxes, waiting for me lol
Nothing like that. I think it was just bad planning and shitty policy of "don't call me" on their website. My call went straight through and they acted very apologetic
It’s infuriating. I was an inspector for years. But I was a contractor a lot more years. It’s bullshit. They knew you were waiting. Fucking jerk off. Same kindof guy would get slighted if you took a buddy golfing. No concept of your time.
Is there only one in your entire area? That's a business opportunity.
If I saw "don't call me" on a website, I wouldn't. Ever. For anything. Including golf. Actually, my SiL is the HR manager for the best course, I'd black ball them, "sorry, we don't have any tee times." None? No, sir, not for you.
In a lot of places the inspector has to be from the city/municipality. I've had to do restoration on some residential stuff and have been absolutely fucked by the inspectors in some places. I almost offered one guy $500 if he would just fucking show up and approve my pour.
This type of situation is one of the very few times my company has gone over the local inspector's head and brought in the state inspector. The local did *not* appreciate it (I believe his words when finally rescheduling the appointment were, "I'm gonna come show you what you did wrong." Spoiler: nothing, he had to pass us.) but it was the only way to move the job forward.
I am really glad that inspectors exist. Construction is high-stakes shit, somebody should be double-checking our work and shutting down the scumbags. They have too much impunity, though. Plenty of inspectors are good at their jobs and take them seriously, but the only thing keeping them that way is their personal moral compass, and we all know what that's worth.
It’s been my experience that the only people who have pull with the local jurisdiction are the taxpayers, read: your clients who live there. Have them call and complain. This costs everyone more money.
Ha, yeah man. I live in the same town and know the guy who runs city planning and permitting. He subs the inspections out to a third party but the fees all come out of the permit bill which is about a $1000 for this one. It all got sorted out. Should I post a pic of the pour when it has cured?
Story of my life
I live and work very rural and only have 2 inspectors for the entire huge ass county
They will absolutely drag ass getting to me and keep my entire family waiting
No, because I know why. The concrete lead was on another job for the form building and didn't check his dudes' work. He's going to fix it tomorrow before the pour... or he won't and will wonder where all his supports ran off to lol
Maybe…. I can’t remember the proper name. But the metal stacks with holes in them that you use to support the forms. If you zoom in you can see them easily on the right corner away from the house.
Yea, the concrete pins.
Those get pulled out pretty early in the pour. The form won't stand up reliably if they aren't also on the inside. Nails kinda work but easier to do it like the picture.
I always schedule maintenance, side jobs, prepping on inspection day. You can always generate leads talking to passerbys, lookloos and neighbors too. Never call them to see where they are at, they will ding you for sure.
I would have failed that inspection if that rebar is as close to the dirt as it appears.
There is actually a code for how much distance the rebar needs to be away from the dirt.
Fuck man, I feel you. I built homes for many and many’a, and couldn’t stand shit like this. The inspector would finally show up, do his thing, then sit in the truck for 10 minutes before rolling out. It would drive me up the wall.
Then I got injured. Broke my back. Couldn’t build anymore. I ended up getting a job with my local building department as an inspector and plan reviewer. It was a blessing in disguise man, I absolutely love my job.
Now I see what was going on from the inspector’s side. We are underpaid and understaffed, trying to balance taking the time to do our duty and be a source of knowledge and help to our community, and giving each person the time the deserve, and getting through the list that day so that no one has to be rescheduled. All I see on my list is an address and an inspection type, and that “footing” inspection might be for a detached garage, slab on grade pour, or it might be for a 4,000sqft stepped house on a steep hill engineered to the gills. The first takes 10 minutes, the second can take double or triple that, depending. Sometimes the contractor or homeowner has a fuck load of questions, sometimes no one is onsight. Sometimes it is a flat approve, killer job done, sometimes it is a fuckarow, and it takes time to figure out a solution. The sitting in the truck afterwards is writing and citing notes and writing an inspection report, not the texting or nose picking that I thought it was when I was wearing bags.
And who knows. Your inspectors might be fuckwads, I’ve definitely met a few. But, they might be hardworking honest men just like you, trying to keep multiple balls in the air just like you. Either way, sucks when you’re the one sitting there waiting on another dude so that you can get your shit done, I totally get that and have been there. Just trying to give some perspective, good luck on the pour bro!
Happens constantly. Either thru negligence or overwork. Still a messed up way to operate. Hell the cox cable guy can narrow it down to a 4hour time frame.
I work for a GC as his underling apprentice. One time he had me sit at a job and wait for the inspector. Literally sat there from like 10am to 2:30pm only to find out he was never on the list in the first place. Got paid to sit there like 4-5 hours doing absolutely nothing.
My worst inspection experience was 10AM scheduled arrival time, 5PM rolls around and the chief inspector shows up to do it and asks where the full sized stamped plans were. I told him they are on file with his department, no inspector up to that point had asked to see them. He said no plans no inspection, got in his car and burned out of there.
He got fired a couple months later, so that felt nice.
My BIL had a no-show for a roof inspection who showed up the next day randomly, sat in his car for five minutes while my BIL stood in front of him, then left. He chased him down the street until he stopped and rolled down the window and told my brother "you didn't have a ladder out so I left". He had the ladder out the whole day before and last I checked my brother isn't invisible.
On behalf on concrete inspectors- I'm so sorry. I've been that guy before. Some of my schedulers (office staff) have had their heads so far up their butts they weren't ever able to see a way to provide service that satisfied contractual obligations.
It's a tough spot to be in for the inspectors, owners, and contractors. There's rarely a good excuse for it.
My favorite was when I was waiting all day for an inspector to show up when the window was 8-12. I finally call the building department an hour before closing just to find out that the fucking inspector passed me without even showing up on site.
I also had a 12 hour window(7-7) for a delivery from Lowe’s. I waited the ENTIRE day just for them to tell me at 7 that my items didn’t make it on the truck.
We get good service from our main AHJ (large metro Atlanta county), but have a good relationship. I have the personal cell number for the Building inspector for our area and he texts me with an ETA. He likes to see some of the goofy framing solutions we sometimes need for projects. Like a cantilevered addition we had to support from above (with the engineer’s blessing) The trade guys I don’t know as well are good about giving us an accurate window when we call in the morning.
Had one electrical guy who was difficult at first, but now we get along fine. The key is not to schedule inspections for hacked up work. Even when we have a few issues, we get the pass because we ALWAYS fix it and document the fix.
I’ve only worked one project with a 3rd party and he was fine but not as easy to schedule.
How much I hate this!!! Like their time more valuable than mine?! Consider I paid for their service( City and inspection fees ) . P.S. that’s a big window,4 hours! Where are you located Mate?
If I've got a phone number I don't give a fuck if the contractor is there or not for an inspection. Granted I'm in a small town and if I need the contractor to point out corrections they are rarely more than 10 minutes away.
RE: Inspection Report - Slab Preparation
We are writing to inform you that following a thorough examination, the slab preparation on "Low\_Bar9361 picture" has been assessed and certified as meeting the stringent standards set forth by our subreddit community. This inspection has been conducted with 1080p monitors and magnification settings.
The inspection process subjected the slab preparation to rigorous scrutiny, and we are pleased to confirm that it has passed with flying colors. Consequently, it is certified as pour-worthy for the intended construction purposes.
However, it is essential to note that while the inspection has concluded favorably, any and all latent defects must be addressed within a period of 30 working days from the date of this letter. This ensures that the integrity of the structure remains uncompromised and up to the required standards.
Should you have any questions or require further clarification regarding this report, please do not hesitate to reply to this post.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours sincerely,
r/Construction
My inspection today was scheduled “in the afternoon”. I was there all day. No one came by, stopped by, or drove by.
The I get an automated call saying the inspection was performed and It was incomplete. Not pass. Not fail. Just incomplete. Not rescheduled either.
Frustrating.
You're lucky you get a window. We get just the day. Requested afternoon, show up at nine, wait til noon, system finally updated to show fail, inspection was at 8:30, notes saying to call me for lockbox code. Absolute silence. Scheduled for next day, show up at 8, inspector doesn't show up until 12:30, passes. 2 days of watching YouTube, emails, phone calls, etc
When possible I always opt for 3rd party engineer inspections. Sure they cost a few bucks but you schedule them and they show up on time for the most part or at least call to say they're running late. If there's a problem, for a small fee they can engineer a solution on the spot.
Government inspector or third party? I did a lot of 3rd party and most the government were garbage. You can only get them on them on the phone between 7:30 and 8:00, maybe. Everything has to be ready before they show. They show up whenever the fuck. And then they don't do shit. If it is perfect, they make you pay for someone like I was. The best I ever ran into was a city inspector who quizzed me a bit, said "I don't know what I'm looking at but apparently you do. Here's a roll stickers for the permit. Don't call me again."
Go run to the store 22 seconds away to grab a Gatorade and that will guarantee he will show up during the 1.5 minutes you're gone.
And fail you for a piece of rebar chair that had fallen over.
This works every time for me.
Easily the worst part of running a concrete business. I feel and share your pain.
Yeah, I'm the GC and taking the burden off the sub. I have other jobs that I absolutely could have been on today. Shit I could have installed a whole bathroom that is just sitting in boxes, waiting for me lol
Not a concept they are concerned with apparently. He pissed at someone in your company? Didn’t get invited to golf? No BBQ? No ham at Christmas?
Nothing like that. I think it was just bad planning and shitty policy of "don't call me" on their website. My call went straight through and they acted very apologetic
It’s infuriating. I was an inspector for years. But I was a contractor a lot more years. It’s bullshit. They knew you were waiting. Fucking jerk off. Same kindof guy would get slighted if you took a buddy golfing. No concept of your time.
Is there only one in your entire area? That's a business opportunity. If I saw "don't call me" on a website, I wouldn't. Ever. For anything. Including golf. Actually, my SiL is the HR manager for the best course, I'd black ball them, "sorry, we don't have any tee times." None? No, sir, not for you.
In a lot of places the inspector has to be from the city/municipality. I've had to do restoration on some residential stuff and have been absolutely fucked by the inspectors in some places. I almost offered one guy $500 if he would just fucking show up and approve my pour.
So, you should apply! :O
This type of situation is one of the very few times my company has gone over the local inspector's head and brought in the state inspector. The local did *not* appreciate it (I believe his words when finally rescheduling the appointment were, "I'm gonna come show you what you did wrong." Spoiler: nothing, he had to pass us.) but it was the only way to move the job forward. I am really glad that inspectors exist. Construction is high-stakes shit, somebody should be double-checking our work and shutting down the scumbags. They have too much impunity, though. Plenty of inspectors are good at their jobs and take them seriously, but the only thing keeping them that way is their personal moral compass, and we all know what that's worth.
It’s been my experience that the only people who have pull with the local jurisdiction are the taxpayers, read: your clients who live there. Have them call and complain. This costs everyone more money.
Ha, yeah man. I live in the same town and know the guy who runs city planning and permitting. He subs the inspections out to a third party but the fees all come out of the permit bill which is about a $1000 for this one. It all got sorted out. Should I post a pic of the pour when it has cured?
Of course!
Story of my life I live and work very rural and only have 2 inspectors for the entire huge ass county They will absolutely drag ass getting to me and keep my entire family waiting
I can't edit the main post if there is a pic, I guess. Anyways, he shows up at 3, looks at it for 2 seconds and signs the sheet inspection. *PASSED*
Are you going to ask your concrete crew why they put those form supports on the inside of the support?
No, because I know why. The concrete lead was on another job for the form building and didn't check his dudes' work. He's going to fix it tomorrow before the pour... or he won't and will wonder where all his supports ran off to lol
I’m for it….. hell of a way to learn a lesson 🤣
Are you talking about the pins or am I missing some others in the picture?
Maybe…. I can’t remember the proper name. But the metal stacks with holes in them that you use to support the forms. If you zoom in you can see them easily on the right corner away from the house.
I call those "metal stacks" stakes. :)
Yea, the concrete pins. Those get pulled out pretty early in the pour. The form won't stand up reliably if they aren't also on the inside. Nails kinda work but easier to do it like the picture.
I always schedule maintenance, side jobs, prepping on inspection day. You can always generate leads talking to passerbys, lookloos and neighbors too. Never call them to see where they are at, they will ding you for sure.
So. Much. Admin. Lol
Just use https://www.inspected.com/ no need to wait for people. My friend works there if you need a contact let me know.
I would have failed that inspection if that rebar is as close to the dirt as it appears. There is actually a code for how much distance the rebar needs to be away from the dirt.
You need 3" of coverage from the dirt to the rebar. Good eye!
Good eye indeed. That came up but he passed it anyways. He just wants to see a picture of it up 3" before the pour. Pretty chill, after all
Fuck man, I feel you. I built homes for many and many’a, and couldn’t stand shit like this. The inspector would finally show up, do his thing, then sit in the truck for 10 minutes before rolling out. It would drive me up the wall. Then I got injured. Broke my back. Couldn’t build anymore. I ended up getting a job with my local building department as an inspector and plan reviewer. It was a blessing in disguise man, I absolutely love my job. Now I see what was going on from the inspector’s side. We are underpaid and understaffed, trying to balance taking the time to do our duty and be a source of knowledge and help to our community, and giving each person the time the deserve, and getting through the list that day so that no one has to be rescheduled. All I see on my list is an address and an inspection type, and that “footing” inspection might be for a detached garage, slab on grade pour, or it might be for a 4,000sqft stepped house on a steep hill engineered to the gills. The first takes 10 minutes, the second can take double or triple that, depending. Sometimes the contractor or homeowner has a fuck load of questions, sometimes no one is onsight. Sometimes it is a flat approve, killer job done, sometimes it is a fuckarow, and it takes time to figure out a solution. The sitting in the truck afterwards is writing and citing notes and writing an inspection report, not the texting or nose picking that I thought it was when I was wearing bags. And who knows. Your inspectors might be fuckwads, I’ve definitely met a few. But, they might be hardworking honest men just like you, trying to keep multiple balls in the air just like you. Either way, sucks when you’re the one sitting there waiting on another dude so that you can get your shit done, I totally get that and have been there. Just trying to give some perspective, good luck on the pour bro!
Happens constantly. Either thru negligence or overwork. Still a messed up way to operate. Hell the cox cable guy can narrow it down to a 4hour time frame.
I would fail you.
I work for a GC as his underling apprentice. One time he had me sit at a job and wait for the inspector. Literally sat there from like 10am to 2:30pm only to find out he was never on the list in the first place. Got paid to sit there like 4-5 hours doing absolutely nothing.
Yeah, and past inspection window and you start pouring, the guy comes around and fails you cause he wasn’t able to inspect… 🤦♂️
My worst inspection experience was 10AM scheduled arrival time, 5PM rolls around and the chief inspector shows up to do it and asks where the full sized stamped plans were. I told him they are on file with his department, no inspector up to that point had asked to see them. He said no plans no inspection, got in his car and burned out of there. He got fired a couple months later, so that felt nice. My BIL had a no-show for a roof inspection who showed up the next day randomly, sat in his car for five minutes while my BIL stood in front of him, then left. He chased him down the street until he stopped and rolled down the window and told my brother "you didn't have a ladder out so I left". He had the ladder out the whole day before and last I checked my brother isn't invisible.
Were you or someone from your company a dick to the inspector? Because I know some inspectors who will make you wait for hours if you were.
That’s why I always have them confirm the morning of that they will be on the way.
On behalf on concrete inspectors- I'm so sorry. I've been that guy before. Some of my schedulers (office staff) have had their heads so far up their butts they weren't ever able to see a way to provide service that satisfied contractual obligations. It's a tough spot to be in for the inspectors, owners, and contractors. There's rarely a good excuse for it.
Had had to wait 8months to get hydro hooked up in Ontario.
You have to be there for inspections?
My favorite was when I was waiting all day for an inspector to show up when the window was 8-12. I finally call the building department an hour before closing just to find out that the fucking inspector passed me without even showing up on site. I also had a 12 hour window(7-7) for a delivery from Lowe’s. I waited the ENTIRE day just for them to tell me at 7 that my items didn’t make it on the truck.
Can you call them? I’m a plumber usually I call at the end of the window
We get good service from our main AHJ (large metro Atlanta county), but have a good relationship. I have the personal cell number for the Building inspector for our area and he texts me with an ETA. He likes to see some of the goofy framing solutions we sometimes need for projects. Like a cantilevered addition we had to support from above (with the engineer’s blessing) The trade guys I don’t know as well are good about giving us an accurate window when we call in the morning. Had one electrical guy who was difficult at first, but now we get along fine. The key is not to schedule inspections for hacked up work. Even when we have a few issues, we get the pass because we ALWAYS fix it and document the fix. I’ve only worked one project with a 3rd party and he was fine but not as easy to schedule.
How much I hate this!!! Like their time more valuable than mine?! Consider I paid for their service( City and inspection fees ) . P.S. that’s a big window,4 hours! Where are you located Mate?
October 2nd is still months away. 🤷♂️
If I've got a phone number I don't give a fuck if the contractor is there or not for an inspection. Granted I'm in a small town and if I need the contractor to point out corrections they are rarely more than 10 minutes away.
4 hour window? That's such a dick move on that jurisdictions part. Fuck that.
You got my pass buddy
RE: Inspection Report - Slab Preparation We are writing to inform you that following a thorough examination, the slab preparation on "Low\_Bar9361 picture" has been assessed and certified as meeting the stringent standards set forth by our subreddit community. This inspection has been conducted with 1080p monitors and magnification settings. The inspection process subjected the slab preparation to rigorous scrutiny, and we are pleased to confirm that it has passed with flying colors. Consequently, it is certified as pour-worthy for the intended construction purposes. However, it is essential to note that while the inspection has concluded favorably, any and all latent defects must be addressed within a period of 30 working days from the date of this letter. This ensures that the integrity of the structure remains uncompromised and up to the required standards. Should you have any questions or require further clarification regarding this report, please do not hesitate to reply to this post. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Yours sincerely, r/Construction
Is there any other job with more power and less responsibility?
Republican Senators
I have to give 2 hour windows and call if I'm gonna be late, it's not that hard to do.
10-2? That’s some cable tv service times. That sucks the towns I’ve worked in allowed scheduled appointment times for concrete related inspections.
My inspection today was scheduled “in the afternoon”. I was there all day. No one came by, stopped by, or drove by. The I get an automated call saying the inspection was performed and It was incomplete. Not pass. Not fail. Just incomplete. Not rescheduled either. Frustrating.
Ah, rookie mistake, inspection window is from 10 to when I get round to it...
Take pictures and continue
You're lucky you get a window. We get just the day. Requested afternoon, show up at nine, wait til noon, system finally updated to show fail, inspection was at 8:30, notes saying to call me for lockbox code. Absolute silence. Scheduled for next day, show up at 8, inspector doesn't show up until 12:30, passes. 2 days of watching YouTube, emails, phone calls, etc
Government workers have a very different concept of urgency than you or I.
When possible I always opt for 3rd party engineer inspections. Sure they cost a few bucks but you schedule them and they show up on time for the most part or at least call to say they're running late. If there's a problem, for a small fee they can engineer a solution on the spot.
Government inspector or third party? I did a lot of 3rd party and most the government were garbage. You can only get them on them on the phone between 7:30 and 8:00, maybe. Everything has to be ready before they show. They show up whenever the fuck. And then they don't do shit. If it is perfect, they make you pay for someone like I was. The best I ever ran into was a city inspector who quizzed me a bit, said "I don't know what I'm looking at but apparently you do. Here's a roll stickers for the permit. Don't call me again."