How To Hold Your City Inspector Accountable?

Another post asking you guys for advice. I do appreciate all of the help you guys give myself and other members of the forum. Sometimes I find the best answers to everyday problems here. So, I paid a company to put in an egress window last year around this time. They pulled a permit with the city. Well when they finished they did a crummy job (on the plus side was about half the price of other bids). There is no finish work on the inside, its still left at exposed concrete wall with some of that crumbling due to the work. There are load bearing clocks of wood that aren’t even nailed in! My city inspector came and looked at it about a month after the job was done and said it looked like crap and said he would call the company. Months went by and we sort of forgot about it cause we have so much going on with a young family. Well, in the last few months I have had the city inspector out again and again he said the same thing. This time he asked me to find the original paperwork for the job and he would work on calling the company again. I looked around the house for about 2 weeks and couldn’t find out original paperwork for the job. I called the city back and told them this and asked for the next step. I still have not heard from the city inspector about following through with the company that did the work. To make a long story short another contractor was over bidding me on a different job for my house and he took a look and just shoot his head and said its a bad job to say the least. I explained my dealings with the city and he told me I should call ————– (I cant remember who) – what he told me to do was call what I think was a state agency of some sort. He told me that if you call the city back and tell them that if they don’t get their a** in gear you will call ——— and that will strike the fear of god in them. He made it sound as if this agency had the power to strip the city inspector of his license or something and he would get the message. Anyway, anyone have any suggestions about how to get this matter resolved? To my knowledge I don’t even think the city has made a decision to allow this to pass inspection or not and its a year old job at this point! I left them a message yesterday and said at least I deserve to know if this has passed inspection or not. Thanks for the advice and for listening to the venting

I fail to see how the City Inspector is responsible to chase the contractor. He could just as easily fail you, and cause you to pay to get it corrected.

Did you pay the contractor in full, before the job passed inspection? I guess your 1/2 price quote was worth exactly that.

HRG

Yep, you need to find your paperwork and get after things yourself. The city is not your friend, you don’t want them for a enemy. Step one is hire someone to get that thing fixed. Step two is to sue the previous contractor.

The agency is the Minnesota licensing dept for for contractors.Assuming this guy was even licensed.

OK.
Have you contacted the contractor to express your concerns?
A City Inspector can only inspect for minimum code compliance not quality.
If I recall you are in Mound which is Metro West Inspections. These guys are pretty decent and over reach IMO.(aggressive interpretation).
A egress window installation is basically a framing inspection, as long as it is structurally sound he needs to pass it, if it’s not he writes a correction notice. The contractor needs to correct any items on the list. Typically a permit last 6 months, so it needs to be corrected in that time.
If not you need to contact the Department of Labor and Industries.(not licensing dept. of contractors, don’t think such a place exists). They are the ones that will put the fear of God into the Contractor, not an Inspector.

Let me Finish by saying “Shame on you” for not checking out your contractor especially when he was 1/2 the price.

FYI – A typical egress installation should cost around $2500. Permit, Materials, Labor, Dirt exportation.

i appreciate the information. im not sure i need to be shamed for picking a contractor that did a poor job. it happens, and i did my homework, this company had good reviews. From what i know, part of what i pay for in a contracted job is the permit issued by the city so in that respect the city does owe me something – either a pass or fail on my permit that was pulled for this job. This was not issued so i feel i do have a grudge to bear against the city inspector. I would go after the contractor myself but the city inspector is the one who told me that its his responsibility not mine. He told me that if i had done this myself or hired some bum off the street it would be on me, but since i paid a legitimate company and paid for a permit he should help me. If that’s wrong than so be it and i will deal with it myself but im just following this guys advice.

And yes i paid the contractor in full. i guess ive been looking at this wrong. My assumption was that the permit should be passed or failed before i go after the contractor armed with that information. I guess its too much to ask that a job be passed or failed in a years time. I will contact the contracting agency rather than keep trying with the city.

Did you pull the permit or did the contractor? I have a hard time understanding how this much time has gone by without action from the inspector. Perhaps a polite call (one more time) to the inspector, also ask what your next step of action is if he can’t contact the contractor THIS WEEK. You can’t let this go any longer. Also if you haven’t been to this point start documenting every conversation and phone call with anybody connected with this.

Good luck.

If the Inspector signed off on the inspection. It’s a done deal as far as the municipality is concerned. That is also public record.
A reputable contractor should have no problem coming back and re-working or explaining his finished product.
By Mn law he needs to warranty his work for 1 year, maybe more.
If the Inspector told you it is his responsibility then a part of the puzzle is missing. His responsibility is to Inspect, than pass or post a correction notice.

thanks all. after reading your comments and thinking on it more it really shouldn’t be the inspector that has to deal with this crap. I need to go after the contractor. I still do need the inspector to talk to me about whether is will pass or fail and I would prefer it if he would explain to me why it fails if he does fail it so I can take that back to the contractor. Its been incredibly hard to get the inspector on the phone with any kind of consistency and that’s been part of the frustration. I’ll work to get answers from him and then lay into the contractor. Thanks again.

If the inspector didnt sign the inspection card it is a fail. Usually they issue a written correction notice with what needs to be done. The company info should be on the permit.

Now if the job was done that poorly why would you want that company back in your home? Do you really think they will do a better job this time? Forget the contractor. Forget the inspector and go hire someone decent to redo the work.

If you cannot get a hold of the Inspector, leave a detailed message on his VM. ALL Inspectors will return you call within 24 hours.
Good luck with your outcome!

The title of this post is hilarious. Anyone in construction knows the main trait of any inspector is the ability to dodge responsibility. They have the final say on everything but not responsible for anything. Your permit fee is basicly a city tax.

Mike W wrote:

The title of this post is hilarious. Anyone in construction knows the main trait of any inspector is the ability to dodge responsibility. They have the final say on everything but not responsible for anything. Your permit fee is basicly a city tax.

yeah im starting to get the joke. clearly im not in construction and really didn’t think this one through much before writing it. I got a 4 & a 7 year old running around and a pregnant wife to boot so I lose my wits from time to time

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mike W wrote:</div>
The title of this post is hilarious. Anyone in construction knows the main trait of any inspector is the ability to dodge responsibility. They have the final say on everything but not responsible for anything. Your permit fee is basicly a city tax.

yeah im starting to get the joke. clearly im not in construction and really didn’t think this one through much before writing it. I got a 4 & a 7 year old running around and a pregnant wife to boot so I lose my wits from time to time

It’s called life. Don’t sweat it, just put your head down and get the job done. It’s much easier to help a guy who admits he doesn’t know everything than it is to try and help a know-it-all. Keep posting, we will all try and help you get through it.

Mike W wrote:

The title of this post is hilarious. Anyone in construction knows the main trait of any inspector is the ability to dodge responsibility. They have the final say on everything but not responsible for anything. Your permit fee is basicly a city tax.

Dissagree

Mike W wrote:

The title of this post is hilarious. Anyone in construction knows the main trait of any inspector is the ability to dodge responsibility. They have the final say on everything but not responsible for anything. Your permit fee is basicly a city tax.

I agree Mike.

Now, that he has had work done the County Assessor will likely be coming to re-assess the value so your Property Value goes up, so do your Property Taxes.

Hummm,
I have to table this till I have a clearer mind to gather my thoughts.
My first impulse it to get out the chainsaw and let it rip, BUT, I will refrain from that ant let it digest till I dispose it.

Now, that he has had work done the County Assessor will likely be coming to re-assess the value so your Property Value goes up, so do your Property Taxes.

[/quote]
Of course, that’s the way the system is suppose to work. Typically during slow times (winter) the cities bldg. dept. and the counties assessor’s cross reference bldg. permits and assess accordingly. It’s called doing their job.

crappie55369 wrote:

yeah im starting to get the joke. clearly im not in construction and really didn’t think this one through much before writing it. I got a 4 & a 7 year old running around and a pregnant wife to boot so I lose my wits from time to time

Man, you need to spend less time in the bedroom and more time fishing,,,,,,,

Sorry for being tough on you earlier, hope you can find the paperwork and get this resolved.

HRG

As an inspector in Wisconsin, we follow the Uniform Dwelling Code and everything is spelled out as far as how a violation gets handled. If a licensed contractor pulled the permit, we would first call them to tell what we found on the inspection that needs to be corrected. 99% of the time we get the results we’re looking for, most of the time it is contractors that we are familiar with. If we do not get any cooperation, we will issue orders that need to be corrected within 30 days of written notice with a date that says after that citations will be issued. After 30 days, we would then issue citations for each day and each violation. Normally, getting the citations by certified mail with a court date noted will get them to correct it and inspected. Then they show up for pre-trial and usually settle for a lesser amount of citations. In the end though the homeowner is responsible for anything done on his property. Wisconsin also has state consultants/inspectors that can be called for advice and even come to the home to look at, it is called Department of Safety and Professional Services, DSPS. I would think Minnesota has similar requirements.

I think you’re confusing who’s responsible for what here.

It is NOT the city inspector’s job to follow up with the contractor you hired to do a job. The inspector’s job is, predictably, to INSPECT. And this is not inspecting for “quality” or making sure a “good job” was done. The purpose of the building inspector is to inspect for compliance to the building code.

It is possible, and in fact it happens all the time, that a building inspector will approve a job that I (and others) look at and just shake our heads. Code compliance, in a lot of cases is a VERY low bar to clear.

So when your inspector said he will follow up, that’s strictly as a courtesy and an attempt to help you out. It is NOT the inspector’s job to do this.

Also, no offense meant here, but just an observation that you could be helping yourself a lot more than you are. I get you’re busy, we all are. But you’re losing paperwork. You’re not tracking who you talked to and when. You’re letting long periods of time lapse with no action on your part. And with the inspector, you’re barking up the wrong tree.

My advise would be to get on the stick and get hold of the contractor you used and have a come to jesus call.

Grouse

As the homeowner, you don’t know where the paperwork is ? A guy tells you who to call to complain about the inspector to & you forget who ? Sounds like epic fail all around…. half price = half done. Red flags for that one next time hopefully.

Yes, you are right grouse. I should be doing more and it’s my responsibility. My wife lost the paperwork by that’s neither here nor there. Lesson learned and I will lay off the inspector and go after the contractor. Thanks all

Hot Runr Guy wrote:

I fail to see how the City Inspector is responsible to chase the contractor. He could just as easily fail you, and cause you to pay to get it corrected.

Did you pay the contractor in full, before the job passed inspection? I guess your 1/2 price quote was worth exactly that.

HRG

Exactly!

Hope you get it worked out and finished properly.

As a contractor everyone needs to remember that the building code is basically the lowest standard that must be met for a building to not fall down. After reading the post, I would bet the inspector thought the job was shoddy, but it met the bare minimum that the code spells out. He cannot enforce more than that.

For anyone and everyone else please do some due diligence on a contractor or anyone who you allow in your home. Don’t go with the cheapest price just because it is the cheapest. Find a reputable contractor who you trust and work with them to get what YOU WANT. Look at it like buying a car. Most people don’t show up and buy the cheapest car on the lot if that is not what they want, but will get the cheapest contractor without a second thought.

X2 on finding a reputable contractor you can trust.

Totally disagree with your comment on the building code being the lowest standard to keep a building from falling down.
I too am a Contractor and have been in the business dang near 30 years. Today’s building codes far exceed the “minimums” you would have seen 10, 15, 20 years ago. For example: Narrow wall tie down requirements, Shear wall requirements, Hurricane clips, LVL’s, Engineered floor systems, Engineered roof systems.
There’s a reason they say, “They don’t build em like they used to” Their built so much better today because of the higher building code standards.

The old saying is true:

Fast, Good or Cheap. You can only choose two.