First I will show you some items discovered at this inspection. Then I will tell you who owns the home. No it's not an Electrician.

It was two houses. The first one I have no pics. It was a 6 unit apartment. Each unit had breaker panels installed around 1990. Each panel was in the apartment or the hallway with a disconnect of 60 AMP, actually one had 50 AMP. In the basement were main disconnects for each panel. 3 were also 60 AMP but two were 40 AMP. With the owner there I made a remark about using 40 AMP breakers as disconnects. He said it was fine because the total amperage in each unit was low enough (gas supplies stove, heat and dryers). So I replied "but the city of "blank" wouldn't allow this". His reply was that it has nothing to do with the city. The 40 AMP is fine for what is in the unit's. OK keep that story in mind.

The pics below are of the one panel in the other single home. The cover is bolted in place. The cover has been cut to fit over the breakers. The panel was holding on to the wall by one screw and there was not 3 feet of clearance in front of the panel. There is a feed coming out of the panel that is then spliced with electrical tape to two other lines (that are the older 2 wire). When I did get the cover off, it was full of insulation from the mice.

Both homes had several more examples of nasty stuff. They are both rentals. The owner... he was the city's Building Inspector. And I do mean city, this was not a some town tucked away someplace.

Attached Images

	Bolted cover.jpg (33.8 KB, 137 views)
	Splice off panel.jpg (28.7 KB, 150 views)
	Bad cover.JPG (20.5 KB, 154 views)
	Messy panel.JPG (37.6 KB, 159 views)

Yeh, but he has a C.O., must be OK.

I once inspected the home owned by the Chief Electrical Inspector which had *many*, er, *MANY*, wiring problems - starting from the overhead service and service equipment in.

He complained to me, I told him to check with the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals Chief Electrical Code Compliance Official (whom we both knew very well) and that whatever he said, I would agree with.

He looked at my photos and said to the Chief Electrical Inspector 'You REALLY DON'T want me to come out to your home do you? I see more in those photos than Jerry reported. YOU KNOW BETTER than to do those things.'

__________________
Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )

It never ceases to amaze me. But out of what we do we hopefully can bring the Standards to a higher level of safety!

Hopefully these things will be corrected and the next owner can sleep at night.

These guys have no sense of responsibility for the health and safety of others, I suppose!

GOoood Joooooob!
Claudia Lawrence-Cothran
TWI Affiliates Reporting and Training
Home of the UniformBuildingInspectionReport and OnSiteDataSolutions Software. Over 20 years of Setting the StandardsThe Home of TWI Affiliates, LLC. Products and Services - Home

101 Free staging ideas to sell your home faster Helpful hints for our realtors!