Successive DOB Electrical Inspections - new objections raised at each

We did a permitted electrical service upgrade to replace an old panel and run of new wiring to the kitchen and bathroom. We’ve had THREE inspections to close the same permit. The first inspector wanted seemingly standard things done that our electrician overlooked, I guess. So we did all the things requested and then called for re-inspection. The second inspector said the “twin breakers” we had were a problem and we needed special quad breakers. We installed those breakers. Now the costs are starting to add up. The third inspector looked at the same objection description (MULTI BRANCH CKTS (1) CKTS SVC COMBO PNL HAVING 30 QUAD BKRS ARTICLE314.20) that the second inspector had listed for conversion to quad breakers and said our panel had too many twin/quad circuits in it and we needed a larger panel or a sub panel. The other two inspectors did not flag this despite it being in front of their faces. The electrician who installed it did not see an issue. There is no way that I can afford to re-do the entire work that I already paid for, then adjusted and adjusted some more. Has anyone else had a similar repeat-inspection experience where the demands just kept going and going? What did you do? Is there anything to do?

doubledwell

in Dept. of Buildings (DOB) 9 years and 1 month ago

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MASTERELECTRICIAN | 9 years and 1 month ago

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Quad breakers are very different from twin breakers so that part of the post raises some questions. Do you really have 30 quad breakers in the same panel? sometimes inspectors do pick up on things that were missed during prior inspections. I know that you have paid for this work more than once and thats unfortunate. I would suggest consulting with another licensed electrician as it seems that important details are missing and are preventing you from passing inspection.

bliz | 9 years and 1 month ago

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The DOB is a complete joke

eman134 | 9 years and 1 month ago

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You are pretty much screwed… in order to root out corruption, the DOB has randomized inspections for all trades. That means that you may never have the same inspector on the job, and the DOB explicitly states that it is up to the inspector in the field to make the final decision on interpertation of code. This is happening on every trade in NYC. In theory there is a database for comments on every job, but followup inspections are not limited to prior enties into the database.It is not the fault of your electrician, and there is no recourse, as every new objection has to be addressed

doubledwell | 9 years and 1 month ago

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That is good advice, but the GC chose the original electrician who did the work 5 years ago and the that electrician disappeared before the first inspection was even scheduled. The GC has brought his new electrician to help with the subsequent work. There’s no “real” electrician to leverage, unfortunately.

GreenThinker | 9 years and 1 month ago

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Seems like you have yourself a shitty electrician that doesn’t know what he’s doing. He should of put in a size box that had enough spaces and circuits for everything required using regular circuit breakers. Don’t give him anymore money. He’s probably using someone else’s license, find out who’s and call them. Explain to them the situation and that if this isn’t taken care of you’re going to make sure they lose it for letting a amateur work on your house.

neweco | 9 years and 1 month ago

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Im not whats going on, But It seems that your electrician is the one to blame . Im not sure of your arrangements with him, but final payment should be released when a sign off is obtained . Something simple as a panel upgrade shouldn’t have things to be overlooked.