What can be done about unfair practices that ignore the needs of contractors?
Building officials are required to be certified just as we are. If you have ever tried to complain about an inspector to his superior in the
building department you probably found that they are a tight family who will do nothing to
relieve a hardship placed on you. Indeed, you may well be subjected to retaliation for your efforts!
In our thirty years of pulling permits we have found many instances of self-serving policies, corrupt inspectors looking for graft, and just
plain nit-picky inspections designed to make it difficult or impossible to pass. These can be based on an interpretation of the code that
is obviously wrong but can cost you much, if not all of your profit to comply, and are often the result of having brought a shortcoming to
their attention.
If you have run into similar problems, the answer is to combine your efforts with others. One voice has little effect, but if you are having
problems with a jurisdiction, be assured you are not alone.
We, because of our specialization in range hoods, work all over the state. This has made it possible for us to "write-off" certain
jurisdictions that impose ridiculous requirements on us. This situation is unacceptable however, and now that we have a website to use
as a tool, we will attempt to assemble enough complaints to act in critical situations.
If you have found a building department that is giving you a lot of unjustified grief, please fill out the form below and submit it. Your
response will be confidential unless and until we have enough to file a formal complaint with the DPR. You will then be notified and
allowed to expound on your response, or withdraw as you see fit prior to any action.
By way of example, read the very real experience we had with the Marion County building department below. We filed a complaint with
the DPR, but my voice alone was not enough to get any action.
Name
Company
Email
Jurisdiction
of complaint
Complaint :
Example (and true story) :
The Marion County Building Department initiated a "policy" that requires the following:
In order for us to pull a permit to install a range hood we are required to have the electrician who will wire the
blowers, and the fire suppression system installer to sign onto our permit rather than pull their own permits.
Sounds simple enough other than the inconvenience, considering that our customer hires the other trades of his
own selection. We began to inform each customer of this requirement so they could have the others go and sign
on. About a year went by and we received a phone call from one of our customers. He was very irate, and
complained that the electrician who wired our blowers had messed up the wiring throughout the building. He had
spoken to the electrician without any satisfaction, so had called the building department to seek recourse.
The building department official told him that Citrus County Sheet Metal is responsible for everything on the job
because they hold the permit!
The customer was threatening a lawsuit against us for something his own electrician had allegedly done.
When we complained to Mr. John O'Connor, head of the department, his response was that the policy was for the
convenience of their own department, and he would not consider the effects it may or may not have on us as
contractors. (All of this is documented).
Such a policy can, and nearly did, lead to suits being filled for liability against us for a situation over which we
have no control whatsoever.
Bringing this to the attention of the authorities within the building department ultimately bred, in my opinion,
retaliation in the form of ludicrous inspection requirements in the field designed to punish us for making waves.
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