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Government Incompetence
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DanWeiss



Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Posts: 2296
Location: Connecticut, USA

PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 8:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

techno900 wrote:
I will offer a response. In my line of work were I had oversight of 6 different phases of renovations on a 1980's office building being converted into a school, I ran into many frustrating and costly road blocks from:

ADA requirements
Asbestos abatement
Elevator inspections
Fire codes & inspections

While there is a great need for regulations for all of these areas, many of them go well beyond common sense and logic and all end up being very costly. I don't wish to go into detail simply because it would be exhausting.

On the other side of the issue is where electrical codes required very specific gage wire for some some particular installations, the codes weren't followed buy the electricians to save money (also missed by the general contractor and the city inspectors), plus we almost had several fires due to melting and shorting wires. The point is that wanting and needing regulations doesn't mean that they will be followed or inspected. It's just the irony of the situation. It's possible to get screwed on both sides of the issue.


I'm sure there are more than a few details in ADA compliance that cause headaches. One regarding port-a-potties comes to mind, whether any distance in elevation of the floor surface above the ground is something other than the meaning "flush with the ground." I battled this out with a building inspector who insisted that each unit be sunk into the dirt to the top of the plastic floor was flush with the earth. I told him to write that out in a cease and desist if he wanted me to countersink a fully-compliant unit in order to meet his interpretation. He didn't. But he was and continues to be a total idiot.

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mac



Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17747
Location: Berkeley, California

PostPosted: Tue May 22, 2012 12:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Still silence from silly Bard. Caught making it up--again.
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pueno



Joined: 03 Mar 2007
Posts: 2807

PostPosted: Tue May 22, 2012 4:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

techno900 wrote:
I will offer a response. In my line of work were I had oversight of 6 different phases of renovations on a 1980's office building being converted into a school, I ran into many frustrating and costly road blocks from:

ADA requirements
Asbestos abatement
Elevator inspections
Fire codes & inspections

While there is a great need for regulations for all of these areas, many of them go well beyond common sense and logic and all end up being very costly. I don't wish to go into detail simply because it would be exhausting.

On the other side of the issue is where electrical codes required very specific gage wire for some some particular installations, the codes weren't followed buy the electricians to save money (also missed by the general contractor and the city inspectors), plus we almost had several fires due to melting and shorting wires. The point is that wanting and needing regulations doesn't mean that they will be followed or inspected. It's just the irony of the situation. It's possible to get screwed on both sides of the issue.

Those regulations, and many more like them, are there specifically to protect the trusting public both from unscrupulous workmanship and from incompetent workmanship.

And, as you well know (or damned well SHOULD know), those exist in abundance in the building and construction trades.

And, yes, sadly, a few of those inspectors (who miss the undersized wiring) are themselves former tradesmen who are just as incompetent or crooked on one side of the table as on the other side.

It sometimes happens. But 99% of the time, it happens the right way -- and that's much better than 0% of the time.

===============

On a different topic, here's a quick take on federal spending under Obama. It's worth a peek.

I don't think the article's title is accurate -- it should address the rate of change, not the absolute amount.
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