Aha! I have a new word for my repertoire. Schmutz!
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whats up with all the typos in the code reference - thank you for the code reference though by the way
Cincinnati is a bureaucratic nightmare, like the rest of Ohio. Once a building has a certificate of occupancy, it falls under the 2024 Ohio Existing Building Code. However, it is also governed by the IFC and the IPMC. The original construction would have been under the Ohio Residential Electrical Code (OREC) and Chapter 27 of the OBC.
All of the new construction codes use the NEC as their core, but there are conflicts among them. Whatever the local inspector says is the way things have to be.
Once the construction is complete, the NEC is no longer relevant. Any citation of code violations would have to be the OEBC, the IPMC, the IFC, or one of the many municipal or county codes. Cincinnati has its own electrical code.
To put things in historical perspective, when we first went to statewide certification in 1993, some counties and municipalities fought hard against it. Most notably, Toledo strongly opposed it. Cincinnati was at the other end of the spectrum. They embraced it. The state said that any county or municipality that had an inspection division for seven years or more at the time the statewide certification went into effect could keep their inspection division and local licenses, AND, their own codes AND their own interpretations of codes (which varied widely).
That’s actually why I started my company, MSI, in 1992. We trainers were agents of the state of Ohio’s Construction Industry Examining Board (OCIEB), which is now known as the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB). We were one of the first training agencies approved by OCIEB.
It was a long and complicated road from statewide certification to statewide construction industry licenses. Our state certifications converted to state licenses in 2000. But, that wasn’t the end of the story. Cincinnati, Toledo, and a bunch of smaller towns and counties all had separate electrical codes. Toledo’s was, in fact one of the strictest in the US. We were almost as strict as Chicago (where I also did a fair amount of electrical work in my youth).
Today, there are several state agencies that all have jurisdiction over construction in Ohio at the state level and many more at local levels. There are strong differences of opinion on almost anything you can think of among municipal, county, and state inspectors. They all deviate from the NEC. Some of the deviations are significant.
Cincinnati decided at some point that they didn’t want to be in the inspection business. They contract their inspections to a company that handles all permits and inspection for the entire metro area, including northern Kentucky.
Literally, the only way to know if an installation was legal is to look at whether the work was inspected and approved. If it was approved, it met the code. You can have two jobs not five miles apart with some things done differently and they both meet code, and neither may conform to any edition of the NEC. The reason is simple; the code is whatever the inspector says it is.
The things I’ve mentioned are only a few of the reasons that I advise home inspectors to stay clear of construction codes. As far as I know, Toledo is the only city that has expressly incorporated the IPMC into their municipal code, but all of Ohio is governed by the IPMC, OEBC, and IFC by way of the OBC.
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this is an unreasonable statement. i learned the basics of electrical work, enough to pass the nec test, in about six months. i passed the test showing basic knowledge but could not get a license without apprenticeship, and rightly so. i agree with your premise, but your timeline is way off. in my opinion, about a year would be a good time to get the basics in all the trades required to fully inspect a home. some could do it in six months, some maybe sooner, some longer than a year. it wouldn’t be that hard to assess before granting the license, just send them onto an inspection after the written test and see what comes up. too many misses and try again.
Ouch! Number one, you took on George. Number two, where the fuck are your capitals in punctuation? Jeeeez!
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#1 i didn’t take on anyone, i disagreed with the timeline presented. it is entirely too easy to learn the basics of everything than it is to become a journeyman in everything, which george had spot on.
#2 something, something, must’ve taken a wrong turn at albequque or whatever…
#3 i actually respect the hell out of george after reading the forums for the past few months. as i said, just disagreeing with his timeline and i suspect it has to do with him presenting the time for becoming a journeyman and putting that as learning the basics.
And still no idea how to capitalize words in a sentence. How old are you?
don’t need to. you can obviously read the words. and bonus points it pisses you off. enjoy the evening.
55 next month
oh, one more thing. how do i make it say cpi next to my name?
55 going on 15? Type like you are professional and not a kid of Facebook. You will gain a lot more respect here from the older and seasoned inspectors here. Trust me! 
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i’m not here for respect, don’t need it. no time for games neither. i read the room wrong when i first joined, but i learn pretty quick. not to mention i spent decades in the construction industry, just thought this being prefessional was a thing. when i found out it wasn’t, just more smoke and mirrors, well…i’ll do as i please, thank you very much. and i do trust you, you’re one i have paid attention to. i read a lot.
Helped you bit on your post,
yeah, like we helped the native americans find some new homes…
I was there and did inspections!!
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What’s wrong with making your posts easier for everyone else to read?
that’s what the spelling, punctuation, and grammar do. no omg, lol, wtf, but spelling things out and making it easier to understand. i mean, there is a mute feature if i recall correctly,
Tim, I’m really not trying to dog you, but just giving my own constructive criticism. You seem to have what it takes to be a good inspector, but communication is #1 in this industry. State it here like you would to a client, not like you are posting on a social media site. You won’t be taken seriously it you want to play your “games”. Many doing the same didn’t last too long…here and in their business.
Just a suggestion, take it as you want…
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You’re not kidding. With the exception of my licensing, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with the OBC, OREC, IPMC, OCIEB or the OCILB. 
I do on occasion check the NEC but for personal educational and informational purposes only.
I inspected a new construction last week in Loveland. It was a 1500 sq ft ranch with a basement. Electrical inspections had been completed as was the occupancy permit, at least that what the buyer told me.
The first thing I noticed was the house had 400 amp service. And even though the house was all electric, I thought that was overkill for a house that size with a yard not big enough to add a garage down the road, but better too much than not enough.
Then when inspecting the inside, I found a GFCI receptacle at the sump pump, with an unprotected single plex directly below it that the sump was plugged into. Then I found the garage door openers did not have GFCI protection, as was the case for the refrigerator receptacle. 
I wrote them all up and told my client that she is free to do what she wanted with the information I gave her.
There was an island in the kitchen and the buyer told me the builder refused to install a receptacle in the side of it because code didn’t allow it.
My point being, it can be confusing depending on the AHJ, so I completely agree with your statements above.
I agree with you 100 percent and is the reason I always tell my clients I am not a code inspector, nor do I inspect to code, and the word code is never a word that can be found in any of my reports.
Thanks for the post, George.
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sure that’s what it’s called. not. i do listen to things folks say, and if nobody wants to answer a question i have because of the lack of capitalization, so be it. i didn’t need that answer anyway, no matter who the hell it was who was too damned pretentious and full of themselves to bother to look past a supposed “fault” to offer ssistance.
but i digress. when i joined this forum, one of the comments directed toward me was making fun of my name. because it wasn’t abbreviated as you did. where is the professionalism in that? as for all of the “you better have thick skin” and “that’s how we are coming from the construction industry” bullshit comments are just that, complete and total bullshit. i came from totally male dominated fields when they were still male dominated and thrived in them: truck driving, special forces in the army, combat engineer also in the army, and construction. i can play those games well but choose not to any longer. my current religious choices control that and i am trying to be devout while also existing in the world. now someone will jump on that, but i don’t care.
as for lasting in business, been doing well with this company for aver 11 years now and this is just a new direction. i have years to wait until the business starts coming in enough to switch from fiber optic installation and tech work to just inspecting. the only reason i post anything at all right now is seo optimization and establishing a base of participation. i also write my reports by hand instead of using software, never will until i develop my own which is in the works right now. so if you have any constructive criticism i’ll take it, and tips and i’ll take them too. change my writing style for this little bullsit corner of the internet and a bunch of pretentious “inspectors”? no thanx. i know how to write and write well, but i can be a little “set in my ways” sometimes.
now, i have derailed this thread long enough and will refrain from any more discussion of this subject. we can continue this one elsewhere if you would like, but i think we have said what needs to be said. have a great day.
No one is being pretentious. Asking for capitalization, grammar or punctuation is not pretentious. We possess these skills, if we didn’t then I would agree that we are being pretentious.
You seem to scoff, snort , pffft a lot when others speak to you directly. Don’t forget that your sample report is public. If anyone is pretentious, it is you.
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