DIY house flippers

[kwired]

This is the real reason why our NEC balloons each code cycle :happyno:

They can make all the changes they want to NEC, it is not going to change the practices of the guy that did the install I showed in OP.

The other problem was that this guy was legal from the perspective that he lived in that house when he did that work. I guess I don't know if he did some work before moving in, but it was his primary residence at the time my MIL purchased it and by State laws he can do wiring in his own principal residence. The fact he never changed service equipment made it so wiring permit was never required by law, so there was never any inspections, the good in that is we don't need inspections for every little job, but the bad is things like described in OP still happen sometimes.

 

[Barbqranch]

The fact he never changed service equipment made it so wiring permit was never required by law, so there was never any inspections, the good in that is we don't need inspections for every little job, but the bad is things like described in OP still happen sometimes.

And you think it would have been inspected if some law said it had to be?

 

[GoldDigger]

And you think it would have been inspected if some law said it had to be?

If a service change, for example, required a POCO cut off and turn on, the power would not come back on without an inspection sign off.
Short of that probably not, unless the buyer asked to see it.

 

[kwired]

If a service change, for example, required a POCO cut off and turn on, the power would not come back on without an inspection sign off.
Short of that probably not, unless the buyer asked to see it.

Thanks, that is mostly what my answer would have been.

 

[Barbqranch]

Many, many years ago, long past the statute of limitations, I more than once cut the seal and removed the meter. When done, if you bend the wire just right, it looks like it hasn't been messed with. And if the poco saw it later, I expect they would have just put a new seal on it.

 

[gadfly56]

And you think it would have been inspected if some law said it had to be?

Depending on the diligence of the construction official in your jurisdiction, they may pull the property file when you sell the house to see if any changes have been made that are not in the file or if there are open permits. My wife's uncle had done a bunch of stuff over the years, but he pulled a permit for all of it. When the town came by they were going to ding him for all the "unpermitted" work, but he'd saved all the stickers and dodged that bullet.

 

[kwired]

Depending on the diligence of the construction official in your jurisdiction, they may pull the property file when you sell the house to see if any changes have been made that are not in the file or if there are open permits. My wife's uncle had done a bunch of stuff over the years, but he pulled a permit for all of it. When the town came by they were going to ding him for all the "unpermitted" work, but he'd saved all the stickers and dodged that bullet.

Building permits in the rural areas and even in most small villages/towns around here are mostly about zoning compliance not about structural codes or other items like plumbing and electrical. There is state electrical AHJ, but only comes into play with single family dwellings when a new service is involved. New house will have a new service, so new homes are inspected, but you can do all the wiring you want on an existing home as long as you don't change the service for the most part. It is still illegal to wire for someone else if you are not properly licensed - but the handymen get away with it if there is no permits or inspections required in the first place.