Small Rant

[Richard in Smithville]

Last year, I was contracted to build a work table for a local business. The business is Hellbender Ink Vintage Tattoo and the owner wanted a work table to go with the overall vintage theme. Being as it was in a tattoo shop, I wanted to look into special considerations to what the health department required and allowed. After a lot of back and forth with the owner and him contacting the inspector, we came up with construction that all parties could agree upon. The biggest concern is that wood is porous. There are so many coats of poly on all the wood surfaces ( even the bottom of the feet, and the feet have rubber on the bottom ) that aside from something that tears into the wood falling on the surface, it is liquid proof from any spill. The top even has a sheet of glass to protect the wood. The health inspector verified my claims( internet research) and even gave it a final inspection of her own after delivery.

Fast forward to this week. A new inspector visits. First thing he says is the table is no good-wood is porous! The construction details were explained as was the dialogue and approval of his predecessor. All he kept saying is, Nope...wood is porous". This guy refused to listen to anything reasonable and decided that he knew better. I respect the fact that his job is to keep the public safe but he should also realize that somethings are not black and white. There are often other deciding factors involved and if he is not an expert on everything, he should at least talk to someone who knows before making a decision.

I know the shop owner so I gave him a great deal on the table. If he decides to sell it off, at least he can turn over a profit on the table.

So now I'm going to step down from my soap box. Thanks for listening.

[rbfunk]

I hear you. In ten years we are on our third health and fourth fire inspectors. Each one brings their own issues to the job. For example, since we are not in a sprinklered building, we must have a fire extinguisher. The fire extinguisher must be inspected every year which costs more than a new 3 pound one so I have been buying a new one every year. This year, last years 3 pounder isn't good enough it must be a 5 pounder. All the Home Depots and Lowes around here only carry 4.5 pound which aren't good enough. I had to buy one off Amazon. Same with the health inspector, one only cared about the temperature in the fridge. The next was the dish washer. I haven't figured out the new one yet but here English isn't very good and it's my only language.
Good Luck

[capncarl]

I recieved a call from the general contractor that custom built my house 3 years after we had closed and moved in. The building inspector had contacted him and told him that when he inspected my house he had forgotten to report that my garage bathroom/storage room did not have a heating/cooling duct vent and would have to have one to meet code. I thanked the contractor and told him I would take care of it with the inspector. I scheduled a meeting with the code inspector and his boss at their office in the court house. After the inspector stumbled badly trying to tell me and his boss why a non inhabited room has to have air conditioning and heating, I told him to kiss my butt, if he wanted this modification done to my house he would have to take me to court and a judge would have to tell me to do it. 5 years later I haven't heard anything from them.
My last job working for the USMC I worked with a lot of code enforcers so I know their kind well. Code enforcers are know to get really full of themselves and have to be occasionally put in their place.
Richard, I hope you saved your correspondence with the health inspector that approved your design. Print out a copy and roll it up and beat him with it! I see this bully behavior out to of health inspectors here as well. Remember, the world is full of Barney Fifes!
capncarl

[Knottscott]

Lots of people don't handle their authority very well. I can understand his original concern, but once you told him that you sought and received complete approval from his predecessor, that should have been the end of it.

[Condoman44]

I have a friend that I went to high school who got into the restaurant business. Over the years I have known him he has been told the cutting board must be wood, no plastic, no sorry wood. I believe they finally settled on wood as the best material. Yes, it is porous but, that turned out to be a good thing.

[LCHIEN]

Yes, I guess the lesson here is that once you got the previous inspector to agree to a design as meeting safety standards then you should have asked him to put it in writing or got him to sign the drawing specification as "approved"

Even then the new inspector may object so there's not much you can do about it.