Failed 2nd Final Inspection - Electrical Still Not Right

Jan 13th, 2009 - We took our 2nd final house inspection today and failed it because 3 of the rooms (loft, foyer, and dining room) failed the Arc Fault Circuit Interruption test the inspector performed at the outlets.

I'm starting to get a little stressed -- the electricians were pulling additional 'neutral' wires this morning to connect to the breaker panel in the basement... now they've got to come back and pull more wires through the existing crowded conduits to get this crap to pass when the inspector's test gadget is connected.

Good news is the re-inspect is scheduled for this Thursday afternoon -- so the electricians will be back in trying to get things up to snuff Wednesday and Thursday AM. Bad news is this is starting to look like a cluster f*** to me. It is reminiscent of the 3 inspections we took to get the rough electrical inspection to pass in October (all based on the inspector's desire to reduce the number of conduit bends in any single circuit run).

The inspector tested every applicable outlet in the house, rather than testing just at the breaker panel. This was a much more rigorous test than I anticipated. Our home is the first in Glen Ellyn required to comply with the new electrical code specifying combination AFCI's for all living spaces.

We take delivery of living room, dining room, family room, and master bedroom furniture tomorrow (assuming weather doesn't make delivery impossible). Pat and I will also be moving our 42" TV, it's stand, and our two computers and supporting equipment to the new house tomorrow. Thursday we are scheduled for cable (data and progam) installation.

It is starting to look like a long week as we move things into the house in anticipation of getting a temporary occupancy permit the following week.

A damaged acrylic surface in the master bath shower was professional repaired today as well. This was done as Oasis warranty work, and we were not billed. However the cracked inspection cover for the whirlpool is going to be billed to us at replacement cost. We were told it should be less than $100. This kind of pisses me off since it was broken by one of the sub-contractors back in September -- but nobody will take responsibility for it, so we pay in the end.

The house is move in ready now except for the electrical code violation -- we look forward to getting in as soon as is possible.

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