Worries across the board
In a post-Katrina New Orleans short on staff and shorter on funds, such a desire to expedite recovery is to be expected. But Mike Johnston, director of education codes and standards for the International Association of Electrical Inspectors, says such desires should be resisted.
"IAEI has been involved in helping the city with its inspections. Our opinion is that the safety of New Orleans has been compromised by this program," says Johnston. "IAEI is all about promoting electrical safety. That requires all parties to do their part."
A month after the storm, John Menick, a field representative for the
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), started distributing warnings about the danger of reusing submerged electrical equipment.
"City Council really pulled a fast one, the way they brought this back up, then extended it to Dec 31st," says Menick. "We think it's a bad thing."
Self-inspections account for about 21% of the total of all electrical inspections, according to Larry Chan, chief electrical inspector in the City of New Orleans Department of Safety and Permits. One of his main concerns is that the ordinance may open the door for less-than-honest electrical contractors to reuse flood-damaged wiring and electrical equipment despite repeated warnings, says Chan.
"These guys are cutting corners because Big Brother isn't out there watching them. Most of the wiring is [sheathed electrical cable]. Once it sucks up water, the wire corrodes. These contractors are putting that faulty wiring back inside the walls."
Another problem: Some contractors aren't doing work to code—but they're telling the homeowner they did and pocketing the difference. Some are taking payment for inspections that were never performed. "It's not a question of them doing an incomplete inspection. They didn't do any inspection," says Ray Canzoneri, whose company, Raymond Canzoneri & Associates, is helping provide certified inspections for the city.
And in some cases, the homeowners are just as guilty. Canzoneri reports that some are willing to pay $300 to any contractor who will "sell" his signature on the required affidavit without doing the inspection.
Chan worries about the long-term effects for future homeowners. "What happens if you buy that guy's house?" asks Chan. "You might have a wiring problem, and you don't know it. And even if your house is wired correctly, a lot of houses in New Orleans are only a few feet apart. The illegally rewired house next door catches fire and burns your house down, too."
New Orleans Fire Department Inspector/Investigator Judy Mason admits being afraid of the ordinance's fallout, too. "Safety all comes down to quality control on the inspector's end. If we get an electrical fire, we are going to see if it was a self-inspected job."
Who would be liable for damages traced to poor self-inspection work? "I'm sure that the contractor who does the certification would be liable if there was a problem," says Evan Kennedy, whose firm Kennedy, Lewis, Renton & Associates Inc. in suburban Gretna, La., writes insurance for homebuilders and contractors. Kennedy told HGTVPro.com that he was not aware of the scope of problems with the self-inspection program, but he will monitor the situation and how it might affect his clients.
New Orleans' shortcut approach to electrical inspections is part of the broader issue of the region's post-Katrina embrace of building codes, says Kenneth Lessner, vice president of loss control for the Property Casualty Insurers Association. "With so many homes and buildings to be rebuilt, there aren't adequate resources to do all the inspections. That's not just new electrical codes, but wind and flood codes, as well," says Lessner.
