This has been one of the biggest surprises for me since starting the company. Inspections exist to protect homeowners, and they're valuable. But how they actually play out can vary a lot.
Why Does Every Install Need a Permit?
A permit means a city inspector checks the work. Skipping it saves a contractor time, but unpermitted work can cost you rebates, cause trouble with insurance claims, and create problems when you sell the house.
We pull and pay for a permit on every install, even though some homeowners decide not to schedule the inspection. That's their choice. We want you to have the right to have our work checked.
Why Do Inspections Vary so Much?
In the Denver metro, it's a bit like the Wild West. Not in the sense that anything goes, but in the sense that the sheriff in town decides what the law is. The individual inspector's knowledge, preferences and quirks, and sometimes the kind of day they're having, can decide whether a job passes.
Most inspectors are great and very knowledgeable. But everyone has gaps: inspectors, contractors and us included.
Why Do Inspections Fail?
- We missed something. It happens. That's the value of an inspection. So far, none of our failed inspections has involved a safety issue or caused any damage, and we go back and fix whatever was flagged.
- The inspector didn't look closely. We once failed for not having a fused disconnect on an outdoor unit. The only disconnects we buy are fused, and they don't work without fuses in them. The inspector just didn't open the box.
- The inspector didn't recognize the product. We've used code-approved flexible B-vent, a special venting pipe for furnace exhaust, and had it mistaken for thin foil dryer vent. We can pass 19 inspections with a product and fail the 20th with an inspector who's never seen it. Then we send the product data and the code section and wait.
- An older code issue outside our work. Say we add AC to a furnace we didn't install and didn't touch. Its venting may have met code 10 or 15 years ago but doesn't today. It's not supposed to affect our inspection, but sometimes it does. An inspection for a new AC can even fail because of the water heater in the same room.
- Unpermitted work elsewhere in the house. We installed a heat pump at a rental in Westminster where the owner had finished the basement, added a bathroom, put in an electrical sub-panel and replaced the water heater, all without permits. The city told us no inspection at that property would pass until the earlier work was permitted.
- No one was home. Most cities won't let you choose a time, or even morning or afternoon. Even at 7:30 on the morning of the inspection, we usually don't know when the inspector will arrive. That part is almost entirely out of our hands.
What Happens After a Failed Inspection?
Even when we were right, a failed inspection means another inspection for you, hours of paperwork for us, and delays. Getting an inspector on the phone can take weeks. Once it took us six weeks and a lot of emails and voicemails.
How Do We Keep You from Being Surprised?
- We flag likely issues upfront. If we see something that will probably fail, like a vent connection that code now requires to be a wye fitting instead of a tee, we'll tell you before we start and recommend fixing it.
- It's your call. It's your home. If you'd rather not fix something we didn't touch, that's fine. But if that item fails the inspection, we generally won't schedule another one unless you choose the fix, which would be quoted separately.
- We work with your schedule as much as the city lets us, and we keep you posted throughout.
We're also working with organizations in the Denver metro to improve the process. It's a long, slow, uphill battle.
Permits and Inspections FAQ
Do I Have to Be Home for the Inspection?
Someone needs to be there to let the inspector in. Most cities don't give a time window, so plan for the whole day if you can.
Who Pays If an Inspection Fails?
If the inspector flags our work, we fix it at no charge. If they flag something that was already in your home, we'll explain it and quote it before doing anything.
Is the Permit Included in Your Price?
Yes, on every install.