Day 13: Electrical and Framing Inspection - Passed!

Greg, the city inspector from Batavia, came out to the house this afternoon to inspect the electric and framing. Since I didn't actually build any walls, he really only needed to look at the electric. And just like the plumbing inspector, he didn't look at much. He mentioned 3 things:

1. Any plastic staples (like this) need to be at least 1 1/4" deep on the stud, so you don't accidentally screw into them when you lay the drywall.


2. The leads coming into the box or fixture need to be at least 7" long. That seems really long to me, but it's so you have enough length to work with. Fortunately for me, he didn't check in the switch box. ;-)


3. Any holes that are drilled to thread the wire through also need to be at least 1 1/4" back - again so you don't accidentally drill into them when you lay the drywall.

Interestingly, Greg made notes of all these things and yet still said that I didn't need another inspection before I started putting up all the drywall.

At Greg's suggestion, here's a quick fix for #3:


You just nail these plates on to protect against a screw accidentally going through. These two plates protect the three wires going up from the switch to the lights and fan.

I was also able to get a couple other things done today. I did some more work on the fan - placing some insulation around the outside and foil tape along the joint inside.


I also worked some more on the tub. Greg had a great suggestion here, too - just glue the tub down! He recommended using some construction adhesive (like Liquid Nail) on the lip along the wall. I also followed some tips from the directions and put some shims in and then used 3" drywall screws and a big washer to hold the tub tight to the wall.


It's really much better. It's not perfect yet, but it might be better tomorrow after the adhesive dries.

Tomorrow: reinstall the tub drain (had to disconnect it to put the adhesive in), finish installing the insulation, and start installing the drywall and Durarock.