Building inspectors are like police officers:
They're never around when you
need them. With a nationwide building
boom in progress, many municipal building
departments have found themselves
shorthanded, forcing builders to wait days
or even weeks for required inspections.
But at least two localities have recently
launched programs meant to streamline
the inspection process, without compromising
building quality.
So many red flags, so little time. In April
of this year, Mecklenburg County, N.C. —
which includes the city of Charlotte —
adopted a new inspection fee schedule that
it hopes will reduce overall inspection failures,
enabling its 90 building inspectors to
do their work more quickly and efficiently.
"The problem was never a shortage of
building inspectors," says Bobbie