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Story & photos by Richard Bermack, Contributing Writer
When we think of public servants whose job it is to protect the safety of San Franciscans, police officers and firefighters are the first that come to mind. The city’s building inspectors probably wouldn’t even make the list for 99 percent of the population because what they do goes unnoticed by the public. But when the safety systems in buildings function properly during an emergency, when buildings survive quakes and survive decades of use, it is in no small part because the Department of Building Inspectors’ staff ensure strict compliance of the building code. The DBI was a part of the Department of Public Works until 1998 when it became its own department in order to provide better service to the development and building community.
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“Contractors rely on the building inspectors to ensure all their subcontractors are performing work correctly. We help them maintain quality control.”
– Dennis Carlin, Inspector
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After the sheet rock is hung, the drywall finishers come in, and the race is on. A finisher loads the “bazooka” – an automated drywall finishing machine comprised of a three-foot pipe filled with drywall compound and tape dispensers on the side – and they are off. The finisher sprints across the room running the bazooka along the wall, leaving a trail of tape and drywall compound. Guys with flat knives, brushes, and corner machines go running after the bazooka, attacking the tape with their respective tools. Everyone is moving at break-neck speeds to the rhythm of a silent beat, trying to get their job done before the mud starts to harden.
Building inspectors maintain the highest level of standards in the building trades. Inspectors know what is being built, who is building it, which contractors are good employers, and which to avoid. They work with both union and non-union contractors to assure that building and remodeling construction is safe, secure, and of high quality. Most importantly, they look out for the safety of workers, neighbors, the community and the people who will live or work in the completed structure. When disaster strikes, whether it be a fire, flood, lightning or an earthquake, building inspectors are there to make sure things are put back together – safely and in order.
“We are responsible for the life-safety of all the public and private building in San Francisco,” said DBI’s Deputy Director Edward Sweeney. Sweeney is a 35-year member of Carpenters Local 22. He joined the DBI in 1999. “We perform approximately 1,000 inspections a week for compliance with the building code,” Sweeney said. In addition, “we plan check buildings for compliance and handle about 100 complaints a week on everything from noise, to life safety, to working without permits.”
Building inspectors are particularly important in San Francisco, with its influx of skilled and unskilled workers from other areas and cultures. Inspectors not only enforce the standards, but they also educate and train the public in safe building practices.
One of the unique aspects of the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection is that it includes specialized inspectors such as electrical (IBEW Local 6) and plumbing (UA Local 38). There are also general building inspectors who inspect the framing and other structural components of construction. They make certain that all other inspections are completed. General building inspectors are members of Carpenters Local 22.
The biggest challenge that Sweeney’s department faces is the economy. “We have laid off one-third of our staff due to budget shortfalls, although our workload has not gone down very much. Our main struggle is to maintain the same level of service that we had prior to the budget crunch,” Sweeney said.
“On the Jobsite” drove along with Dennis Carlin, a general building inspector, as he made his rounds.
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 Bob Christman
Plumbing Inspector
I check waste systems and plumbing to protect the health of the city. A lot of people who perform plumbing don’t know what they’re doing. They can blow up a house and kill someone.
I get complaints from neighbors such as when the sewer from one house is leaking into another neighbor’s house. I investigate the location of the leak. A lot of sewer leaks are due to groundwater coming from an unknown location. Sometimes the problem can be solved right away or it can take a long time. I have had complaints that went on for over year because of a leak. We go house to house doing dye tests to try to establish the leak’s origin. Some people are thankful and it feels good when I find a leak no one else could find.
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 Sheryl Rose
Electrical Inspector
When it comes to electricity a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. If it is not installed right, it can kill people. One time I was doing a single family remodel. The homeowner, a retired doctor, was watching me. When I was done he thanked me for all my attention to detail and checking to make sure everything was safe.
The hardest part of the job is keeping up with all the work. There’s a time constraint, but you have to keep moving. It’s easier when I work with a real electrician because they more quickly understand my explanation of the problem. A homeowner requires a different style of inspection. They don’t have a professional understanding. I can relate to that because I don’t know everything about every trade. It can be very rewarding explaining things to people. They can be very appreciative then you run into someone who’s not having a good day, and you can’t take it personally.
I get to see a lot of interesting things, like Willie Brown’s new office on the Embarcadero or do things like safety testing which involves throwing the building into a state of alarm to check that all systems are in proper working condition.
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 Paul Ortiz
Senior Electrical Inspector
I’ve inspected electrical installations at the deYoung Museum, the Academy of Sciences, the Four Seasons Hotel and the Metreon. Contractors are at the top of their field. They are performing cutting edge electrical work. It’s a dual learning process. We show them how to comply with the codes and they give us information about new technology.
We look at the power distribution of the electrical equipment, the rating for the size of the wire and the auto protection devices to make certain the whole system works together. If a breaker is not appropriately rated for the system there can be violence like that of a Roman candle going off. Most people don’t understand how dangerous a piece of equipment can be. It can come at you at over 35,000° Fahrenheit at about 700 miles an hour.
We have to speak in different terms to different people. When we speak to a certified electrician we speak in a different language than we speak to a homeowner. We deal with people from all different areas of the city and different economic groups, from people who can barely afford electrical work to people who can afford the best. We make sure everybody gets treated fairly, with a personal touch and understanding.
Electricity is very important to society. When there is a fire or an emergency we work to get electricity back on as fast as possible so people can get back in their homes. Eight years ago some transformers went down in the West Portal area after being hit by lightning. Service went out in 66 homes. We spent Saturday and Sunday performing inspections to get residents back in service. Sometimes we’re out till eight or nine o’clock at night. We’re on call 24-7.
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 Bernie Curran
Building Inspector
This is the greatest job I could ever have. After a lifetime of working in the industry then having cancer I now get to use my knowledge to make sure things are done correctly and safely according to standards that the union tries to uphold. About 90% of the guys know what they’re doing. But you get a small percentage who are not qualified and should be in a union training program. We have so many people out there who are not trained properly, and that is most of our job, dealing with people who really don’t know what they’re doing.
Having been in the trade, I can tell guys, “Don’t do it that way.” If they ask why I can say, “Because I did something like that back when I was in construction, and it cost me $5000.” So instead of using the codebook as a weapon, I use it for what it’s intended, to enforce the minimal standards to keep things safe.
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 Dennis Carlin
General Building Inspector
We inspect jobs as small as bathroom remodels and as large as high rises.
When we inspect a new building, we inspect the reinforcement steel, the forms, the framing, the installation of sheet rock and the safety issues. While I was the building inspector in the Hunters Point area children died in fires because the bars on windows prevented them from escaping. Now, we always check for proper egress.
In addition to inspections, we respond to complaints from the public regarding code violations. They may have a complaint about an individual performing construction beyond the scope of his permit, people doing work without a permit, or making too much noise. Some are legitimate and some are not.
In one instance, a “do-it-yourself” homeowner took out a permit on his single-family dwelling. Upon inspection, we found his house was improperly shored. Therefore, he was cited by the building department. He ignored the citation and the house collapsed. He and his wife were in the basement when they heard the creaking. They were able to run out, but the house almost pancaked on top of them. It came off the foundation, went down the hill sideways, and crashed into a neighbor’s house. Building inspectors see an awful lot out in the field.
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 Dave Ledda
Plumbing Inspector
The best thing about my job is getting to see a little bit of everything like all the varieties of plumbing in the industry. One of the main issues is making sure there is no contamination between sanitary water and domestic drinking water. That’s the biggest concern in commercial plumbing because often times reclaimed water is used and nothing should cross connect with that.
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