fail...

it's not that i was necessarily expecting to pass the electrical inspection on the first shot...that would have been downright naive...

it's just that i didn't expect it to be such a major fail.

the bright spot is that the local inspector is very cool...lots of fun to talk to and not at all anal in that i-have-the-power-to-shut-you-down kind of way that lots of inspectors are.

all the wiring inside is great...just a few minor, easy fixes there...the main issue is with the meter. it doesn't help that the dude at the store sold us the wrong size wiring to run from the meter to the mail panel, but apparently the wiring inside the meter that runs through the weatherhead and connects to the service line is corroded (all my electricity is above ground from nearby telephone poles). and apparently, everything from the service line down is my problem...the conduit, the meter, the box...everything. apparently it is the homeowners financial responsibility to "maintain [it] to the city's specifications." which seems very odd to me, since i could also be fined for tampering with it once it's running...but that's the way it is...c'est la vie! there's no way i'm going to mess with the main power lines, so i'm going to have to hire someone...

also, the underground wire that connects from the main panel to the garage subpanel may or may not be up to snuff. so, we've got to dig it up and check it out. if it doesn't have the right kind of conduit, or isn't burried deep enough, well, then we'll have to deal with that...something we purposefully didn't mess with because it would suck!

the last of the big modifications - we have to drive 2 more 6' copper ground rods for the garage...since it's considered a seperate structure. this is crap. the two we drove for the house were possibly the most physically difficult thing we've done to the house so far. no joke. it SUCKED! so, yeah...i'll be hiring someone for that, too...

anyone know a good electrician?