I currently live in St. Louis Park and have lived there for most of my life. The house I live in currently is literally three blocks from the house my parents owned until three or four years ago. I guess I’m a momma’s boy. Anyway, one reason I enjoy living in St. Louis Park is because of the location. I am only a few blocks from Minneapolis and a few blocks from Edina. It takes me a minute or two to get to the bike trails or the lakes. It is also located only a few blocks from all the new shops, restaurants, etc. at Excelsior and Grand. I have sworn by The Park since college and I contend that everyone has a connection to SLP.
My house is the smallest house in the neighborhood. I’m okay with that fact, as it is fine for me and I really like the location. Over the past year I have had a fair amount of work done to the house. The upstairs and kitchen were gutted and completely redone. A bathroom was also added upstairs.
One BIG negative of St. Louis Park is the inspections. With any construction permits need to be pulled and code needs to be followed. I understand and accept this fact. I have even accepted that the same person cannot inspect the plumbing, electrical and building. That needs to be done by three separate individuals (usually on three separate days). What is beyond frustrating is that there does not seem to be any process for inspecting the work. Meaning, one person may miss something that the next person sees.
A few weeks ago I had an inspector come to do a final inspection of the upstairs. Everything looked good with the exception of the railing going up the stairs. I knew this needed to be done, but wanted to know if I was up against anything else before I made what I had hoped would be my last of a million trips to Home Depot. I was happy to hear that the railing was indeed the only thing missing from a final sign-off.
The other day I had a St. Louis Park city inspector come over (actually a couple of them). They checked the updated electrical (has been inspected twice already), the furnace and water heater (both were installed in 2003 and have been inspected on a couple separate occasions) and the electricity in the garage (this was done prior to me even purchasing the house). They also noticed a railing at the top of the stairs that has been there for six months and at least three inspections. The railing, which by code, has to be no more than four inches from the floor is 5 ½ inches off the floor. Why didn’t either of the other two inspectors notice this? No one seems to know. What I know is that it would have been a 20 minute thing to resolve before the carpet was installed and the walls were painted. Now I’m going to have to just add wood to the underside of the railing. There is no question it will be an eye sore, but it will meet code and won’t require me to tear up carpet and repaint.
Through all of the work done to the house, I have talked to a number of contractors, plumbers, electricians, etc. that refused work in my house. Why? Because it is in St. Louis Park and the city inspectors are too strict.
I understand the reason for the codes, etc. What I don’t understand is how countless inspectors can miss so many things. I also can’t understand (maybe I do understand) why some inspectors are afraid to sign their name next to the work they inspected. The City of St. Louis Park needs to get control of this and get the right people hired that can do the job the same way and follow the same rules.
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