Photo by August Kryger / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

City plumbing inspector Hal Jensen holds a hose while inspecting the plumbing at the site of the future First Bank of Missouri on Lake Avenue. Jensen has taken a tougher approach to licensing and permits lately, earning him respect from many plumbers around town.

Some people will always do the right thing — inspector or no inspector. For others, the “bubble gum and duct tape” method is the way of the world. They’ll do anything to get the job done cheap.

That’s why the city of St. Joseph employs inspectors in four trades: plumbing, mechanical, building and electrical.

PLUMBING

Hal Jensen, the city’s plumbing inspector, is trying to level the playing field. In nine months on the city plumbing beat, he’s clamped down on licensing and permits, and won accolades from the town’s straight-and-narrow plumbers.

“It helps being from the trade,” said Mr. Jensen, who was introduced to the business in the sixth grade through his dad’s plumbing company.

Today, it is the do-it-your-selfer who is of special note. Too often he’s received the phone call from a homeowner who has completed a plumbing renovation and is requesting an inspection.

“I’m willing to come out and do a consultation with the homeowner before they start the project,” Mr. Jensen said.

MECHANICAL

The boiler room and the classroom require a distinctly different set of tools.

Steve Petrovick can handle both.

Before he started his job as a mechanical inspector for the city 10 years ago, Mr. Petrovick was a substitute teacher and school maintenance worker in Florida.

Today, Mr. Petrovick serves as a mechanical inspector and self-proclaimed “chief” boiler inspector for the city.

“I call myself chief because I’m the only boiler inspector,” Mr. Petrovick joked.

Mr. Petrovick must inspect all HVAC systems to make sure they meet code. He said the worst cases come when he finds an expensive issue at a church or other group that does not have money for big repairs. They ask for an exception, but the code is the code.

“I call it my bible, because without that code book, I don’t really have a leg to stand on,” Mr. Petrovick said.

BUILDING

Roger Mapel and Steve Allen, building inspectors for the city, echo the importance of the code book. Mr. Mapel pulled the 2006 edition off a desk to show its size — thick enough to make the Yellow Pages look like a children’s book.

“The code book doesn’t get any smaller,” Mr. Allen said. “Very rarely do they take anything out.”

Builders often question some of the rules. New code requirements usually come in direct response to some sort of disaster.

“There’s a saying that code is written in blood,” Mr. Mapel said. “A catastrophe had to happen in order to get that code passed.”

The two inspectors said any people think inspectors do little more than stand in the way of business — a perception that frustrates inspectors.

“Ultimately, everything we look for refers to safety and health,” Mr. Mapel said.

ELECTRICAL

Most people think that if the light goes on in their home, everything is flowing right. But things may not be safe.

Tony Zuchowski, St. Joseph’s electrical inspector, knows this. And in a city dotted with older buildings, aged electrical wiring is common. Yet, in nearly 10 years on the job, Mr. Zuchowski has written only two tickets.

“Safety first, code second, in some of these older places,” Mr. Zuchowski said. “In a new place, we want the code first and foremost.”

Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com and Clinton Thomas can be reached at clintonthomas@npgco.com.