NORTH ATTLEBORO - When he received a call from the building inspector's office to schedule an inspection of an addition to his house, Selectman John Rhyno was a little surprised.

"I watched the Patriots win the Super Bowl in that room," Rhyno said. "In 2001."

But the call was not a mistake.

Rhyno is among many residents to receive phone calls to line up final inspections for old home projects as the building department cleans up a backlog of old permits in its computer system.

Building Inspector Al Spaulding said his staff recently participated in a workshop to update its computer skills. At that time, a host of files on old building permits - many just missing the final inspection required to close out the report - were clogging up the system. Goes back a long way

Many of the permits date before Spaulding started working as the town's building inspector.

"We have a permit tracking system and these open permits are taking up a lot of space on the computer. So, what we're doing is trying to close them out," Spaulding said.

In an effort to close out those cases, inspectors have been making calls and paying visits, occasionally finding people shocked to learn any work was done since they bought their homes long after the permits were issued.

In the past, the town waited for contractors to call and request a final inspection of work.

"It's very common in this industry for contractors not to call for a final inspection. They call for a rough inspection, finish the job and get paid and then go on to the next job," Spaulding said.

Spaulding said a new system has been implemented to trigger a final inspection even if a call from a contractor is not forthcoming.