Hacking the Building Code: Part Seven - Permits, Inspections, and Inspectors
In the wake of the tragic Ghostship fire in Oakland, I got more involved with our local planning and building departments, as well as some local artist spaces and maker associations who were looking for advice. I also have taken many complex and unusual projects from concept to finished construction in many different cities. From this experience, I’ve realized that a guide to interacting with building officials and codes for people looking to do creative things with space was sorely needed. This series of blog posts hopes to be that guide. I’ll be posting these over the next few months with the intent to make a comprehensive guide.
The prior posts in the series are available here:
Hacking the Building Code: Part one - What are building codes and where do I find them?
Hacking the Building Code: Part Two - Building Officials and how to approach them.
Hacking the Building Code: Part Three - Use is the Key Factor
Hacking the Building Code: Part Four - Zoning & Occupancy
Hacking the Building Code: Part Five - Occupant Loads and Construction Type
Hacking the Building Code: Part Six - Applications, Plans, and Variances
Disclaimer
This series is purely for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute professional or legal advice. While this information is provided by Because We Can, and while we endeavor to keep this information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. We do not provide any guarantees or warrant and do not accept any liability on your actions from this information. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk, and we highly recommend you hire a building professional (like us) to review your specific case.
Permits, Inspections, and Inspectors
In this final part of our guide, we’ll be getting into permits, inspections, and working with inspectors while the construction is happening.
Permits
As we talked about in an earlier part, the ‘building permit’ is actually more complex than a single thing. It’s better to think of it as a collection of various agreements, approvals, and documents. Once the “building permit” is issued what actually happens is either the building owner, or a contractor working for that owner, pays for the permit and receives an official set of plans from the building authorities, along with a job card and usually some other paperwork concerning the project, worker’s rights, labor issues, etc. All of this needs to be kept together, for this ‘building package’ is really what the ‘building permit’ is, and it’s what the inspectors will need to reference and make notes on as the project proceeds.
As the project progresses, and construction is completed, specific items on the Job Card get signed off as they are inspected. There is usually a time window as well that construction has to start within one year of the permit being issued, and if you go for longer than a year without an inspection the permit expires, although in some cases you can file for extensions if needed.
Once everything is done, you’ll have final inspections from the various officials, and any last items completed. Once the project is fully complete you’ll get an official notice of such, for a new building that might be a Certificate of Occupancy that lets you move into the building, for a remodeled cafe it could be approval from the Health Department, etc.
These permits and drawings also become public record, and in many cases can be freely reviewed at your local building department or even online. This can be helpful in proving what work was done prior, and when it was done to see how out of compliance with current code it may be.
Inspections & Inspectors
As we’ve said in earlier sections, the construction industry is a ‘low trust environment’. To ensure that things were built both to what the approved plans show and to code, various inspectors are used to check the work. Usually there are things that have to be inspected prior to the next step happening, for that next step will cover up the earlier work. Such as rebar needing to be inspected for proper size, spacing, tie-offs, etc. before you pour the concrete that will encase it.
While you may be familiar with ‘Building Inspectors’ who work for the City and/or County, there’s other sorts of inspectors as well. Some more complex structural elements may require what’s called a ‘special inspector’, a neutral third party engineer that’s hired to review the work independently and confirm it was done correctly. There can be specific inspectors that just review part of the project, such as inspectors that work for the local utility company, special lab tests for concrete or weld strength, health inspectors for restaurants, or the Fire Marshall. There are even private inspectors on larger, more complex projects that are hired by the owner to review the work and approve it prior to the contractors getting fully paid for that portion of the work (sometimes called ‘funds control’).
All of these inspectors will typically ‘sign off’ on the ‘job card’ when they approve something or will produce a report that will be included in the project’s records. Like we talked about in the last part, the building permit usually takes the form of something called the Job Card, a sort of special checklist that’s kept on the construction site along with the set of plans. As work is completed, inspections are scheduled, and the inspectors will sign their part of that checklist if the work is approved. Sometimes they will make notes on the Job Card as well, stating that they are conditionally approving something (as in ‘they have to fix this one minor thing, and once they do, then this part will be 100% done).
Scheduling inspections can be a tricky thing, most inspectors can only be contacted early in the morning on specific days they are available, and their schedules fill up very quickly. It’s best to call the very moment they are available, but typically if you do you can get them scheduled to come out within a few days, maybe a week. An experienced contractor will be a huge help here, for they will know how long it typically takes to get an inspector onsite, and might even have a relationship with the inspectors from prior projects, so you can call ahead of the work being 100% complete so as to not have to wait too long between when the work is completed and inspected. This becomes really important when you’ve got parts of the work that are dependent on other parts, such as the earlier example with rebar and concrete.
Like with most building officials, if you are friendly, competent, and not trying to get away with anything or acting in bad faith, they will work with you to help get the project done. If you’re a jerk, they will be, and if you’re not doing things somewhat right they might make you tear out and redo work, or open up work so they can see inside. And if you’re trying to get away with something, or acting in bad faith, then you’re just making their lives miserable, and so they will do the same to you most likely.
So when you have the inspector come out, have things be clear, well organized, cleaned up, and ready for them. Don’t waste their time, and be open and honest, and you’ll find them soon helpful and easier to work with. Honestly, the biggest problem you may run into (if you don’t cause them yourself by not doing the above) is when the inspector disagrees with how the approved plans show something getting done, or disagree with how your contractors or subcontractors want to do something and want it done another way. When this happens, you can go to the city and try to fight if you really want to, but we’ve found most of the time to have been able to find a common ground with the inspector to get the project done.
Also again the inspector is looking at two things; the first is if the work is to code, and the second is if the work matches what the approved plans show as happening. So if you’ve made big design changes, get those into your plans, and get them re-submitted ASAP so that the inspector is looking at both the work and the drawings and having them match.
Conclusion
As we wrap up this guide to the building code, we’re just humbled and honored at the response we’ve been getting online so far. It’s been incredible! And we hope that this series has been helpful and informative. If you have any questions or corrections please reach out, I’m more than happy to talk further about all of this.
I’d like to thank all of our wonderful clients and employees that make BWC possible, and our various shop cats for the photos I used in this series.
And if you need help with your project, we’d love to hear from you. We love helping people turn their buildings into productive and wonderful spaces to be in!