Are Special Inspections Actually Required? (Residential)

[ampersand]

I ask this question only half joking.

Quite frankly, I am sick of filling out Special Inspection (SI) forms, only to have builders ignore them, or building inspectors try to rewrite them, and so on. I am also sick of having to charge clients many hundreds of dollars to watch someone squirt epoxy in holes. On many small jobs, I try to insist to the plan reviewer that no SI are required, per 1704.2 Exception #1 (work of a "minor nature" does not require SI). But just for fun, consider the following quotes I am taking directly from Chapter 17 of the building code:

1704.2 Exception #3:
"Special inspections and tests are not required for portions of structures designed and constructed in accordance with the cold-formed steel light-frame construction provisions of Section 2211.7 or the conventional light-frame construction provisions of Section 2308."

Section 2308: A bunch of rules about how to build houses prescriptively. Section 2308.1.1 reads:
When portions of a building of otherwise conventional light-frame construction exceed the limits of Section 2308.2, those portions and the supporting load path shall be designed in accordance with accepted engineering practice and the provisions of this code....

So, just because a house is 'engineered' by me, and not 100% prescriptive, it is still fair to say that the building was 'designed and constructed in accordance with... Section 2308." And according to 1704.2 Exception 3, no SI (at all) are therefore required.

I haven't bothered presenting this reasoning to a building official yet, because I would feel bad when they have a heart attack straining themselves to argue that it can't possibly be true, but doesn't this seem pretty clear? Your thoughts?

 

[phamENG]

Not sure about the specifics of California, but here in Virginia we get a set of custom exceptions to 1704.2:

3)Unless otherwise required by the building official, special inspections and tests are not required for occupancies in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5 and occupancies in Group U that are accessory to a residential occupancy including those listed in Section 312.1.

This probably doesn't help you with your specific case, but it does illustrate an important thing that I try to keep in mind - the AHJ (building official) is in charge. Obviously if I think they are doing something unsafe I have a duty to keep the public safe, but if they require something more (like special inspections on a house), then I give it to them.

Of course there might be things I'd fight them on - particularly onerous requirements, a pattern of seemingly unfair treatment, etc. - but generally speaking I'll let them do their thing. If my client doesn't want to pay for the inspections, I'll let them argue with the AHJ about it.

 

[jittles]

Our AHJ here has a similar exemption - they deem that their typical building inspectors can handle looking at some straps, shear wall nailing patterns, etc without the additional SSI expertise, so they waive most residential wood special inspections.

Post-installed anchors... never waived. And I feel that's warranted, IMO. Poor installation can ruin the capacity of those completely.