Building inspections explained

Inspections are where permits stop being paperwork. The single most expensive mistake on a residential project is covering work before it has been inspected, because the only remedy is to open it back up.

The usual sequence

1. Footing and foundation — after excavation and rebar placement, before any concrete is poured.
2. Under-slab — before a slab covers buried plumbing or electrical.
3. Rough-in: electrical, plumbing, mechanical — installed, tested where applicable, and entirely visible.
4. Framing — after the building is dried in, with rough-in complete, before insulation.
5. Insulation and energy — verifies R-values and air sealing, before drywall.
6. Drywall or lath — hung and fastened, before taping.
7. Final — everything complete, fixtures installed, address posted, site cleared. Releases the certificate of occupancy where one applies.

Your project will need some subset of these, and the office tells you which when the permit is issued. Specialist scopes add their own: pool bonding and barrier, gas line pressure test, fire sprinkler and alarm, health department sign-off for food service.

Booking, and the cutoff nobody mentions

Most offices operate a daily cutoff for next-day inspections, and it is often earlier than people expect — mid-afternoon is common, and some are as early as mid-morning. Requests after it roll to the following business day. Ask what the cutoff is when the permit is issued; it is the easiest scheduling mistake to avoid and one of the most common.

You will usually be given a window rather than an appointment. Someone who can answer questions and provide access should be on site for the whole window.

Being ready

An inspector who arrives to find work incomplete records a failure and, in most jurisdictions, charges a reinspection fee. Before booking, confirm the work is genuinely finished for that stage, the approved plans and the permit card are on site, and access is clear — including to crawl spaces and attics.

When an inspection fails

You receive a correction notice listing what must change. Fix every item on it before requesting reinspection; partial fixes usually fail again and cost another fee. Do not proceed to the next construction stage, and do not cover anything that failed.

If you believe the inspector is wrong, ask for the code section being cited. That is a reasonable request and a good inspector will give it readily. Most disputes resolve at that point; where they do not, jurisdictions have an appeal route to the building official or a board of appeals.

The final inspection is the one people forget

An enormous share of open permits exist because the work finished, everyone moved on, and nobody called for the final. Treat it as a distinct task with a named owner rather than assuming the contractor did it, and get the finaled permit or certificate of occupancy in writing.