Final Inspection Checklist Residential Construction
The inspector pulled up his iPad before stepping onto my lot last week and asked why I hadn’t tagged the deck ledger connections with a permanent marker yet. He wasn’t being difficult — he was just following 2021 IRC R507.1.3 which requires all structural fasteners to be “visible or permanently marked” for final verification. That little detail cost me three days of rework on that job, and it’s why I’m putting together this checklist before the next project hits completion.
This is where most contractors get caught off guard. A checklist that works in Minnesota won’t necessarily apply in Miami without modifications:
California: Title 24 Part 6 has extensive energy code requirements beyond IRC. The California Energy Commission updates these annually, and inspectors verify compliance with specific insulation values and HVAC efficiency ratings that exceed national standards. Local jurisdictions like Los Angeles add additional seismic retrofit documentation for older structures being modified.
Florida: The Florida Building Code incorporates significant wind load provisions from ASCE 7-16. Section F403 requires hurricane impact-resistant windows in coastal zones, with documentation requirements that include manufacturer certification numbers on every opening. Inspectors will reject projects missing these specific certifications even if the installation appears correct.
Texas: The Texas Building Code (TBC) incorporates IRC but adds unique provisions for wildfire zones and high-velocity hurricane zones. Section R905 requires additional structural bracing documentation in VHZ areas that isn’t present in standard IRC requirements. Local amendments vary by county, making universal checklists unreliable without local verification.
New York: The NYC Building Code has extensive energy efficiency requirements through the Local Law 84 program. Inspectors verify both code compliance and program-specific documentation for any efficiency upgrades. Section R103 requires specific energy modeling reports for larger residential projects that exceed certain square footage thresholds.
