I booked what is known as the pre board inspection today, this is perhaps the most significant of the City inspections needed to construct a new house. While there are a few preliminary inspections for underground work, sewers, etc, the pre board inspection is the 'big one' in terms of the amount of work to be reviewed all at once.
Here is a list of what is inspected at the pre board phase:
- Electrical - all wiring in the house is exposed and can be examined easily by the inspector
- Plumbing - drainage, venting, water lines and other elements are looked at
- Gas - a pressure test is shown to the inspector to show the connections are not leaking
- Fireplace - the install and mainly the venting of the fireplace is inspected
- Mechanical - the furnace, ductwork and return air installation is reviewed
- Building - the structure, engineered work, soil bearing report and sulphate test, radon gas penetrations, fire barrier and many other minor items can be reviewed here
This multitude of inspections can be helpful to identify any of the countless mistakes or omissions the builder can encounter during the construction process. Each year a few changes are encountered and the interpretation of these new rules can be a puzzle to deal with. A recent example is the introduction of radon gas leak prevention, we had some issues here to be dealt with before we can start the drywall. Another change was to the electrical install for in floor heating has to be done differently than last year.
The good news is the semi-d project received all of its permission to proceed. This is a relief to me since I had already booked spray foam installation for this week (Wednesday), giving me just one day to react and correct any failures.
Since the pre-board inspection is such a large milestone, it is a good time to review how long it took to get to this level of completion since framing started (Dec. 20 - March 6). This 77 day period is a reasonable pace given we have had a nasty winter and we started just prior to the holiday period. Backing out weekends and holidays and serious cold snaps our 77 day period is reduced to more like 47 work days. This is a good pace to frame, plumb, wire, pipe gas, shingle, install windows and doors and stairs, furnaces and ductwork on two houses. If we were a little luckier with the weather we'd have more exterior work done and likely be insulated and starting drywall right now. Based on my earlier schedule we are about two weeks behind. Lets hope the next interior phase is more controllable, we get the heat on, and finishing work can really get going.
