AEC definitions
A special inspection is an observation or test the building code requires for specific work, performed by a qualified special inspector rather than only by the city building inspector. Concrete, structural steel, soils, sprayed fireproofing, and some firestopping are typical. The permit set includes a statement of special inspections.
Definition
IBC Chapter 17, as adopted, lists which inspections are continuous and which are periodic. The registered design professional prepares the statement. The owner usually hires the agency, so the inspector is not the contractor's employee. Reports go to the building official. A failed inspection means the work is not accepted, even if it is already covered. Scheduling the inspector is a construction activity. Forgetting it and burying the rebar is a tear-out.
In depth
It lists the inspections, the frequency, and the wind or seismic category that triggered them. The structural notes and the statement should match. A boilerplate list that includes tests the project does not need, or omits ones it does, will be corrected in plan check or in the field.
The contractor's schedule should include hold points for continuous inspections.
The agency reports deviations to the contractor for correction and to the engineer and building official. A contractor who hires and directs the inspector, where the code forbids that, has not provided the inspection.
Qualifications are defined. A general superintendent is not a special inspector because they watched the pour.
Structural concrete placement, reinforcement, high-strength bolts, welds, soils compaction, sprayed fire-resistive materials, and smoke control are common. The list is the project's, not a universal one.
Fabricators with an approved shop program may have different shop-inspection rules. The statement should say so.
The building official may withhold the certificate of occupancy until final special-inspection reports and a completion letter are in.
Track them like submittals. They are easy to forget because they are not a product.
Examples
The statement requires continuous inspection of structural concrete. The pour does not start until the inspector is on site.
A bolt inspection is periodic. The inspector verifies the marked connections on the schedule in the statement.
Final special-inspection reports are submitted before the certificate of occupancy is requested.
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