Any inspector that does phase inspections should be aware the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) encourages contractors to incorporate their Residential Construction Performance Guidelines into their contracts by reference. This means most potential clients do not understand or have read the guidelines. These were written for contractors by contractors. Take the time to read the Residential Construction Performance Guidelines and educate yourself and your clients.
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Hello Randy,
I recently took the Pre-Drywall Inspections class at the InterNACHI House of Horrors in Boulder.
Between the instructor and one of the attendees, it was implied that many new home builders are following the NAHB Residential Construction Performance Guidelines.
However, after I returned home and started asking local builders in southwest Colorado if they follow those NAHB Guidelines, it appears that very few of them do.
Anecdotally, none of the local builders who I talked to knew what the NAHB was, or why they were relevant.
At the same time, there only appears to be three builders in my county that are members of the NAHB.
Is an inspection that follows NAHB Residential Construction Performance Guidelines something that’s done only for new high-end luxury homes?
If builders in my area are only bound by standards established by the International Code Council and the NEC, then wouldn’t it be more financially lucrative as an inspector to become certified by the ICC and then incorporate those standards into inspections via an Inspection Agreement and software template?
I still want to do pre-drywall inspections, but wouldn’t the use of ICC standards be more relevant during those kinds of inspections?
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Adam… what is the Code situation in your County?
In Minnesota, particularly Rural Minnesota, many Counties do not even have Building Code Enforcement, as many of these Counties don’t have a City/Town large enough to have a Government Building Department (AHJ). That being said, Minnesota does require certain requirements in towns with over 3,500 population (may have changed recently as I can’t locate that number on their website anymore). Regardless, Electric Service to the Panel, Private Waste (Septic) and Private Potable Water (Well), are always governed by the State and State (Certified) Inspectors!
Both the county and the city have their own municipal inspectors who are supposed to be enforcing IRC, IBC etcetera codes for new construction and remodels.
The county inspectors are severely understaffed, hasty and complacent. They miss code violations due to their haste and lack of education.
In the county, they’ve adopted the 2015 ICC codes.
In the City, they’ve adopted the 2024 codes and I-Code Amendments. The city inspectors seem to be more thorough.
The NEC also applies to both city and county residential.
I have no interest in doing septic or water well inspections.
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Neither do I.
I only mentioned this, as even though “technically” the State requires following Building Codes statewide, there are tons of exceptions. There are something like 87 Counties in Minnesota, but as of about 2022, there are only roughly 21 counties that abide by Minnesota’s requirements for Building Codes, with the exception of Electric, Water, Septic… which are ALL required with NO exceptions.
Note: Water and Septic are mandated due to “Groundwater Pollution Control” regulations.
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The city where I live is now requiring builders to follow the 2024 I Codes.
I can’t find the 2024 ICC codes online–only the 2024 I-Code Amendments. 
Adam, the intent of my post is specifically for inspectors offering phase inspections. Your hands may be tied due to homeowner’s ignorance combined with a smart contractor. I would not accept phase inspection work unless the potential homeowner contacted me BEFORE they sign the builder’s contract and they purchased a set of stamped architectural plans. Smart contractors provide contracts that basically guarantee they get paid to build a house. Quality of materials and workmanship is not part of their contract. Some contractor’s contracts prohibit third party inspections during construction and some prevent the homeowner from being onsite during construction. In my area 99% of the time I had to inform the homeowner without a proper contract and plans there was nothing I could do to help them and just wished them good luck.
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Use your own state! Many areas do not use the most current code.
The fact that they don’t list the 2024 IRC merely means that they haven’t adopted it yet. The Colorado .gov site says they have no statewide building code. If you want to hold a builders feet to the fire you need to know the exact building code adopted for that municipality. The 2021 IRC will get you in the game, but unless you know the exact adopted code there is not much you can say about codes.
The code approach in the report tends to be a loser anyway as the AHJ is the final authority. Best wording is simply, “not common building practice,” not modern safety standards," etc.
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And you won’t …because they make you buy the current code. All that code work costs money. It ain’t a charity. You can save some money with things like Code Check, but that is a fraction of the book and a year late. I suck it up and buy the new books when they come out.
But in Colorado, our AHJs are famous, if not notorious for making up their own codes, so even if you pony up the money for the current IRC, ask your local inspectors what their interpretations and enforcement are.
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They are there, the full 2024 Code set unless you are looking for a State version if your State has their own version/amendments.
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Actually, I read @escanlan ‘s comment, searched for the 2024 I-Codes on Google, and they were there. At least, the 2024 IRC and IBC were publicly accessible online. No fee. It’s unclear to me why the 2024 I-Codes didn’t appear with the rest of the I-Codes on the the page with Colorado on the page name: https://codes.iccsafe.org/codes/united-states/colorado
Thank you, @sfetty and @escanlan . All it took was a different search using Google.
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Yeah, good deal.
I posted the 2024 link even before Manny. Guess he missed it, strange because he liked the post.