What Inspectors Check at Residential Inspections, by Trade

Every trade inspection checks against a specific code section, not a general impression of quality. This guide walks through the standard residential inspection sequence and exactly what inspectors look for at each trade’s rough-in and final, based on official inspection pages from Houston, Texas; Austin, Texas; Fairfax County, Virginia; and Chandler, Arizona, plus PermitNotebook’s own verified, code-cited inspection data for each permit type.

What is the standard inspection sequence?

Most residential jobs move through the same rough shape: an early structural check, one or more rough-in checks for the trades, a framing check, and a final. Houston’s Permitting Center lays out its structural sequence in one line per stage: “Foundation inspection - to ensure the structural integrity of the foundation… Wind storm inspection - to verify the use of wind straps. Frame inspection - to ensure the structural integrity of the frame. Energy inspection - windows, insulation. Final inspection - to ensure full compliance with the building code.” Houston also requires a legal-form survey on site at the first structural inspection for new construction and additions, a requirement its permitting page calls out as effective immediately.

Austin’s flowchart breaks the same shape into four numbered stages tied to specific inspection codes. First, initial inspections, including a layout inspection for which “approved plans required onsite.” Second, pre-foundation inspections covering electrical grounding, slab work, and plumbing rough and pre-pour; “the City of Austin does not conduct a physical foundation inspection,” so a Texas-licensed engineer inspects the foundation directly and their sealed assessment is submitted instead. Third, framing-stage inspections: electrical rough must pass, or clear with only minimal violations, before the frame group inspection can be scheduled; only then do framing, plumbing top-out, and mechanical rough follow, since those three “make up the frame group inspection and must be scheduled together on the same day for most projects,” followed by insulation and wallboard checks. Fourth, a final round: electrical final first, then a final group covering energy, mechanical, plumbing, wallboard, and building.

That backbone matches PermitNotebook’s own verified inspection data: a foundation or footing check before it is covered, rough-in checks before covering, a framing check gated on those rough-ins, and a final. The same pattern shows up in PermitNotebook’s deck, plumbing, electrical, and bathroom remodel data alike (see Sources for citations).

What does the framing inspector check?

Austin’s Building Framing Inspection Checklist itemizes dozens of code-cited points. Among them: house numbers “plainly visible, minimum 4 inches high, of contrasting color, and legible from the street” (IRC R319.1), exterior windows and penetrations “sealed” (IRC R703.1), guards that “do not allow passage of a 4-inch sphere” (IRC R312.1.3), handrails required on any stair with 4 or more risers (IRC R311.7.8), and smoke alarms that are “hard-wired, with battery back-up” in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area, each one individually tested (IRC R314.3, R314.4, R314.6).

The same category of check shows up on a residential deck’s framing inspection in PermitNotebook’s verified data: before the decking boards go down, the inspector checks the ledger’s attachment and flashing, the fastener and bolt schedule, joist hangers and metal connectors, the post-to-beam and post-to-footing connections, and the required lateral load connection.

What does the electrical rough-in inspector check?

Austin’s Electrical Rough Inspection Checklist calls for enclosures “secured to structural framing using listed means” (NEC 314.23(B)), switched lighting outlets “for all habitable rooms” (NEC 210.70(A)(1)), IC-rated recessed luminaires in insulated areas (NEC 410.116(A)), at least two small-appliance branch circuits for receptacles (NEC 210.52(B)), and receptacles kept “outside of the bathtub or shower space” (NEC 406.9(C)).

PermitNotebook’s own verified electrical inspection data lines up with the same priorities: ground-fault protection at bathroom, kitchen, garage, basement, crawl space, and outdoor receptacles; arc-fault protection on circuits serving bedrooms and other habitable rooms; a legible circuit directory at the panel rather than a vague label; and a service disconnect in a readily accessible location. None of it can be signed off until the rough-in is complete, since the framing inspection cannot proceed until the electrical rough-in is approved.

What does the plumbing rough-in inspector check?

Austin’s Plumbing Rough Inspection Checklist requires that no pipe be “embedded directly in concrete,” with any pipe passing through a concrete wall or floor protected from breakage (UPC 312.1, 312.2), and that drain, waste, and vent piping pass “a 5-foot head for 15 minutes” water test or a 3 psi air test for 15 minutes on a diaphragm gauge (UPC-LA712.1).

That matches PermitNotebook’s own verified plumbing data: piping placed under a slab has to be inspected before concrete is poured over it, rough drain-waste-vent piping is tested with water, air, or, for plastic piping, a vacuum test before it is closed in, and the water-distribution piping is pressure tested before it is concealed.

What does the mechanical rough-in inspector check?

Austin’s Mechanical Rough Inspection Checklist covers appliance access, such as a minimum 22 by 30 inch attic access opening with 30 inches of head height for service and repair (IRC M1305), duct insulation levels of at least R-8 outside the thermal envelope or R-6 within it (IRC R403.3), and dryer ducts built of metal at least 0.0157 inches (28 gauge) thick with a minimum 4 inch diameter (IRC M1502).

PermitNotebook’s verified HVAC data adds the checks that happen at final rather than rough-in: adequate combustion air clearances, and a condensate line that drains to an approved point of disposal with the required slope. A straight equipment changeout with no new ductwork commonly skips the rough-in step and gets a single final inspection instead.

What about decks, roofs, water heaters, and bathroom remodels?

Not every project follows the pattern above. A few examples from PermitNotebook’s own verified inspection data:

• Decks get a footing or pier check before concrete is placed, a framing check before the decking boards go down, and a final that covers guard height, opening limits, stair riser and tread dimensions, and handrails.
• Roof replacements get a deck-and-nailing check when the sheathing is exposed or replaced, a check of any disturbed or replaced flashings, and a final on the completed covering and its fasteners.
• Water heater swaps usually get one inspection, a final, since the work is exposed rather than buried behind new framing. That single visit checks the relief valve and its discharge pipe, a thermal expansion device where the system is closed, combustion air and an approved vent connection on gas units, and, where site conditions call for them, a drain pan and seismic strapping.
• Bathroom remodels get their plumbing, mechanical, and electrical rough-in inspected and approved before the walls close up, and work cannot proceed past the point covered by the last approved inspection without the building official’s sign-off, followed by a final that covers everything required by the permit, including GFCI protection.

How do you prepare for an inspection?

The prep advice is strikingly consistent across every locality checked here. Austin’s checklists open with a version of the same instruction: the contractor or responsible party has reviewed the checklist to confirm the work is ready, the job address is posted and visible, and required documents, such as a termite treatment letter or duct and envelope leakage reports, are on site or uploaded to the permit. Austin’s building-inspections page adds that current city-approved plans need to be accessible to inspection staff, the site needs to be reachable, with special access information given directly to the assigned inspector, and someone familiar with the project should be available when the inspector arrives.

Fairfax County’s building and trade inspections page lists similar basics: “Ladders, scaffolds and other equipment necessary to access construction must be provided to the inspector,” and the approved plans and shop drawings need to be on site. Fairfax also runs some inspections virtually, and warns you to be ready to use your phone’s camera to show the inspector the work and verify the property address on camera.

PermitNotebook also publishes measured first-time pass rates by locality and inspection type, if you want to see how often that preparation is enough on its own.

What should you do next?

How much detail a locality publishes varies widely. Austin posts itemized, code-cited checklists for each trade; Chandler, by contrast, only posts a numeric list of inspection codes with no public description of what each one covers. Check your own locality’s PermitNotebook page for what is actually published where you are building, and if you are not sure what your project needs in the first place, run it through Project Check for a free, cited breakdown.