Special Inspection Requirements for Wood and Masonry: The Dos and Don'ts

SEAOC / S.K. Ghosh Associates Inc.
Joint Web Seminar Series

Wood: Up until the 2006 International Building Code (IBC), the code requirements for special inspection of wood light-framed construction were limited solely to high load diaphragms and fabricated members. Quality assurance of wood light-framed construction outside of this work was limited, and to a degree, undefined. Starting with the 2006 IBC, adopted into the 2007 California Building Code (CBC), special inspection is required for all the elements of the lateral force resisting system in wood framed structures where the fastener spacing in the horizontal diaphragms and/or the vertical shear walls is 4 inches and less. There is, however, no established certification program that can provide a basis for qualification of inspectors for wood framing. This can make it difficult for design professionals, building officials, and testing and inspection agencies to determine how to properly special-inspect wood framed structures. This webinar is intended to help engineers and inspectors interpret the wood special inspection provisions in the IBC and thus assist in the special inspection of the lateral force-resisting systems in wood framed buildings.

Masonry: Masonry testing and inspection requirements have virtually disappeared in 2012 IBC Chapter 17. Instead, Chapter 17 now references the once duplicative testing and inspection requirements contained in the standard Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures (TMS 402/ACI 530/ASCE 5). This presentation will highlight the important aspects of masonry testing and inspection by a brief historical review and address the significance of how much inspection is appropriate, particularly with respect to ‘periodic’ inspection. Communication is another essential element of quality inspection and several issues that are often misinterpreted in the field will be presented with solutions on avoiding the resulting confusion. At the end of the presentation the practicing design professional should be able to better understand what elements of masonry construction require inspection scrutiny and how communication improvements can provide better field quality control.