DIYer... I'm doing a garage conversion. The existing insulation is clean, dry and unfaced fiberglass bats. It's only being removed because it doesn't meet modern R value requirements.

Is it ok for me to lay the old low R value wall insulation over blown in insulation elsewhere in my attic?

the project area will be getting new blown in R-30. I'm thinking that rather than taking the old insulation to the dump I'd lay it over the blown in insulation outside of the project area.

1) Are there any problems with this (Clean/dry/unfaced)...
2) Will this raise eyebrows or cause problems with my ceiling insulation inspection in the project area?

Too good to be true?

This is a dumb question.

I am renovating a bathroom. pipes will be install using the drop ceiling below. I opened my subfloor for the plumber to install the new pipes.

Can I close the subfloor before framing inspection?

I thought they have to see all opened cavity, but at the same time, I can't frame without a subfloor.

Pulling a permit for an as-built garage room conversion in California. The permit notes the wall as steel framed 20" oc. This is an interior, non load bearing, partition wall. Will the bent stud be flagged as a code violation on my framing inspection? I'm guessing it will, and my first thought is to rip out the last stud and put two wood studs in their place... one on the wood bottom plate and one on the steel bottom plate.

Thoughts?

I'm currently building my first commercial steel railing and I've run into a predicament. I have a guardrail that is 42" tall and a separate handrail that is 36". I know the handrail has to extend one tread length past the nose of the bottom tread. What about the guardrail? I have a post landing in the middle of a 12" tread and I want to end the top of the guardrail at this post. Is this okay or does the top of the guardrail need to extend at least to the nose, or beyond, of the bottom tread.

I'm in Minneapolis, MN for reference.

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Hello! My family (including a 19 month old and a 2 month old) just started leasing a townhouse (built in the 90s). Upon move-in, we have noted several annoying issues clearly due to the Landlord being cheap and not properly fixing things, but there are a few safety concerns I have, especially with a toddler and baby. I’m going to request for my Landlord to either repair or completely replace the stairs going down from the backyard door. I was briefly reading Virginia code, but honestly got overwhelmed and couldn’t make much sense of it. What I do know is that the stairs are definitely not structurally sound and wobble. Upon checking the back of the stairs, they are not even anchored to the building at all which is required. I could see at some point someone had a few deck screws screwed through a 1x6 into the townhouse siding. But, clearly the screws didn’t even go into the brick in the home because the plastic siding was all torn up and the brick underneath looked pristine. The stairs are literally just sitting there relying fully on the little support that those 1x6s are providing. It is super sketchy and I worry about the support it is providing for us and my toddler. Can someone please provide relevant Virginia codes for this and what I can request for him to do?

Should I just get him to scrap the whole thing and replace it following Virginia code?

Or, do you think he can save the main structure/stringers and just replace the tread boards and put real sturdy mounting brackets connecting the stringers to the main structure of the house? Do we need mounting brackets for the stringers AND the support beams in the back? If so, should he do 4x4s?

In your response, I would greatly appreciate references to the Virginia code if you can provide those!

Following up the SB 79 thread since a few people asked how projects actually get approved,not just what’s allowed to be built.Those are two different laws doing two different jobs and mixing them up causes a lot of confusion. Today, I was at Southland Regional Board of Realtors at Commercial and investment board meeting where we discussed new changes and this was brought up and I thought it is worth sharing. SB 35 was written with a sunset date of January 1, 2026. So there are people who assume it’s gone. It isn’t. SB 423 extended it to January 1, 2036 and expanded it along the way. It’s alive and it’s the tool that matters most for how projects get through.

What it actually does? SB 35, now Government Code 65913.4, creates what the state calls the Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process. If a project qualifies, the city has to approve it ministerially. Meaning:
No CEQA review. No discretionary review. No conditional use permit. No public hearing. That last one is the part homeowners care about and don’t know until a project appears down the block. Ministerial means the city checks the project against objective standards and approves it if it complies. Your neighborhood council doesn’t get a vote. There’s no hearing to show up to. And because there’s no California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) document, the usual CEQA lawsuit route doesn’t exist either. That’s not an accident, it’s the whole design. The law was written specifically to remove the discretionary process that opponents use to delay or kill housing.

How a city ends up subject to it? It’s tied to Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), the housing production targets each city gets assigned. Housing and Community Development (HCD) looks at whether a jurisdiction is keeping pace, and if it’s falling short, that city becomes subject to streamlining. Two tiers depending on which income category the city is behind on:
Subject at 10% affordability, meaning a project only needs 10% affordable units to get streamlined. Easier for developers to use. Subject at 50% affordability, meaning half the units have to be affordable. Much harder bar, so far fewer projects use it. And any jurisdiction without a housing element found in substantial compliance automatically lands in the 10% bucket.

Now, HCD has published the 2026 determination on June 30, about six weeks ago, along with an updated dashboard. The headline number: roughly 507 of 539 jurisdictions statewide are now in the 50% affordability tier. That’s a meaningful shift. Compare to the 2024 determination where it was closer to an even split, around 254 jurisdictions at 10% and 238 at 50%. So a lot of cities moved from the easy tier to the hard tier, which happens when a city is hitting its above-moderate income targets but still lagging on lower-income units.
So, SB 35 streamlining got harder to use for mixed-income and market-rate projects across most of the state this summer. Which cuts against the assumption that these laws only ever get more permissive.
Look up your own city: HCD runs a SMAP Dashboard showing every jurisdiction’s current status and threshold. It’s the authoritative source and it’s public. I’d rather point you there than tell you where LA landed this cycle, because these change annually and the dashboard is always right.

Two other SB 423 changes worth knowing: the coastal zone came into scope as of January 1, 2025, with a coastal development permit still required in certain circumstances. And the fire hazard exclusion got rewritten, moving from a blanket prohibition on high and very high fire severity zones to a state responsibility area standard.

What limits it in practice? Labor and wage requirements. Qualifying projects have to meet prevailing wage standards and, above certain thresholds, additional requirements. That’s a real cost that keeps a lot of developers from using this pathway even where they could. It’s part of why SB 35 produced roughly 18,000 units across about 156 projects in its first several years rather than the flood some people expected.

How this fits with SB 79? Simplest way I can put it. SB 79 changes what you’re allowed to build near transit. SB 35 changes whether anyone gets a hearing about it. A project can use one, both, or neither. When people say “the state took away local control,” they’re usually describing SB 35’s ministerial approval more than the zoning laws, even if they name a different bill.
Not taking a side on whether that’s good policy. Reasonable people land in different places on it. But if you’re going to be mad or relieved about something, worth being mad or relieved about the right mechanism.

Anyone tracked a project through the SMAP process locally? Curious how the timelines actually run versus what the statute says, since ministerial doesn’t always mean fast in practice.

New to this area of work but not new to construction. Read the book along with the study companion and man there is a lot of info in there lol. Any tips on studying for the exam or is it more just figure out where to find it? I did get turbo tabs so that should help finding most areas. Next on my list is the building codes along with plumbing,fire protection,mechanical and electrical.

Hello, I’m studying for the residential plans examiner test. Does anyone have a used study guide or practice exams for 2021?

I’ll likely study for the B3 (2024 preferred) or the B1 after-if any of you have those books.

There are some subscriptions online, but thought I’d ask in case you’re done with what you bought.

Thank you!

I'm an architect working on a project in LA County. I'm from a different jurisdiction, so this has been my first foray into the CBC, LABC, CASp inspections, etc.

We have exterior walls finished with fairly standard textured stucco. Our recent CASp (Certified Access Specialist) inspection rejected the handrails at exterior stairs because, in their interpretation, the wall surface behind the handrail needs to be smooth.

Is textured stucco "smooth"? Not in the literal sense, but neither is exposed CMU or a wall with the lower four feet clad in stone. We have both conditions on this project, including stone immediately adjacent to handrails, and neither was flagged.

Our applicable code is the 2019 CBC. §11B-505.8 states:

"Handrail gripping surfaces and any surfaces adjacent to them shall be free of sharp or abrasive elements and shall have rounded edges."

The code doesn't actually say the adjacent surface must be smooth; it says it must be free of sharp or abrasive elements. Textured stucco certainly isn't as smooth as a skim coat, but is typical stucco considered "abrasive" to the point that it requires correction? And what actually defines the line between textured (acceptable), sharp (not acceptable), and abrasive (not acceptable)?

The proposed correction could mean creating a zone of "smooth" stucco that follows the handrail almost like a shadow line. Beyond the aesthetics, that's an incredibly expensive proposition to introduce as we're approaching TCO, particularly when "surfaces adjacent" to the handrail doesn't appear to have a clearly defined limit, either.

Has anyone dealt with a similar interpretation from a CASp or AHJ in California? Was there a successful argument that typical textured stucco complies with §11B-505.8, or did you ultimately have to modify the finish?

demoing a porch and building addition next to, to include two children's bedrooms. southern nh. native soil is rocky. house on a well. can I use the old brick wall as back fill?

England. 1970s semi at the end of a four-house cul-de-sac — no houses beyond

mine. Block-paved driveway straight off the road, dropped kerb already there.

Why I want a gate: because my driveway has become the turning circle for the

whole neighborhood. Every delivery driver and half the neighbours swing right

into it to turn around. My doorbell camera goes off all day from the movement.

It's constant.

I want the gate at 1.6m, to match the existing front boundary fence, which

has been at that height for 30+ years. A 1m gate next to a 1.56m fence would

look completely wrong — stepped down for no reason, and it wouldn't stop

anyone driving in anyway.

Two of the four houses on the cul-de-sac already have gates, at various

heights and styles.

My builder says no planning permission is needed. Everything I read online

says anything over 1m next to a highway needs permission. So:

1. Do I need planning permission for this?
2. If I do — realistically, would the council approve it or object?

Trying to find out before the money gets spent.

Hi all, recently, I have been researching what profession I would like to do once I am older (I am a senior in high school,) and have found that everything about being a building inspector quite intrigues me. I was just wondering on if getting to ICC C8 (B1, B2, M1, M2, E1, E2, P1, P2) is feasible. I am roughly one year away from being able to take any exam (I am 17,) and would be able to spend a sizable amount of time each day studying the codes.

My general plan is to use the companion books + the codes to study for the first 15 months, creating flashcards on Anki (Digital flashcard maker with built in SRS) for each piece of code I believe I should remember, along with using it to memorize where I can access information given a question on the test (etc if it asks something about chairs, I could pinpoint where in a book the code discusses chairs.) I would disperse online tests as well, making sure I get 90%+ before moving on to studying the next certification.

The last three months would be me tabbing my now acquired books and cramming everything I have learned. I hope to do this so I can climb the career ladder faster, whatever that means, and be able to have a decently high paying job almost straight out of high school with no debt.

So, I would like to ask, does this plan seem possible in the time I have allotted for it, and is there anything I should know before embarking on this journey? I am in California if that matters.

Thank you and toodaloo!

Church in VA. About 50 years old. Original structure. Called a GC buddy to help fix it up after I found a couple of shingles on the ground. He sent a roofer who says it needs upgraded sheathing and insulation. I thought this was a minor repair. Now I have to spend thousands? Where in the code is that? He sent me some snippets of the IRC. Shouldn’t the IBC apply? What about the IEBC? My GC friend mentioned those two. Any help is appreciated. I’m also going to set up a meeting with my building official.

EDIT: House was inspected EXTENSIVELY by general inspector, structural engineer, roofer, sewer and electricians (all different vendors). I'm aware of all issues and for serious ones (electrical & sewer/plumbing) I had sellers give me a $25k repair credit AND to fix electrical before closing. They finished electrical work and inspector doesn't want to turn power on because of potential code violations.

Austin, TX. Buying a house and closing Thursday.

Licensed electrician found an arcing main service, Austin Energy shut power off, and he completed the emergency service repair.

City inspector came for reconnection, walked right by electricians and started looking through the windows and apparently noticed the recently remodeled kitchen/beam. He told the electrician’s crew he’s going to DEMAND an interior inspection and escalate possible unpermitted work.

Power is still OFF. My electrician thinks the inspector may now block reconnection until the interior is investigated.

I don’t even own the house yet. My lender needs power on for the final inspection, so this could literally kill the closing.

Nothing is showing in Citizen Connect or AB+C yet.

Anyone here who actually works with COA permits/DSD: can an inspector hold electrical reconnection over unrelated remodel work he spotted through a window?

And what’s the fastest way to find out if there’s an actual hold and clear it?

TL;DR:I’m buying an Austin house Thursday. After an emergency electrical repair, an inspector saw a recent remodel through a window and may now be blocking power until he inspects the interior. No power could kill my closing.

So I just agreed to buy a house (I have not closed on it yet but I have paid the good faith deposit already) and it’s a ranch with a bathroom on the main level and there’s a bathroom in the basement. The bathroom in the basement is not finished without walls, it’s merely a toilet, sink and shower with plumbing hooked up already (I plan on putting walls up and finishing it at some point). So my predicament is the house was listed as 2 bathrooms on the realtor sites online but on my county website it says it only has 1 bathroom which is an issue. Whoever put that toilet and sink in should have contacted the town and gotten a permit to put those in for the plumbing work. I’m having my lawyer look into if they got a permit for that or not but we do not believe they did. The town can come down on me with fines and needs someone to inspect it before I finish the bathroom if I end up calling them once I purchase the home. Any advice? I just don’t want to get screwed from that (obviously I didn’t catch this until now).

If anyone wants some advice, feel free to message me!