Inspections for New Commercial Building Construction

What type of inspections should I request?

**Commercial building construction inspection requirements:**
INSPECTION TYPE	When performed	Permit Required	Performed by
Footing	After installation of reinforcement and before placement of concrete	Building Permit In some cases, foundation permit is required	Building Inspector
Slab if applicable	After approval of all subtrade ground work and after installation of reinforcement, vapor barrier and perimeter insulation (if required) and prior to placement of concrete.	Building Permit	Building Inspector
Plumbing Slab if applicable	After installation of below-slab plumbing piping and prior to covering with slab base material	Plumbing Permit for slab only	Plumbing Inspector
Electrical Groundwork Slab, if applicable	After installation of conduit and conductors in trenches or in slab base material and prior to backfilling trench or covering with slab base material	Electrical Permit for slab only	Electrical Inspector
Electrical Rough-In Wall	Prior to concealment	Electrical Permit	Electrical Inspector
Electrical Rough-In Ceiling	Prior to installation of ceiling tiles	Electrical Permit	Electrical Inspector
Plumbing Rough-In drain, waste, vent and water distribution piping	Prior to concealment	Plumbing Permit	Plumbing Inspector
Water Line	Prior to backfilling trench, inspect the water line from the building to the meter location	Plumbing Permit	Plumbing Inspector
Sewer Line	Prior to backfilling trench, inspect the sewer line from the building to the sewer lateral.	Plumbing Permit	Plumbing Inspector
Gas Pressure Test	Inspections are included as follows: Gas pipe groundwork, gas product line for installations utilizing propane. Prior to concealment	Gas Permit	Mechanical Inspector
Mechanical Rough-In	After installation of air handling duct, before placement of duct, dishwasher hood, spray paint booth and duct, walk-in cooler/freezer, and prior to concealment.	Mechanical Permit	Mechanical Inspector
Framing	The following inspections may be performed at the same time of framing inspections; after approval of all subtrade rough-ins and prior to concealing walls (hanging drywall) Above ceiling: after installation of ceiling grid and prior to installing dropped ceiling panels. Spray-on/Fireproofing: after installation of ceiling grid and all above ceiling equipment and prior to installation of dropped ceiling panels. Draftstopping: after installation of required draftstopping material. Firestopping: after installation of required firestopping material and prior to concealment.	Building Permit	Building Inspector
Insulation	After approval of all trade rough-in and framing inspections you may install insulation and call for inspection.	Building Permit	Building Inspector
Propane Tank	Need Fire Prevention approval prior to obtaining Fire Permit	Fire Permit	Fire Prevention Inspector
Storm Drains	Storm Drains	Permit not required	Engineering letter (see procedure for on-site inspections must be submitted prior to obtaining a certificate of occupancy
Backflow Device	After installation of backflow prevention devices	Plumbing Permit for backflow device	3rd party testing and inspections required
Plumbing Final	After completion of all piping and installation of all plumbing fixtures, equipment and appliances and before final building inspection.	Plumbing Permit	Plumbing Inspector
Electrical Final	After complete installation of electrical system and prior to the final building inspection		Electrical Inspector
Elevator (if applicable)		Mechanical Permit for elevator	Elevator Inspector
Mechanical Final	After complete installation of all mechanical equipment and before the final building inspection.		Mechanical Inspector
Fire Inspection	Upon installation of the fire protection or hazardous materials system (See Fire Permit for list of systems) (note: pre-final hydro/air test & visual inspection required prior to covering aboveground or underground sprinkler piping & underground hazmat piping & tanks) Also Fire Inspection required for most buildings for issuance of Certificate of Occupancy	Fire Permit (See Permit Application for Systems that require a permit prior to installation) Submit 3 sets of plans with Fire Permit application to Fire Prevention for review & approval. Pick up approved package from Fire Prevention when notified & pay for and obtain permit from Development & Permits	Fire Prevention Inspector from Fire Department. To request an inspection, please call the City's Customer Contact Center at 757-382-2489; a Fire Inspector will contact you to schedule an appointment for inspection
Landscape	Must submit the landscape plan to the Environmental Coordinator for approval prior to requesting a building final inspection.		Building Inspector or Environmental Coordinator
Asbuilts	Must submit an asbuilt site plan to the Department of Development & Permits, Development Construction, prior to issuance of certificate of occupancy.		Department of Development & Permits, Development Construction (757) 382-6304
Flood Certification	Must submit a flood certification if the property is in the flood zone. FEMA Elevation Certificate & Instructions		Department of Development & Permits
Special Inspections	Must submit the complete Special Inspections to the Plan Examiner: Statement of Special Inspections Form 2012 Special Inspections Special Inspections Guidelines & Procedures 2012 Special Inspection Guidelines and Procedures		Department of Development & Permits, Plan Examiner
NOTE: Upon the completion of the above inspections and payment satisfaction of any outstanding fees, the Certificate of Occupancy will be issued.

Who should I call to request an inspection?

The City will make every effort to provide inspections on your requested date. However, please be aware the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code allows two working days from the date of request to perform the inspection.

You can request your inspections by mail, email, phone, fax (contact info below) or online.

Request by phone
Request by fax
Request by mail
Request by email
Request online – Online inspection requests temporarily unavailable while we switch our systems to eBUILD. Please call 382-CITY (2489) to request an inspection.

Please provide the below information when requesting inspections:

Permit Number
Property Address
Type of Inspections
Contractor’s Name
Phone Number
Requestor Name

All requested inspections should be directed to and processed by the City’s Customer Contact Center at 757-382-CITY (2489). You may also submit your inspection request online via the City of Chesapeake Customer Contact Center.

We still accept requests by fax and email.

Next-business-day inspection requests by phone, fax, mail or email must be received by 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Any requests after 3 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be scheduled for Tuesday.

Request by Phone

Call the City’s Customer Contact Center at 382-CITY (2489) to request your inspections.
Operator on duty – MON - FRI, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Request by Fax

By completing our inspection request form, you may fax your inspection requests to
757-382-8448 or 757-382-8555.

Request by Mail

By completing our inspection request form, you may mail your inspection requests to:

City of Chesapeake
Department of Development & Permits
P.O. Box 15225
Chesapeake, VA 23328

Request by email

You may send us an email to request your inspection(s) at develop-permits@cityofchesapeake.net

How do I know if my inspection was approved?

The Department of Development & Permits provides a daily online Inspection Results listing.

Call 757-382-6018 for your inspections results.

Normally, the Department of Development & Permits' inspectors will leave a yellow inspection card at the job site to notify the permit holder of the inspection results.