Building inspections on a Burnaby custom home: the full sequence

On a new house in Burnaby Heights, the framers wrap up and the owner expects drywall the following week. Then three weeks pass with what looks like nothing happening. What is actually happening is the inspection ladder, and it decides the schedule of a Burnaby custom home more than any single trade does.

The City of Burnaby lists eighteen separate inspections for a new single or two family dwelling in its Permits and Inspections guide, spread across four City inspectors: building, plumbing, gas and electrical. Each one has to pass before the work it covers can be hidden. Here is the whole sequence, who calls each inspection, and what a failed one costs.

Four inspectors, one City

The first thing to understand about Burnaby is that the electrical and gas inspections are done by the City. In most of the province those two trades are permitted and inspected by Technical Safety BC. Burnaby is one of ten municipalities that Technical Safety BC lists as delegated to issue their own electrical and gas permits and to perform their own inspections, alongside Vancouver, Maple Ridge and both North Vancouvers.

That changes the booking process. In Burnaby every inspection, whether building, plumbing, gas or electrical, goes through one phone line. The City's building inspections page says requests received between 8:30 am and 3 pm are booked for the next business day, and some inspections can be booked online through the My Permits Portal by the permit applicant. You can also reach the area inspector by phone in the half hour before 8:30 am, which is when we ask the questions that save a wasted visit.

Compare that with a house we build in Abbotsford or Coquitlam. Neither city appears on the delegated list, so the electrical contractor there holds a Technical Safety BC permit and files declarations at set milestones. Technical Safety BC's electrical assessment rules say the contractor must not conceal any rough wiring or connect power until the work has been inspected or the declaration has been accepted without one. Gas works the same way: the contractor submits a notification of completion, and Technical Safety BC decides through a risk-based review whether to accept the declaration, do a remote inspection with photos and video, or send a safety officer. Same house, same code, two different rhythms depending on which side of the municipal line it sits.

Permits come first, and in a fixed order

Burnaby's guide is clear that a building permit has to be issued before any electrical, heating, plumbing or gas permit can be. Those sub-trade permits are issued only to contractors licensed in the trade, which is why we never let a plumber or electrician start on a Burnaby site without their own permit number in hand. The permit number is what you quote when you book the inspection.

If the permit itself is what is holding you up, that is a different post. We wrote up the Burnaby permit timeline from intake to issuance separately. Everything below assumes the building permit is issued and the plans, reviewed and stamped by the City, are on site in their weatherproof bag, because the inspector will ask for them at every visit.

The sequence, from the ground up

Burnaby's guide notes that the order can vary between projects and contractors, and it does. But on a typical two or three storey custom home the ladder runs like this.

Temporary saw service (electrical). The construction power pole and panel get inspected by a City electrical inspector before BC Hydro will connect it. This can happen at any early stage.

Foundation formwork (building). After the forms are complete and before any concrete is placed. The building inspector wants three documents on site: the structural engineer's field memo, a posting survey by a BC Land Surveyor, and a foundation form survey by a BC Land Surveyor. The form survey is required on all new construction, and it is the moment the house's position on the lot gets confirmed against the setbacks. On a Capitol Hill lot with a tight side yard, this is the inspection we worry about most.

Foundation and roof drainage, damp-proofing (plumbing). After the perimeter drain and the roof drainage lines are complete. Burnaby requires a two pipe system, meaning the foundation drain and the roof drains run as separate lines, and damp-proofing on the exterior foundation wall is inspected at the same visit. The 150 mm gravel cover over the drain tile goes on only after approval. Backfill before this inspection and you will be digging it back up.

Sanitary and storm sewer (plumbing). After the pipes are laid and bedded and a water test has been applied. The storm sump, where one is needed on a sloped lot, is inspected here too.

Rough-in plumbing under the slab (plumbing). Before the basement slab is poured. Where a structural suspended slab is used, all the underground piping has to be tied to the slab rebar.

Sheathing and rainscreen mock-up (building). Once the exterior envelope and roof are sheathed, the contractor calls for a sheathing inspection, and a mock-up of the rainscreen detail around one window has to be ready at the same time. This is Burnaby's way of checking that the wall's drainage plane is built the way the drawings show before the whole house gets wrapped.

Rough-in plumbing above ground (plumbing). After the drainage, vents and water piping are installed, with a water test applied to the drainage and venting. This is where every fixture location gets frozen into the framing, which is why the plumbing rough-in is the last practical moment to move a toilet.

Foundation and slab insulation, slab damp-proofing (building). After the foundation wall or slab insulation, the polyethylene over the base material, and, where the slab is hydronically heated, the mesh and piping are in place. Where fill under a slab on grade exceeds 450 mm, the City wants either compaction testing by an accredited company or an engineered suspended slab.

Gas vents and piping (gas). After the rough-in gas piping, B vents and direct vent fireplace inserts are in, with fire stopping of the B vents at every floor and ceiling complete.

Rough-in wiring (electrical). After the service conduit and conductors, main panel, grounding, branch circuit wiring, boxes and splices are done.

Hydronic heating rough-in (plumbing). After all in-slab piping is placed. A heating calculation and design are required here.

Frame (building). Now the gate. Burnaby's guide says the frame inspection takes place after all framing is complete and after the rough-in plumbing, gas vent, electrical wiring and heating have each been approved. The building inspector also carries out the forced air heating rough-in inspection at the same visit. On site the inspector wants the City reports accepting each sub-trade rough-in, the structural engineer's field review memo, the reviewed truss layout with signed and sealed truss drawings, and the mechanical ventilation checklist.

Read that list again. Four separate approvals from three different inspectors, plus an engineer's letter, before the building inspector will look at a stud. That is the three weeks the owner in Burnaby Heights was asking about.

Insulation and vapour barrier (building). After insulation and vapour barrier are in. For permits applied for after September 1, 2019, a mid-construction blower door test is required before this inspection, and the result has to be within 1.5 air changes per hour of the airtightness assumed in the energy model. We treat this test as the real exam. If the number is off, the fix is cheap now and expensive after drywall, which is why our own pre-drywall walkthrough happens between the frame inspection and this one.

Final plumbing, final gas, final heating, final electrical. Each after that system's fixtures, appliances and equipment are installed and operating. The hydronic final needs a heating certificate.

Final building, for the Occupancy Certificate (building). Only after the final electrical, heating, plumbing and gas inspections have each been approved. A final blower door test and the as-built Energy Compliance Report are required for permits applied for after September 1, 2019. Burnaby's new home construction page adds that required tree planting must be complete before the certificate is issued. The certificate has to be in hand before anyone moves in.

The frame inspection is where a Burnaby schedule is won or lost. Every rough-in has to pass before it can even be booked, so we sequence the trades backward from that date.

Icon Projects Team

What a failed inspection actually costs

A failed inspection stops everything that would cover the work in question. A failed rough-in plumbing test means no frame inspection. A failed frame inspection means no insulation, no blower door, no drywall. The trade fixes the item, the inspection is re-booked for the next available business day, and the days in between are gone.

There is a fee side too. Burnaby's inspections page says additional fees apply when the inspector finds incomplete work that was identified at a previous inspection, or when further inspections are required to address non-compliance. Cancelling an inspection after 8:30 am on the day it is booked can also trigger a re-inspection fee. And the City states plainly that it will only approve occupancy of a newly constructed building once all necessary inspections have been completed.

The other cost is credibility. An inspector who has failed a site twice looks harder the third time. We would rather call an inspection a day late and pass it than call it early and hope.

How we schedule trades around the ladder

We work backward from the frame inspection. The target date on our schedule is the day all four rough-ins have passed, and the framing crew's finish date is set to land ahead of it. So on a Burnaby build the plumber, the gas fitter and the electrician are on site while the framers are still doing backing and blocking, each finishing, testing and booking their own inspection under their own permit number. The engineer's field review is booked for the same week, because the frame inspection cannot proceed without the memo.

One inspector at a time is the other rule. We do not book the electrical rough-in and the plumbing rough-in for the same morning if the two trades would be in each other's way during the visit. A clean, accessible site with the plans in the bag passes faster than a crowded one.

On the Abbotsford side, where Technical Safety BC handles electrical and gas, we build in time for the declaration process rather than a fixed site visit, and we never let anyone close a wall until the declaration has been accepted in writing. That is what Technical Safety BC requires, and it is also what our warranty provider expects us to be able to prove.

The final building inspection is the last City visit, but it is not the last walk through the house. Our pre-occupancy deficiency walkthrough happens with the owner in an empty house before the keys, and it covers everything the City inspector was never asked to look at: paint, doors, cabinet alignment, the things that make a house feel finished. The Occupancy Certificate says the house is safe to live in. The walkthrough is where we make sure it is ready.

Frequently asked questions

Who books the building inspections on a Burnaby custom home?

The contractor holding each permit books its inspections. The City of Burnaby takes requests by phone between 8:30 am and 3 pm for the next business day, and some inspections can be booked online through the My Permits Portal by the permit applicant. At Icon Projects we book every building inspection ourselves and our plumbing, gas and electrical contractors book the ones under their own permits, coordinated on one schedule.

Does Technical Safety BC inspect the electrical and gas work on a new home in Burnaby?

No. Burnaby is one of ten municipalities that Technical Safety BC lists as delegated to issue their own electrical and gas permits and perform their own inspections. In Burnaby the electrical and gas inspectors work for the City's Building Department. In cities that are not on that list, such as Abbotsford, Coquitlam or Langley, the same work is permitted and inspected by Technical Safety BC.

What has to be finished before the frame inspection in Burnaby?

All framing, plus approved rough-in inspections for plumbing, gas vents and piping, electrical wiring and heating. The City's guide for new single and two family dwellings says the building inspector needs the City reports accepting each sub-trade rough-in, the structural engineer's field review memo, the reviewed truss layout with sealed truss drawings, and the mechanical ventilation checklist on site. Missing any one of them means the inspection cannot proceed.

Is a blower door test required before the insulation inspection in Burnaby?

Yes, for permits applied for after September 1, 2019. Burnaby's guide requires a mid-construction blower door test before the insulation inspection, and the result has to fall within 1.5 air changes per hour of the airtightness assumed in the energy model. A second, final blower door test and the as-built Energy Compliance Report are required before the final building inspection.

What happens if a building inspection fails on a Burnaby custom home?

The trade fixes the item and the inspection is re-booked, and nothing downstream that would cover that work can proceed. Burnaby charges an additional fee when an inspector finds incomplete work that was identified at a previous inspection, or when further inspections are needed to deal with non-compliance. The City also says it will only approve occupancy once all necessary inspections are complete.

What does the plumbing inspector look at on the foundation of a new Burnaby home?

The foundation drainage system and the roof drainage lines, which Burnaby requires as a two pipe system, along with damp-proofing on the exterior foundation wall. This is a plumbing inspection in Burnaby, separate from the building inspector's foundation form inspection. The 150 mm gravel cover over the drain tile goes on only after the system has been inspected and approved.

When does a new Burnaby custom home get its Occupancy Certificate?

After the final building inspection, which the City will only do once the final electrical, heating, plumbing and gas inspections have each been approved. The final blower door test and the as-built Energy Compliance Report are required at that stage, and the City's new home construction page notes that required tree planting must also be complete. The certificate must be in hand before anyone moves in.

How does a builder in Coquitlam or Abbotsford handle electrical inspections differently from Burnaby?

In those cities the electrical contractor holds a permit from Technical Safety BC and files a declaration of the work at set milestones. Technical Safety BC's rules say rough wiring cannot be concealed and power cannot be connected until the work has been inspected or the declaration has been accepted without an inspection. Whether a physical inspection happens is decided by Technical Safety BC's risk assessment, which is a different rhythm from Burnaby's booked site visits.