Washington State House Bill 1848

[khilpert]

House bill 1848, amendment of section 34 of title 84 of the revised code of Washington, states that new construction and rehabilative construction of condominiums and appartments, must be inspected for their building enclosure weather proofing, by a third party inspection firm. Does anyone know what the specific requirements of an inspector would be? Does a NACHI inspector qualify for these inspections?

[troberts1]

That would be done by your local code inforcement office.

[khilpert]

The local code enforcement would be the second party, the new law states that the weather barrier shall be inspected by a third party (private inspection companies). The city of Seattle and Renton, WA is not inspecting for the weather barrier, They actually referred contractors to our company this week. Are there any certifications for inspecting the weather barrier?

[troberts1]

Keven,

I am not aware of this, maybe we can get another washington inspector to respond. I would like to know more about this again.

[lcapaul]

Originally Posted by troberts1

Keven,

I am not aware of this, maybe we can get another washington inspector to respond. I would like to know more about this again.

EHB 1848 requires all multiunit residential buildings to have the building enclosure inspected by a “qualified inspector” during construction, whether the building is new or being rehabilitated. Your building department is not required to verify the qualifications of the inspector, nor is it required to determine whether the building enclosure inspection is adequate or appropriate. However, the certificate of occupancy for the building should not be issued until the proper certifications have been received by your building department (see below).
A.Qualified Building Enclosure Inspector
According to EHB 1848, a qualified building enclosure inspector:
(a) Must be a person with substantial and verifiable training and experience in building enclosure design and construction;
(b) Shall be free from improper interference or influence relating to the inspections; and
(c) May not be an employee, officer, or director of, nor have any pecuniary interest in, the declarant, developer, association, or any party providing services or materials for the project, or any of their respective affiliates, except that the qualified inspector may be the architect or engineer who approved the building enclosure design documents or the architect or engineer of record.
B.Scope of Inspection
EHB 1848 requires the following tests and inspections to be conducted by the building enclosure inspector:
(a) Water penetration resistance testing of a representative sample of windows and window installations. Such tests shall be conducted according to industry standards. Where appropriate, tests shall be conducted with an induced air pressure difference across the window and window installation. Additional testing is not required if the same assembly has previously been tested in situ within the previous two years in the project under construction by the builder, by another member of the construction team such as an architect or engineer, or by an independent testing laboratory; and
(b) An independent periodic review of the building enclosure during the course of construction or rehabilitative construction to ascertain whether the multiunit residential building has been constructed, or the rehabilitative construction has been performed, in substantial compliance with the building enclosure design documents.
Item (a) above is not required for rehabilitation projects, if windows and cladding are not altered.
C.Certification
Once the above tests and inspections are completed, the building enclosure inspector is required to submit a signed letter to your building department, certifying that the building enclosure has been inspected during the construction of the project, and that it has been constructed in substantial compliance with the building enclosure design documents, including any revisions.

http://www.wabo.org/Condo%20Bill%20FAQ.htm

It sounds like you would need some specialized equipment to do the Testing, the Bill also states that the Architect or Engineer of record for the Project can do the inspection

[troberts1]

It sounds like the building department has found a way to pas the buck to me. As it is now when you get a building permit you sign a statement that states that the building department is not responcable for any thing that they require you to do, this just gives them that much more power with out having to be responcable for their actions.