Typically, City or County  employed building inspectors are available to perform construction inspections within a day or two after the contractor has requested an inspection. However, when the building department cannot respond quickly, waiting on inspections can be a frustrating roadblock to progressing to the next step of construction and can easily delay the overall project schedule. 

In the city of Charlottesville, VA there is an alternative.

In accordance with the Virginia Construction Code, the City permits construction inspections to be performed by qualified individuals hired by the project owner or contractor. These independent ‘for-hire’ inspectors are referred to as ‘Third Party Inspectors’. 

On our projects, we consider the fee for a third party inspector’s services to be both reasonable and well worth the cost to keep the project moving forward. 

Before hiring a third party inspector, make sure that they meet the qualification requirements of the jurisdiction, and are familiar with the reporting and submission requirements. 

In Charlottesville third party inspectors must be state registered Engineers or Architects with the ability to apply their professional seal to the inspection reports. Our 3rd Party inspection was Alex Rayfeild, P.E. of Choice Home Inspections https://www.vachoiceinspections.com

For specific information on your jurisdiction’s third party inspection we recommend contacting the building department directly. In Charlottesville, this information can be found on the Neighborhood Development Services website: 

https://www.charlottesville.gov/261/Neighborhood-Development-Services