1. (a) When the building site is within a municipality that has a building inspection agency or department, the local building official will inspect all on-site construction done at the site and the attachment of the structure to the permanent foundation to assure completion and attachment in accordance with the design package, the on-site construction documentation, the foundation system design, and any unique on-site details.

2. (b) When the building site is outside a municipality, or within a municipality that has no building department or agency, a third party inspector will perform the required inspections in accordance with this section and the inspection procedures established by the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council to assure completion and attachment in accordance with the design package, the on-site construction documentation, the foundation system design, and any unique on-site details. The on-site inspection is normally accomplished in three phases: foundation inspection, set inspection, and final inspection. The final inspection shall be completed within 180 days of the start of construction. The department may grant an extension upon receipt of a written request that demonstrates a justifiable cause.

   1. (1) Site inspections are required for the first installation of all industrialized housing and permanent industrialized buildings installed outside the jurisdiction of a municipality. Exception: Site inspections are not required for the installation of unoccupied industrialized buildings not open to the public, such as communication equipment shelters, that are not also classified as a hazardous occupancy by the mandatory building code.
   2. (2) Site inspections are required for industrialized buildings that are designed to be moved from one commercial site to another commercial site and that are installed outside the jurisdiction of a municipality if the buildings are used as a school or place of religious worship.
   3. (3) The builder, or installation permit holder, is responsible for scheduling each phase of the inspection with the third party inspector. Additional inspections will be scheduled as required for larger structures and to correct discrepancies. The industrialized builder, or installation permit holder, may utilize a different third party inspector for different projects, but may not change the inspector for a project once started without the written approval of the department. The inspector shall provide the builder or permit holder a copy of the site inspection report, shall keep a copy for a minimum of five years from the date of successful completion of the final inspection, and make a copy of the inspection report available to the department upon request. The report shall be on the form and in the format required by the department and the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council.
3. (c) Destructive disassembly shall not be performed at the site in order to conduct tests or inspections, nor shall there be imposed standards or test criteria different from those required by the approved installation instructions, on-site construction documentation, and the applicable mandatory building code. Nondestructive disassembly may be performed only to the extent of opening access panels and cover plates.
4. (d) If an inspector finds a structure, or any part thereof, at the building site to be in violation of the approved design package and/or the unique on-site plans and specifications, the inspector shall immediately post a deviation notice and notify the industrialized builder or installation permit holder. The industrialized builder, or installation permit holder, is responsible for assuring that all deviations are corrected and inspected prior to occupation of the building.
5. (e) The industrialized builder, or installation permit holder, shall not permit occupancy of a structure until a successful final inspection has been completed and a certificate of occupancy issued by the local authorities. For industrialized housing and buildings installed outside the jurisdiction of a municipality, the industrialized builder, or installation permit holder, shall keep a copy of the completed inspection report for the site inspection for a minimum of ten years from the date of successful completion of the final inspection and make a copy of the inspection report available to the department upon request.

Source Note:The provisions of this §70.73 adopted to be effective April 13, 1990, 15 TexReg 1787; amended to be effective July 13, 1990, 15 TexReg 3741; amended to be effective November 16, 1993, 18 TexReg 7925; amended to be effective August 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 6619; amended to be effective June 13, 2001, 26 TexReg 4092; amended to be effective May 17, 2004, 29 TexReg 4867; amended to be effective October 3, 2004, 29 TexReg 9182; amended to be effective June 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 4420.