As large Mass Timber construction has become more of a reality in New York City in recent years, there has been a lot of code development for Mass Timber construction in NYC and International building codes, having both design and inspection implications. (See this DoB presentation regarding the most recent code changes regarding Mass Timber). To appropriately specify the correct inspection types when filing projects on DoB Now, it's important to distinguish between Engineered Wood Products and Conventional Wood Construction.

Engineered wood products, such as Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), Structural Composite Lumber (SCL) or Structural Glued-Laminated Timber (Glulam) are described are defined in the NYC Building code as follows:

• CROSS-LAMINATED TIMBER (CLT): A prefabricated engineered wood product made of at least three orthogonal layers of graded sawn lumber or structural composite lumber (SCL) that are laminated by gluing with structural adhesives.

• STRUCTURAL COMPOSITE LUMBER: Structural member manufactured using wood elements bonded together with exterior adhesives.

• STRUCTURAL GLUED-LAMINATED TIMBER: An engineered, stress-rated product of a timber laminating plant, comprised of assemblies of specially selected and prepared wood laminations in which the grain of all laminations is approximately parallel longitudinally and the laminations are bonded with adhesives.

The products listed above come with sets of rules for attachment, notching, bearing, connector installation, erection, etc., that are usually listed by the manufacturer.

Engineered wood products can fall under the full list of Wood Construction Inspections per NYC Building code, found in section 1705.5, depending on the EoR specifications. These inspection types are:

1. 1705.5.1 High-Load Diaphragms

2. 1705.5.2 Metal-Plate-Connected Wood Trusses

3. 1705.5.3 Prefabricated Wood I-Joists and/or Glued Prefabricated Parallel Chord Wood Trusses

4. 1705.5.4 Other Structural Wood Construction 

5. 1705.5.5 Special Inspection for Seismic Resistance

6. 1705.5.6 Type IV Construction

Conventional light framed wood construction inspections fall under the progress inspection 1705.5.4 Other Structural Wood Construction:

All other structural wood construction shall be subject to progress inspections for the structural frame to the extent required by Section 110.3.3.

110.3.3 Structural Wood Frame Inspection (in the Administrative chapter of the Building Code) states:

Inspections shall be performed for wood structural framing to determine compliance with the approved construction documents.

The reality is that with New York City's overwhelming existing building stock of townhouses, rowhouses, tenements and 1-2 family detached houses, the bulk of construction and inspection work in terms of wood construction comes down the conventional wood construction. Types of buildings listed above rely on wood framed floors, diaphragms, and sometimes wood framed bearing walls. Any time the framing is altered, the load path needs to be re-established, framing and sheathing designed and inspected as per code.

EPIC provides a comprehensive inspection program for wood construction, whether it be type IV construction, light framed wood construction, high load diaphragms, or any other wood construction type. With our qualified staff and detailed inspection checklists we deliver high quality oversight of the wood construction to ensure adherence with construction documents and all code requirements.

As of December 11, 2024, the definition of “Major Building” is changing in New York City. The definition of "Major Building” is found in the NYC Building Code Chapter 2, Section 202. Currently the definition reads that a Major Building is:

An existing or proposed building 10 or more stories or 125 feet (38,100 mm) or more in height, or an existing or proposed building with a building footprint of 100,000 square feet (30,480 m^2) or more regardless of height, or an existing or proposed building so designated by the commissioner due to unique hazards associated with the construction or demolition of the structure.

The new definition, affecting all projects filed on December 11th and therafter, will be:

An existing or proposed building seven or more stories or 75 feet (22,860 mm) or more in height, or an existing or proposed building with a building footprint of 100,000 square feet (30,480 m^2 ) or more regardless of height, or an existing or proposed building so designated by the commissioner due to unique hazards associated with the construction or demolition of the structure.

The change lowers the height of a Major Building by 50 feet, down to 75 feet, or by 3 stories, down to 7 stories total. The definition of Major Building affects what projects qualify as Class 1 for the purposes of special inspections. As previously discussed in an EPIC Knows article, a Class 1 Special Inspection Agency can inspect:

• The construction of a new major building;

• The full demolition of a major building;

• The alteration of a major building including:

• The removal of an entire story or more;

• The partial demolition of twenty thousand (20,000) square feet or more of gross floor area; or

• The partial demolition of twenty (20) percent or more of the gross floor area.

• The enlargement of a major building by more than ten thousand (10,000) square feet of gross floor area.

Due to this change to the definition of Major Buildings, more projects in New York City will fall into the Class 1 category, requiring an International Accreditation Service, Inc. (IAS) or an equivalent accreditation agency accredited Special Inspection Agency to perform their special and progress inspections. EP Inspections + Commissioning is a Class 1 accredited Special Inspection Agency in a vast variety of TR1 inspection types, and is qualified to perform inspections on Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 projects.

The special inspection requirements for chimneys and vents can be found in the 2022 NYC Building Code, Section 1705.32, with the testing requirements found in the 2022 NYC Fuel Gas Code, Section 503.5.6 and the 2022 NYC Mechanical Code, Section 810. The 2022 code update expanded this section to also include vents. Previously, in the 2014 code, the special inspection only referenced chimneys. The 2022 code clarifies that fuel fired appliances like boilers, water heaters and fire places would be subject to the same pressure testing, as per the test method described below.

New chimneys or vents must be visually inspected to verify compliance with the approved construction documents, and proper clearance or isolation from adjacent combustible construction. Existing chimney or vent passageways must be examined to ascertain that they are clear and free of obstructions and must be cleaned if previously used for venting solid or liquid fuel-burning appliances or fireplaces.

If a new heating system appliance is installed (such as a boiler), but the existing venting is reused, a special inspection to verify the condition of the existing chimney lining and breaching will be required. Any deficiencies will be reported to the contractor and owner as part of the required inspection reporting.

Pressurized smoke testing is required on all chimneys and vents except for new and existing “Listed Type B” gas vents and “Type L” vents. These vents will still require visual inspections for the presence of a continuous inner wall, proper installation, and no damage or deterioration via readily accessible areas of the vent system, such as the appliance, tee caps, cleanout openings, or termination. The vent system shall be inspected for proper clearances, protection and damage.

All new and altered chimneys and vents, and chimneys or vents to which a new appliance has been connected, shall be test run under operating conditions to demonstrate fire safety and the complete exhausting of smoke and the products of combustion to the outer air. To determine the tightness of chimney or vent construction, a smoke test shall be made in accordance with the following conditions and requirements:

1.        The equipment, materials, power and labor necessary for such test shall be furnished by, and at the expense of, the owner or holder of the work permit.

2.        If the test shows any evidence of leakage or other defects, such defects shall be corrected in accordance with the requirement of Chapter 5 of the 2022 NYC Fuel Gas Code and Chapter 8 of the 2022 NYC Mechanical Code and the test shall be repeated until the results are satisfactory.

3.        Method of test: The chimney or vent shall be filled with a thick penetrating smoke produced by one or more smoke machines, or smoke bombs, or other equivalent method. As the smoke appears at the stack opening on the roof, such opening shall be tightly closed and a pressure equivalent to ½ inch (12.7 mm) column of water measured at the base of the stack, shall be applied. The test shall be applied for a length of time sufficient to permit the inspection of the chimney.

Post-installed anchors (PIA) are anchors placed in holes that are drilled into existing concrete or masonry members, i.e. installed after the concrete/masonry has been set. These anchors can be either mechanical anchors or adhesive anchors. Mechanical anchors such as expansion anchors rely on the friction developed between the sides of the hole and the anchor wedges or sleeve to transfer loads. Other types of mechanical anchors include screw anchors. Adhesive anchors rely on an adhesive placed in the hole before an anchor rod is inserted, which once cured bonds the anchor rod and concrete/masonry substrate together.

The installation and requirements of inspection for post-installed anchors in New York City can be found in the 2022 NYC Building Code, and in relevant NYC Buildings Bulletins that have been issued over the years. As per the 2022 NYC Building Code section 1705.37, the installation of post-installed mechanical anchors, adhesive anchors, and screw anchors shall comply with Table 1705.37. This table states that adhesive anchors in concrete installed horizontally or upwardly inclined to resist sustained tension loads require continuous inspection during installation. All other post-installed anchor installations (all anchors installed in masonry or stone, and all mechanical anchors installed in concrete) require only periodic inspection. The table, including the applicable code references can be seen here.

The relevant Buildings Bulletins related to PIA are 2014-018 and 2014-019 (PIA in concrete), 2015-027 (adhesive anchors in concrete), and 2016-005 (PIA in masonry). All of these Buildings Bulletins require that anchors used in NYC must be ICC-ES accredited.

The ICC-Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), a subsidiary of the International Code Council, is a nonprofit, public-benefit corporation that performs technical evaluations of building products, components, methods, and materials. ICC-ES evaluation reports provide evidence that products and systems meet specific performance requirements of the building code. Using ICC-ES accredited anchors in the appropriate substrate leads to more consistent results, meaning that if the item is hung from a slab with an anchor that has been ICC-ES accredited to be able to carry that load in tension, and it is installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions, then we can assume the item will stay put in the slab and not be a hazard to people below.

When conducting Post-Installed Anchor inspections, the first thing EPIC will be looking for will be if the anchors are ICC-ES accredited. As stated above, all anchors used in New York City must now have an ICC-ES accreditation for the way they will be used on site. For example, if an anchor is ICC-ES accredited for use only in concrete, but it is being used in a brick wall, EPIC will call this out as a non-conformance. Once it is confirmed that the anchors being used are properly accredited, the next step is to witness a representative test installation. All mechanical anchor installations require this to ensure that the anchor is being installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions. Adhesive anchors in concrete require more thorough inspection as they require continuous inspections, rather than periodic. All adhesive anchors being installed in concrete require full-time inspection to ensure that a certified installer (certified by the ACI/CRSI Adhesive Anchor Installer Certification program or equivalent) is doing the installation and that the Manufacturer’s Printed Installation Instructions (MPII) are being followed. These steps are required for each trade where sustained tension loads will be applied to the anchors.