England Enterprises, Inc. Building Officials

Charleston, SC
4764-A Rivers Ave
N. Charleston, SC 29405
Phone: 843-747-3575
Fax: 843-746-9222

"Helping build safer communities"©

Why You Should Hire England Enterprises Incorporated as
An Independent Certified Third Party Contract Inspection Provider for
Building Code Compliance

The problem with large, complex, building construction projects is construction work may not be inspected properly for building code compliance, or code compliance may simply be over looked. Some of these deficiencies may be design-related problems that do not meet building code requirements. Some code compliance issues may be over looked during the building plan review process prior to the commencement of construction. It has become a concern that public owned buildings open to the public might have construction deficiencies in regard to building code violations.

Usually an architect or construction manager is paid to monitor building code compliance issues and manufacturer's recommendation for installation of public construction projects. They are involved in every aspect in the construction of a building and all of these tasks may present a massive undertaking to include overseeing complicated building code compliance issues.

 Building officials, owners, and facility managers at colleges and universities whom engage in large construction projects have found that architects are educated and trained in the design of a building and may not be as knowledgeable for some complicated building code compliance issues. Some construction projects are so complicated that you need a certified International Code Congress (ICC) inspector to determine if the building design meets Chapter 1 or Chapter 17 building code compliance requirements. Inevitably, building code compliance may fall through the cracks. This adds to the cost of construction when building code compliance has not been met and has to be corrected at a later date. Some of the building code violations may not be able to be addressed due to the cost of the repair. The prime contractor may be out of business, may not have the money to fix the problem, or is out-of-state and not willing to come back. Finally, the contractor may not want to do anything without going to court.

 The State Engineer's Office has recognized this as a problem and has taken steps to resolve these issues. That office now requires all state construction projects to be inspected by ICC certified independent third party inspectors instead of construction managers, architects, or uncertified third party inspectors. When a certified independent third party is hired to perform building code inspections with no interest in a building construction project, this should ensure an unbiased inspection report for code compliance.

 State facility managers have indicated that the requirement to hire ICC certified independent third party inspectors to perform building code inspections has been a vast improvement in the construction of state owned buildings regarding the area of building code compliance.

 In conclusion, an architect or construction manager may be hired to perform building code compliance inspections for a construction project. They may or may not be up to date on building code compliance issues and may have more than they can handle with all of the other aspects of construction management. Some third party inspectors may not be certified or may perform minimal inspections. If school districts, cities, and counties would follow the State Engineer's Office lead and hire ICC certified independent third party inspectors, such as England Enterprises Inc. this should help reduce the overall liability for building code compliance issues in the construction of public buildings. England Enterprises only performs building code compliance inspections and is not involved with other complicated building construction issues. England Enterprises is involved in building code inspections daily and keeps abreast of ever-changing code requirements and updates. Our children attend public schools, and the public has access to public buildings. Building safety should be the primary concern of all entities and individuals involved in the construction of these facilities.

Benefits of Choosing England Enterprises 

The advantages in using England Enterprises, Inc. as an ICC certified third party contract inspection provider for building code compliance are:

  • England Enterprises employees a staff of qualified and certified, experienced, and motivated inspectors. Our inspectors are South Carolina state licensed and certified with the International Codes Council (ICC) while having the skills and training to accomplish your needs;
  • England Enterprises has the ability to submit bids for Chapter 1 building code inspections or a combination of Chapter 1 and Chapter 17 building code inspections by partnering with certified and approved Chapter 17 code inspection entities;
  • England Enterprises has certified inspectors in Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville/Spartanburg and outlying areas to perform statewide inspections;
  • England Enterprises inspectors attend continuous training relating to code changes, issues, and updates;
  • ·England Enterprises offers building plan reviews for construction projects identifying building code compliance deficiencies to be addressed before construction begins;
  • England Enterprises is only involved in building code compliance inspections and is not involved in construction management activities of a construction project such as bid packaging, contractor selection, construction design and review, developing budgets, construction coordination, and cost management;
  • England Enterprises inspectors review at all building code compliance issues in a building construction project which may relieve the owner and prime contractor of possible code compliance problems leading to life safety issues or costly repair work;
  • offers plan reviews in all work trades, fire sprinkler systems, and energy code plans;
  • conducts all types of construction related work training for ICC certification or state licensure and continuing education for these certifications.
  • on site building inspections will soon be performed via car computer and immediate inspection results will to be sent to client’s computer on the day of the inspection for his/her review; and
  • conducts energy code inspections.

Technical Experience 

England Enterprises can provide Chapter 1 and Chapter 17 building inspections, plan reviews, training, energy code inspections, and other services to:

  • the Office of the State Engineer for state building construction;
  • the Office of School Facilities for school construction of K through 12 school buildings;
  • local public building code jurisdictions; or
  • private entities and individuals as needed.

We have extremely qualified inspectors to perform your building inspection needs. We hire former Chief Building Officials and qualified building inspectors that have numerous years of hands on building construction and inspection experience.

Plan Review 

England Enterprises, Inc. will perform a plan review for a construction project upon request. This service will be a separate cost from any building inspections performed. A plan review is a building code review of the plans, specification, and special inspection program. If the plan reviewer finds a code problem with the plans or specifications, the plan reviewer will ask for additional information from the architect or engineer.

England Enterprises will not conduct a building code plan review on the project that has been performed by the Office of the State Engineer.

 Jobsite and Computer Reporting 

The inspector will leave a handwritten inspection report on the jobsite after completing an inspection with the designated individual. The inspection report will include:

  • project, agency, OSE or OSE number of the project;
  • type of inspection;
  • items inspected;
  • items to be corrected; and
  • comments.

A computer generated report will be published on our Website within 24 hours using a secure document management system. Several pictures of the inspected area will be included in this inspection report. The project owner will be provided with a protected password to access their inspection files. It will be up to the agency if the password is to be shared with the contractor, architect, or others.

 Beginning in the spring of 2007, all of our inspectors will have a computer in each company car, and the report will be completed at the construction site and immediately sent to the proper individuals or entities.
© 2007 England Enterprises Inc. webmaster@ibcode.net