Appleton, WI Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Municipal Code Sec. 4-96 requires the Inspection Supervisor to examine every building, structure, or site for which a permit application has been filed to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, demolish, or change use, both before issuing the permit and periodically during and upon completion of the work, keeping a record of every examination and violation. Sec. 4-97 sets the inspection schedule: footings, foundations, and slabs must be inspected before concrete is poured and excavations backfilled; framing, rough carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC work must be inspected after being roughed in but before insulation, lathing, plastering, or any other concealment.

Permit holders must schedule each required inspection as soon as practicable after finishing that phase, and the city must perform it by the end of the second business day after notification, excluding weekends and legal holidays; each construction phase must be inspected and approved before it can be concealed. The space under construction may not be occupied until inspected and approved, unless the Inspections Supervisor or a designee authorizes early occupancy, which does not excuse the permit holder from timely completing the remaining work. Sec.

4-98 then requires a final inspection as soon as practicable after completion, and no more than 30 days after completion, conducted before a Certificate of Use and/or Occupancy issues; the inspector notes any violations of the approved plans and notifies the permit holder, who must correct them in a timely manner set by the Inspections Supervisor. Once the Inspections Division posts a Certificate of Inspection on the job, no structural part of the building may be changed. Sec. 4-99 separately authorizes the Inspection Supervisor to enter any building, structure, or premises at reasonable hours to enforce the chapter.