Escambia County, FL Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Sec. 14-173 spells out the required building inspections in order: foundation inspection after trenches are excavated and reinforcing steel is placed; slab inspection after in-slab reinforcing and under-floor utilities are in but before concrete or subfloor; wind load inspection after sheathing, exterior doors, windows, flashings and bracing are installed; framing inspection covering window and door framing, trusses, fire blocking, wall insulation and rough opening tolerances; sheathing inspection covering roof and wall sheathing and fasteners; roofing inspection made in at least two passes; and a final inspection once the building is complete and ready for occupancy.

Parallel tracks run for other trades: electrical gets slab/underground, rough-in and final inspections; plumbing gets slab/underground, stack/rough-in and final, with Sec. 312 of the Florida Building Code, Plumbing governing required pressure tests; mechanical gets underground, rough-in and final; and gas gets rough piping, final piping (including a pressure test) and a final inspection. Swimming pools get their own nine-step sequence: steel reinforcement, underground electric, underground piping with a pressure test, underground electric and piping under the deck, deck inspection, a safety inspection confirming bonding, drain covers and barriers, final pool piping, final electrical, and a final inspection once all enclosure requirements are in place.

Placement of structures on the property is governed by the Land Development Code rather than the Florida Building Code, except where flood hazard or fire resistance rules apply. Sec. 14-188 puts the burden on the permit holder to request each inspection when work is ready and to provide access for it, and Sec. 14-189 bars work from proceeding past an inspection point without the building official's approval, with any noncompliant portion barred from being covered or concealed until corrected and authorized.