Granville County, NC Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)
Key Facts
- Inspection stages
- 7, footing through certificate of occupancy
- Request method
- Call county inspection department office
- Concealed work
- Must be uncovered for inspection on request
- Occupancy
- Barred until certificate of occupancy issued
- Enforcing agency
- Granville County Inspection Department
- Temporary CO
- Available for safely occupiable portion
Summary
Granville County's inspection department must approve construction at each of seven defined stages before work continues, from footing and under-slab inspections through framing, insulation, and final certificate of occupancy. Permit holders must call for each inspection, and skipping a required stage or building past it without approval is itself a code violation.
Sec. 14-44. - Inspection procedure. (a)Inspections. ... (3)All holders of permits or their agents shall notify the inspection department and the appropriate inspector at each of the following stages of construction so that approval may be given before work is continued:a.Footing inspection, to be made after the trenches are excavated, all grade stakes are installed, all reinforcing steel and supports are in place and appropriately tied, all necessary forms are in place and braced and before any concrete is placed. ... d.Rough-In inspection, when all building framing and parts of the electrical, plumbing, or heating-ventilation or cooling system that will be hidden from view in the finished building have been placed but before any wall, ceiling finish or building insulation is installed. ... g.Certificate of occupancy final inspection, to be made after all the certificate of compliance inspections for each trade are complete, and other local laws are complied with, but before occupancy.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 14-44(a) requires the inspection department to inspect every building, structure, and permitted work as often as necessary to confirm compliance, and lets it accept certified reports from approved outside inspection organizations for materials tested at the point of manufacture. Subsection (a)(3) then lists the stages permit holders must call in for: footing inspection after trenches, grade stakes, reinforcing steel, and forms are placed but before concrete pours; under-slab inspection after electrical, plumbing, heating, and vapor-barrier work is in but before concrete; foundation inspection for wood-frame construction; rough-in inspection once framing and hidden electrical, plumbing, or HVAC work is placed but before wall or ceiling coverings go up; a building-framing inspection with pipes, chimneys, flashing, and lintels visible; an insulation inspection after framing and rough-in approval but before covering; and a final certificate-of-occupancy inspection after every trade's compliance inspection is complete.
Sec. 14-44(b) requires the permit holder to request each inspection from the inspection department office, and any concealed work not yet inspected must be uncovered on request. Sec. 14-44(d) bars occupancy of any new, altered, or moved building until the inspection department issues a certificate of occupancy, though a temporary certificate can cover a safely occupiable portion before full completion.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 14-44(b)(2) makes failing to call for a required inspection, or proceeding with construction without inspector approval at any listed stage, a violation of chapter 14 in its own right. Violations are enforced under the Code's general penalty, Sec. 1-6: a civil citation orders the violator to appear before the county finance officer within 15 days or pay by mail, with a separate citation issued for each day the violation continues. Occupying a building before the inspection department issues the required certificate of occupancy under Sec. 14-44(d) is likewise a violation, and inspectors can issue a stop-work order under Sec. 14-46(c) for hazardous work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What inspection stages does Granville County require during construction?
Can I cover up framing before the inspector sees it?
When can I legally occupy a new building in unincorporated Granville County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Granville County
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