🚫 Will the Building Department or Inspector Complete a REScheck for You?

🚫 Will the Building Department or Inspector Complete a REScheck for You?

Penned by Jobe Leonard from Rescheck.info, an admirer of all who build, insulate, and inspect.

Jobe Leonard Rescheck.info

As you prepare to submit your plans for a new home, major addition, or substantial renovation, you will inevitably encounter the requirement for a REScheck Report. This is the official document confirming your residential design meets the local energy efficiency code (typically the IECC).

This compliance step often prompts a practical question from builders, designers, and homeowners alike: Can’t the Building Department or the Inspector just run the REScheck Report for me?

The short, clear answer is: No, they will not.

While the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) developed the REScheck Web and Desktop programs for public use, the building department’s role is not to generate the report but to review and verify the report you submit.

The Inspector’s Role vs. Your Responsibility

Building departments and inspectors perform a crucial function: enforcement and compliance checking.

Think of the permit process like filing your taxes:

• Your Responsibility (The Builder/Homeowner/Designer): You must calculate your income, deductions, and tax due. For a building project, your team is responsible for calculating the home’s energy performance using the REScheck software.

• The Inspector’s Role (The Reviewer): They review your finished document to ensure your calculations are accurate and that the proposed design meets the required energy code set by the jurisdiction.

Why They Won’t Generate the Report:

1. Liability and Impartiality: If an inspector were to input the data and generate the report, they would essentially be validating the design before the formal review process. Their primary duty is to remain an impartial third party ensuring public safety and code adherence.

2. Time and Resources: Building departments are typically under-resourced and focused on site inspections and processing permits. They simply do not have the hours to dedicate to the complex data entry and troubleshooting required to generate a REScheck for every single residential project in their area.

3. The “Trade-Off” Complexity: If a design fails (which is common initially), the person generating the report must spend hours performing “trade-off” scenarios—testing different insulation R-values, window U-factors, and material specifications until the structure passes. This is a design function, not an inspection function.

The Real Hurdle: Troubleshooting a Failed REScheck

Since the building department won’t generate your report, the task falls to you, your architect, or your contractor. The process requires meticulous data extraction from your blueprints, including:

• The local IECC building code version being enforced.

• Detailed insulation R-values for the walls, roof, and foundation.

• The exact U-factor and SHGC for all windows and doors.

• Precise area takeoffs (square footage and lineal footage) for all building components.

If you or your team attempts this DIY process and the design fails (which is frequently the case), you are immediately faced with the time-consuming “trade-off” dilemma. You must spend hours running test reports to figure out the most cost-effective component upgrade required to achieve compliance.

The Expert Solution: Guaranteed Compliance in 4-6 Hours for $79

While you can technically perform the REScheck yourself, using valuable time on compliance software is often inefficient. We offer a specialized service designed to take this burden off your plate:

• Fast, Guaranteed Results: We are experts in navigating the REScheck software and the complex “trade-off” rules. We can do a very complicated Rescheck in about 4-6 hours.

• Free Design Suggestions: For a flat fee, you receive the full benefit of our knowledge, including free suggestions on which components to upgrade if your original design failed—saving you time and materials cost.

• Unbeatable Value: Eliminate the risk of compliance failure and save yourself hours of frustration for just a low, flat rate of $79 per report.

The building department won’t generate your REScheck, but we can. Secure your permit documentation quickly and reliably.

To get started, simply email your order confirmation number, PDF plans, jobsite address, and square footage to service@rescheck.info and receive your compliant Rescheck in about 4-6 hours.