Special Inspections under the International Building Code Chapter 17
DISCLAIMER
Before purchasing, review the rules of your licensing or certifying entity. It is your responsibility to confirm this course meets your CE requirements. See the credit tab on the course page for details.
What’s Included: Full webinar recording, written course materials, expert instruction, a mandatory quiz, and a certificate upon completion.
Deliverability Timeline: All courses are generally available within 1-2 weeks after the live presentation.
CE Credits: AIA and/or LA/CES accreditation is available by request for courses recorded prior to March 11, 2026. All courses after that date include those accreditations by default, if applicable. With these accreditations, our courses qualify for credit in nearly all states for engineers, surveyors, architects, and landscape architects.
Learn more about the on-demand format in our FAQ or contact us at (715) 835-5900 or customerservice@halfmoonseminars.org
Agenda
Registration: 8:00 – 8:30 am
Morning Session: 8:30 am – 12:45 pm
Lunch (On your own): 12:45 – 1:45 pm
Afternoon Session: 1:45 – 5:00 pm
Overview of Special Inspections
Defining special inspections, statement of special inspections
History of IBC Code, BOCA Code and special inspections
Role of special inspector, architect, engineer, building official
Discussion of special inspection paperwork and reports
IBC reference documents – the SECRET of obtaining code compliance
Soil and Foundation Inspections
Geotechnical Engineering 101
Subsurface investigations
Geotechnical and soils special inspections required by the IBC code
Verifying soil bearing capacity in the field according to CODE (IBC)
Concrete Special Inspections – ACI 318
Concrete placement, testing and special inspections
Concrete reinforcement, anchor rods, post-installed concrete anchors
Concrete mixtures – verifying approved concrete mix in the field
Can mix water be added to truck during concrete discharge? NO!
WHERE do you REALLY sample concrete according to the CODE?
Masonry Special Inspections: ACI 530, ACI 530.1, TMS 402, TMS 602
Masonry/mortar inspection and testing REQUIRED by the CODE
Essential and non-essential structures – special inspections required
Failing masonry sands and mortar strengths – WHAT TO DO
Masonry fire ratings – pitfalls – what does the CODE actually require?
Structural Steel Construction – Special Inspections
Reference codes – AISC 360, AWS, RCSC, SJI, SDI
Welding code and special inspections
Bolted connections and special inspections
Types of bolted connections: snug-tight, pretensioned, slip-critical
Cold-formed steel and light-gauge steel – ANY DIFFERENCE?
Special Inspections for Sprayed Fire-Resistant Materials (SFRM)
SFRM thickness tests – density tests – frequency required by CODE
Bond strength – adhesion/cohesion tests – CODE mandates
BIG special inspection changes SINCE 9-11 twin tower disasters
Different types of SFRM materials
In-Depth Review of Significant Changes in the New Concrete and Masonry Codes
ACI 318-14 is first concrete code REORGANIZATION in 50 years
TMS 402-13 and TMS 602-13 brings BIG masonry code changes –What about ACI 530?
Only 2 chapters of ACI 318-14 are the same as previous masonry codes –What about the other 25 chapters?
Adhesive concrete anchor CONFUSION! ACI 318-14 and ACI 355.4-11 verbiage that CLEARS everything UP
Should the contractor be expected to interpret and understand the CODE? The answer may surprise you
Credits
Professional Engineers
7.0 Continuing Ed. Hours
Architects
7.0 Continuing Ed. Hours (HSW)
7.0 AIA HSW Learning Units
International Code Council
.7 CEUs (Building)
Contractors
Non-Credit Continuing Ed.
Continuing Education Credit Information
This seminar is open to the public and offers 7.0 (HSW) continuing education hours to architects and 7.0 continuing education hours to engineers in Virginia. Educators and courses are not subject to preapproval in Virginia.
This event has been approved by the American Institute of Architects for 7.0 HSW Learning Units (Sponsor No. J885). Only full attendance can be reported to the AIA.
Architects and engineers seeking continuing education credit in other states will be able to apply the hours earned at this seminar, in most cases. Refer to specific state rules to determine eligibility.
The International Code Council has approved this program for .7 CEUs in the specialty area of Building.
This seminar offers a continuing education opportunity to construction contractors but has not been approved by any state contractor licensing entity.
Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire program. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.
Speakers
Alan S. Tuck
Executive Director of Code Compliance and Training with Froehling & Robertson, Inc.Mr. Tuck has more than 50 years of experience in the materials testing and construction inspection industry. He has been a code influencer. In the early 1990’s, he published a 47-page Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) monograph entitled BOCA Special Inspection Services as a learning and teaching tool for testing agencies, architects, engineers, municipalities, and building officials, etc. This document became the foundation for the original Chesterfield County, Virginia, special inspection program which today is known to be one of the best special inspection programs in the region. This CSI monograph impacted and assisted the development of special inspection programs of many other Virginia jurisdictions during the early days of BOCA and IBC. Today, Mr. Tuck is the building code “go to” guy when architects, engineers, contractors and building officials across the Mid-Atlantic have special inspection questions about their ongoing projects.
Mr. Tuck started his career with Froehling & Robertson in 1964 as a materials technician and fulfilled many duties including senior field technician, radiographic assistant, drill rig operator, laboratory technician, and structural steel inspector, quickly being promoted to branch manager of the Roanoke office in 1966. Over the next few decades, Mr. Tuck also managed F&R’s operations in Norfolk, Lynchburg, and Chesapeake, Virginia. During this time, he was designated as the company-wide manager of construction materials testing services, working in F&R’s Richmond headquarters. In the late 1990’s, Mr. Tuck took on company business development. His success in this realm led to Mr. Tuck being elevated to the role of vice president of business development. His responsibilities in this role included hiring, training, and supervising business development managers throughout the company’s Mid-Atlantic footprint. F&R was established in 1881 and is one of the oldest consulting engineering firms and testing agencies in the United States.
Mr. Tuck developed training courses related to special inspection requirements of the International Building Code (IBC) and the various statewide building codes in jurisdictions where F&R maintains operations, including Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia and the Carolinas. He cultivated and expanded inter-company special inspections code training courses for F&R’s technicians, special inspectors and engineers. These technical code training courses formed the basis of F&R’s Continuing Education Program and Lunch & Learn Series which are comprised of building code training courses regarding soils, geotechnical engineering, concrete, masonry, sprayed fire-resistant materials, structural steel and many other disciplines. These courses are now offered to the entire Mid-Atlantic community of architects, engineers, construction professionals as well as associations, municipalities, school systems and a host of other market sectors. As F&R’s very first executive director of code compliance and training, Mr. Tuck has provided special inspections training and code training to hundreds of firms and thousands of professionals over the past decade and has dedicated this phase of his professional career to the study and instruction of the various building code changes throughout the different code cycles. He also is well versed in the major code changes of the “enforcer” codes such as AWS (welding), AISC (steel), ACI 318 (concrete), ACI 530 (masonry), in addition to the latest revisions of the International Building Code (IBC) and statewide codes within F&R’s geographical region.