Christopher Chwedyk, AIA, CSI, NCARB, Director of the Code Group at Burnham Nationwide, shares his decades of knowledge to give you a clear picture of what to do in the end when you're submitting to the municipality or authorities having jurisdiction. Although construction documents are traditionally intended to convey the design to a builder in a way that it can be built and meet the aesthetic and functional requirements, they also represent what must be included to meet codes.
These communication methods include the usual drawings and specifications, but they must also include additional and accurate information required by a code jurisdiction that will then be relied upon during the construction process to communicate the legal requirements that must be met to achieve compliance.
Proper documentation, coupled with the integration of these requirements into the design and construction, will help ensure that whatever interpretations and agreements made between the design professionals and the jurisdictional authorities have been commemorated and may be referred to throughout the life of the project and the building.
