REVIEWED BY A BUILDING OFFICIAL

GOT RED-TAGGED?

$39

A correction notice is written for the contractor who is supposed to already know the code. It lists a section number and a few clipped words, and leaves you to work out what it means and what fixes it. Send it here and you get every item back in plain English — with the code section behind it, what specifically clears it, and what the re-inspection will look at.

Written by an ICC-Certified Building Official who reads these notices from the other side of the counter.

HOW IT WORKS
01
Send the notice
Email a photo or PDF of the correction notice with the city, the project type, and the date on it. Photos of the flagged work help but are not required.
02
I tell you whether I can help
Within one business day. If it falls outside what I can review — my own jurisdiction, or an item that genuinely needs an engineer — you hear that instead of a bill. If I can help, you get a payment link for $39.
03
You get the report
2-3 business days after payment. One card per cited item: what it means, the code section behind it, what clears it, and what the re-inspection will check.
SEND YOUR NOTICE →

Opens your email with the questions prefilled. Or write review@projectcalc.app directly.
Nothing is charged until you have heard back that I can help.

Already heard back that I can take it? Pay here and the report starts.

What a correction notice is actually telling you

Inspectors write for speed. “R507.9.1.3 — ledger fasteners” is a complete thought at the counter and a dead end at home. Unpacked, it means the code sets the spacing of your ledger bolts by joist span and load, that lag screws and through-bolts have different spacings, that the fasteners have to be hot-dipped galvanized or stainless, and that there are minimum distances from the top edge, the bottom edge and the ends of the board. One line on a notice, five things to get right.

Most corrections fall into three groups, and knowing which one you're holding changes what you should do next. Some are black-and-white code— a number is a number, fix it and move on. Some are documentation— the work may be fine but nothing on file proves it, and a manufacturer's installation sheet or a revised plan sheet closes it. And some are an interpretation of a provision that can be read more than one way. The third group is where people either waste thousands or get their answer with one well-cited phone call.

Why the edition matters more than usual right now

Jurisdictions are mid-changeover between the 2021 and 2024 International Residential Code, and the 2024 edition renumbered whole chapters. Guards moved from R312 to R321. Stairs moved from R311.7 to R318.7, and handrails left the stair section entirely for a new Section R320. Smoke alarms moved to R310 — which is the number that meant emergency escape openings in the 2021 edition. A citation copied from the wrong edition points at a completely different subject, so the first thing any review of your notice has to establish is which book your city is actually enforcing.

What this is, and what it isn't

This is code consulting: an experienced read of your notice against the published code, in writing, so you can act on it. It is nota design professional's stamp, not sealed engineering, and not an official determination — only the building official with jurisdiction can make one of those, and I don't review projects in the jurisdiction I serve. Where an item needs an engineer, the report tells you that instead of guessing.

Common questions

What exactly do I get back?
A PDF, one card per item on your notice. Each card says what the inspector cited, what that requirement actually means in plain English, the code section it comes from — with the section number as YOUR adopted edition prints it — what specifically clears the item, and what the re-inspection will look at. At the end: the order to do the work in, anything on the notice that looks questionable and is worth a conversation, and the questions to ask when you call the department.
Can you overturn the inspector?
No, and be suspicious of anyone who says otherwise. Only the building official with jurisdiction can interpret their code, and the formal path to disagree is a written appeal to the board of appeals. What this does is tell you which items are black-and-white code, which rest on an interpretation, and what the code actually says — so you either fix it efficiently or you make an informed, cited argument instead of an argument.
Do you review work in your own jurisdiction?
No. I hold an ICC Certified Building Official credential and work in code enforcement, so reviewing projects in the jurisdiction I serve would be a conflict of interest. Send the notice and I will tell you up front if your project falls in an area I have to decline — before you pay anything.
Is this engineering, or an official code determination?
Neither. This is code consulting: an experienced read of your notice against the published code. It is not a design professional’s stamp, it is not sealed calculations, and it does not bind your building department. Where an item genuinely needs an engineer — a beam sizing, a foundation repair, a structural alteration — the report says so plainly instead of guessing.
How fast, and how do I pay?
Send the notice first. Within one business day you get a yes or no on whether I can help, and if yes, a payment link for $39. The report follows within 2-3 business days of payment. No payment is taken before the notice is reviewed, so there is nothing to refund on a job I cannot help with.
What if my notice has ten items on it?
One flat $39 covers the notice, not the item — ten items or two. If the notice is unusually large, a full commercial plan-review comment set for instance, I will say so in the reply and quote it before you pay rather than quietly doing a thinner job.
What if my city amended the code?
That is exactly why the jurisdiction question is on the intake. Local amendments override the model code, and the number that matters is the edition your city adopted — which for the IRC is a live problem right now, because the 2024 edition renumbered whole chapters. R310 means emergency escape openings in the 2021 IRC and smoke alarms in the 2024. The report cites the edition you are actually being held to.
SEND YOUR NOTICE →

Brent J. — ICC-Certified Building Official · Founder of ProjectCalc

BEFORE YOU BUILD
Do I Need a Permit?
Free quiz with the actual IRC section behind the answer
What You Can Build Without a Permit
The full IRC R105.2 exemption list, read closely