When Is A Rescheck Required?

Welcome to the Reschexpert blog.  Today on the top How To Rescheck blog we want to discuss with you, When is a Rescheck Required? An in depth journey into a building inspector’s decision as to require a Rescheck Energy Report, or not.  Your project can hinge on many things during current construction market conditions.  Supply shortages, Labor gaps, Budget overruns, Site access issues, and permit denials are all common road blocks along the road to building an alteration, addition, or new construction project.  Today we want to discuss when a Rescheck is required, and what you can do about it.

A Rescheck energy report is a PDF or printed report that is generated by free software available from the Department of Energy.  The most common software suites that are used to create Rescheck reports are Rescheck Desktop and Rescheck Web, both fantastic software options.  Many times on a project your building department or building inspector will expect to see a completed a Rescheck in order to start your construction project.  Today we want to look at a few scenarios when a Rescheck may, and may not be required on your construction project.

Example 1:

Your city has adopted IECC 2021 energy code, and the building inspector asks you to perform an IECC 2021 Rescheck to show compliance with IECC 2021 Energy Code.

In this example it would be impossible to move forward with your construction without generating a Rescheck report and submitting it along with your building permit.

Example 2:

A friend from Texas is telling you about a home he built last year and suggests the new home you are building might benefit from having Rescheck to show you what insulations and windows are suggested for your climate zone.

For this example a Rescheck would not be required unless your town has adopted an energy code like IECC 2009, IECC 2012, IECC 2015, IECC 2018 or IECC 2021.  However, just because a energy code has not been adopted does not release you and your project from the fact that a Rescheck might still benefit your project and future energy bills.  Knowing the amount of protection your home needs against the local climate zone can be great data to have when planning a home’s construction and construction budget.

Example 3:

You decide to hyper insulate your home that you are building in Charleston, South Carolina.  South Carolina uses IECC 2009, which is now a 10+ year old code so passing with R30 ceiling and R13 walls is done very easily.  Your project has R49 celing, and R21 walls, so you know without a doubt it will pass Rescheck, and your building inspector does to.  Is a Rescheck required?

In short, yes, a Rescheck would be required using the IECC 2009.  However, I am all for common sense in the inspection of projects.  If a building inspector knew that R49 and R21 was going into a home that really only required R30 and R13 and did not require a Rescheck I do not think anyone involved would feel miffed.  However, what a Rescheck allows the building inspector to do is put it in writing.  Inspectors see a lot of jokers come into their office taking about the huge homes with waterfalls in the living room they are going to build.  At the end of construction, when all the money is gone the R49 roof can quickly be down graded to R19 to save money.  Then the same building inspector who did not require a Rescheck Energy Report on good faith, is left with egg on his face.

These are just a few examples to help the DIY Rescheck users see when a Rescheck is required.  I am sure you can think of many more and apply them during your daily Rescheck creation.  We thank you for reading the Reschexpert blog.  If you need a Rescheck created on a project where a Rescheck is required then simply email your plans, jobsite address, and square footage to service@rescheck.info and we will get you taken care of.