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House design · Documents and build sequence · design-20

Follow the master build sequence and inspection hold points

This is the one master build sequence for the estate. It links the site, design, legal and safe room steps. Hold points mark work that must not be covered until it is inspected.

How

  1. Before work starts: permits and the permit register in place (legal-2, legal-6), phasing agreed (legal-13) and the critical path set (legal-14).
  2. Site works: access and erosion controls, earthworks, set-out, foundation ground and trenches (site-17 to site-22).
  3. HOLD POINT 1, ground and footings: bearing soil, footing excavations and reinforcement are inspected before concrete is placed (site-20, design-14).
  4. Safe room: if planned, its foundation and anchors go in with the house foundation, with any special inspection of anchors (secure-4, secure-9).
  5. Foundations and slab with all penetrations in place. In flood areas, check the floor level against the design flood elevation before building up (design-27).
  6. Structure and roof. Where walls are straw bale or earth, get the roof on first to protect them from rain.
  7. HOLD POINT 2, structure and connectors: framing, straps or tie-downs, bracing and seismic connections are inspected before linings hide them (design-25, design-26).
  8. Windows, doors and the air barrier, taped and inspected (HOLD POINT 3), then the mid-build blower door test (design-21).
  9. First-fix services: wiring conduits, plumbing and ventilation ducts. HOLD POINT 4: rough-in inspections before walls are closed (legal-2).
  10. Insulation, vapour control and linings. Renders and plasters only when bales or earth are dry enough; the US straw bale code requires bales at 20 percent moisture or less before plaster.
  11. Second-fix services and finishes, then final inspections and sign-off (legal-21) and commissioning (design-22).
  12. Photograph every hold point before it is covered and keep the photos in the house file (legal-22).

Safety: Use fall protection on roofs and scaffolds; follow site safety rules for your country.

Do these first

Sources

  1. 2015 IRC Appendix S: Strawbale Construction. International Code Council (copy hosted by Ecological Building Network), accessed 2026-11
  2. Straw bale. Your Home, Australian Government, accessed 2026-11
  3. Enclosure Leakage Test (Building America Solution Center). Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for US DOE, accessed 2026-11
  4. Foundation and Anchoring Criteria for Safe Rooms (fact sheet, 2021). US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), accessed 2026-11

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