Cowabunga Reviews

Do your own review. Output from Cowabunga Reviews is a first-pass draft only. The licensed reviewer must perform their own complete review, verify every item against the adopted codes and local amendments, and is solely responsible for any letter issued. It is not a substitute for professional judgment, and it comes with no warranty.

Cowabunga Reviews helps licensed building plan reviewers produce a first-pass review of a permit submittal against the International Codes, faster and more consistently.

How it works

• Locks the project facts (jurisdiction, permit, scope, cycle, adopted editions) from named sources before any sheet is reviewed, and stops if they're missing.

• Plan PDF intake: splits the set into sheets matched to the drawing index, uses the text layer then OCR, renders and zooms sheets, and checks every sheet is readable before reviewing.

• Walks discipline checklists: commercial (IBC), residential (IRC), fire (IFC), mechanical, plumbing, electrical, structural, signs and pools.

• Cross-checks the fire code on every building review (sprinkler and alarm triggers, fire access, hydrants, key boxes, hazardous materials) and the building code on every fire review (occupancy, egress, fire-resistance, separations).

• Gives every change-list entry on a revision a disposition, and runs a final self-check before handing you the draft.

• Runs an independent checker pass on every draft (citations in the adopted editions, dispositions, no code text, no redundant inspection notes, standing items, status) with a PASS / SEND WITH EDITS / FAIL verdict, applies the fixes and re-checks.

• Keeps notes useful: no inspection notes that just restate the plans; missing details become numbered comments.

• Requires four parts for every correction: location, observed condition, requirement and a verified section reference.

• Never skips the restroom and plumbing fixture calculation on commercial reviews.

• Handles resubmittals with a disposition for every prior comment.

• Drafts the correction letter, an evidence table and a list of open questions for you to decide.

• Includes a jurisdiction workup skill that builds a cited pack of any city's adopted codes and local amendments from primary sources, with an example pack. Packs refresh quarterly by default, and you can change the interval.

• Contains section numbers and plain-word descriptions only, no model-code text. You finalize and send every letter; the toolkit drafts.

Made by a reviewer, for reviewers.

**Caveat: **covers I-code building and fire review, preconfigured for Texas. State and local codes may override. States that publish their own building codes, such as California, are not supported.

License: one reviewer per subscription. No resale or redistribution. Monthly updates while subscribed. The license ends when the subscription ends, and the files must be deleted.