Texas windstorm inspections: the code they measure against and who makes them

A Texas windstorm inspection is the check, made while construction is still open to view, that coastal work meets the wind provisions of the building code the Texas Department of Insurance has adopted. It applies inside the designated catastrophe area, it is made by a TDI inspector or a TDI appointed engineer, and when every required inspection is approved the department issues the WPI-8 that wind and hail coverage through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association depends on.

Where the requirement reaches, and where it came from

The department's general questions page says the Legislature created the windstorm inspection requirement in 1987, in House Bill 2012, to reduce hurricane losses on the Gulf Coast, and that inspections through the department began on January 1, 1988. That date is why 1988 recurs in every conversation about older coastal houses.

The area is the fourteen first tier coastal counties and part of Harris County. The association's overview names the Harris County portion as parts of La Porte, Morgan's Point, Pasadena, Seabrook and Shore Acres east of Highway 146. How the line is drawn is on the catastrophe area page. The department runs windstorm field offices in Beaumont, La Marque, Angleton and Corpus Christi, according to the association's certification page, so on the Coastal Bend the program's local office is in the same city as 254 Engineering's own office.

The code an inspection measures against

A windstorm inspection is not a general building inspection. It measures the work against the windstorm building code the department has adopted, and the department's general information page lists those codes by period and by zone. The zones are Inland II, Inland I and Seaward.

• 2024 International Residential Code and International Building Code, 28 Tex. Admin. Code 5.4013, effective April 1, 2026 to present, in all three zones.
• 2018 IRC and IBC, sections 5.4011 and 5.4012, listed as effective April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2026, in all three zones.
• 2006, 2003 and 2000 editions with Texas revisions for the periods before that, and the TWIA Building Code for Windstorm Construction from September 1, 1998 to January 31, 2003, which did not apply to Inland II.

The department's forms page assigns the inspection verification form by the date construction began, with WPI-2-BC-8 for ongoing improvements to construction begun on or after April 1, 2026. The start date of the job therefore decides both the code edition and the paperwork.

Behind the code sits the load standard. The American Society of Civil Engineers describes ASCE 7 as the standard U.S. building codes have relied on as the authoritative source for loads, and says its 2022 edition brought new wind speeds along the hurricane coastline. Which edition of ASCE 7 governs a given job is a matter of what the adopted code references, and it is read from the code rather than assumed from the calendar.

Who makes the inspection

Section 2210.254 of the Insurance Code says a windstorm inspection may be made only by a qualified inspector, and that a qualified inspector must be approved and appointed or employed by the department before inspecting. In practice that means one of two people.

The first is a TDI inspector. The department's process page says its inspectors handle all non-structural work, including most repairs, alterations and re-roofs.

The second is a Texas licensed professional engineer the department has appointed. An appointment is separate from the engineering license, and the department publishes its list of appointed engineers and will confirm one by phone. That is the meaning of windstorm engineer in this program: not any engineer with coastal experience, but one the department has appointed, which is set out at length on the appointed engineers page.

An engineer at 254 Engineering LLC holds a Texas Department of Insurance windstorm appointment, dated September 23, 2026. 254 Engineering LLC is a Texas registered engineering firm, TBPELS Firm Registration F-29811.

If a TDI inspector disapproves the work, the department's page says the owner may hire an appointed engineer to finish the inspections.

What the inspector needs to see

Wind does not damage a house one component at a time. It pushes and lifts on the roof and walls, and that force has to travel through a chain of connections to the ground. FEMA's coastal construction fact sheet on load paths describes the chain as roof covering to sheathing, sheathing to roof framing, roof framing to the bearing walls, upper walls to lower walls and to the floor, and the floor to the foundation. FEMA's wind retrofit guide defines load paths as chains of connections that transfer loads from where they are applied to the foundation.

Each of those connections is hidden by the next layer of construction. Sheathing covers the framing, the roof covering covers the sheathing, and drywall covers the straps inside the walls. That is the practical reason behind the department's rule that its inspectors must inspect during, and not before or after, the construction or repair.

Openings are the other half. FEMA's guide notes that a broken window or glass door can let wind pressure build inside a house, which may cause structural damage, and the department's general questions page describes the WPI-2-BC as the inspection verification form for windborne debris resistant products, with each such product inspected on its own where a retrofit discount is sought. Why openings carry so much weight is on the opening protection page.

Timing, deficiencies and the paperwork after

TDI inspectors aim to inspect within 48 hours of the requested date, excluding weekends and holidays, and the department warns that large storms delay them. If work does not comply, the inspector posts a notice at the job describing the problems and returns to reinspect after they are corrected.

On the engineer's side, the department's system information page sets out the order: hire an appointed inspector, apply for the certificate, start construction, and when construction is finished the inspector submits the inspection verification form. The department says it usually processes forms within 48 hours, with delays after disasters. Then section 2210.2515(e) applies: for an ongoing improvement, the department may not issue the certificate if fully completed forms and all fees owed have not reached it within six months after the final inspection. A roofer's version of the same sequence is on the windstorm inspection for roofers page.

The city permit runs beside it

A windstorm inspection does not replace the building department, and the building department does not replace it. Corpus Christi, Portland and Rockport each run their own building department. The department's general questions page notes that the WPI-1 serves as proof of enrollment for a building permit, which is one of the few points where the two tracks touch.

The certificate the inspections lead to is described document by document on the WPI-8 certificate page. For new construction or a structural alteration inside the catastrophe area, the published scope and prices for windstorm inspection are the next page to read.