HBRAMA has partnered with Mass Construction Consultants so members can get a straight answer on a code question before it turns into a failed inspection, a change order, or a lost week. Up to an hour of expert consultation is now included with your membership.
Every builder and remodeler in Massachusetts knows the moment. The framing is up, the inspector is due Thursday, and there’s a line in the code you’re reading one way and suspect the building department may read another. Or you’re pricing a job and can’t tell whether a provision is going to add a sprinkler, a rated assembly, or an accessibility requirement you didn’t carry in the number.
Until now, the choices were to guess, to call around, or to pay for a consultant by the hour. As of this fall, HBRAMA members have a better option.
What the benefit is
Through a new partnership with Mass Construction Consultants, Inc. (MCC), HBRAMA members can get up to one hour of building code consultation at no charge.
Bring a question about what a provision requires, ask for an independent second opinion before you proceed, or get a read on how a requirement is likely to be applied in practice.
The consultants can help with:
- The Massachusetts State Building Code (780 CMR), both the residential and commercial volumes
- The Massachusetts Comprehensive Fire Safety Code (527 CMR)
- Accessibility requirements under 521 CMR and the Architectural Access Board
- Construction fire safety and NFPA 241 plans
The timing is good. The 10th Edition of the State Building Code, based on the 2021 International Building and Residential Codes with Massachusetts amendments, became the only code in effect for permits filed on or after July 1, 2025. Many of us are still finding out, project by project, where it changed what we used to do and how individual building departments are interpreting it.
Who you’ll be talking to
These are not generalists reading the code for the first time. Both consultants have sat on the building official’s side of the counter.
- Michael Yanovitch came up through the trades and then spent 18 years as a municipal building official and building commissioner. He covers building, fire, accessibility, and construction fire safety on both residential and commercial work.
- Joseph Kelly has worked as a construction superintendent, as a building official, including as Boston’s Chief Building Inspector, and on the code staff at AGC of Massachusetts. He leads MCC, which also provides construction education and training for contractors.
MCC works with general contractors, designers, and owners on code, permitting, and NFPA 241 issues, and publishes practical articles on topics like fire stopping and fire blocking, sprinkler requirements, and construction fire safety plans at massconstruction.org. It’s worth a bookmark.
How to use it
- Email codeguys@hbrama.com with your name, company, local association, the town where the project is located, and the code section or issue you’re asking about.
- Attach what you have. Drawings, photos, and the inspector’s notes or correction list all help the consultant get to the answer faster.
- A consultant will reply to set up a call or respond in writing. Your consultation covers up to one hour.
The fine print
A few things to know so the benefit works the way you expect:
- Who’s eligible: members in good standing of any of HBRAMA’s five local associations.
- Additional time: the first hour is included with membership. If your question needs more than that, MCC bills additional time directly.
- It’s advice, not a ruling. No consultant can guarantee how an inspection will go. Your local building official makes that call. What the consultation gives you is a well-informed opinion and a clearer conversation with the building department.
- What’s not included: site visits, inspections, written work products on MCC letterhead, and using or citing the names of MCC or its principals in your dealings with a building department.
Why the association is doing this
Much of what HBRAMA does on a member’s behalf happens on Beacon Hill and in Washington, and members don’t always see it until a bill passes or a bad one doesn’t. This benefit is different. It’s something you can use on a Tuesday morning, on a real job, with a real deadline.
It also connects to the policy work. When the association argues for a fair appeal path on code interpretations or for consistent enforcement from town to town, the strongest evidence we have is the specific, documented questions our members run into in the field. If your consultation turns up a provision that’s being applied inconsistently, or one that adds cost without adding safety, let the HBRAMA office know. That’s exactly the kind of example that carries weight in a hearing room.
Most important, use it. An hour on the phone before you frame is cheaper than a day of rework after the inspection.
Not a member yet?
This is one more reason to join. Membership in HBRAMA comes through your local association and includes the association’s advocacy at the state and federal level, education, and member benefits like this one. Learn more and join here, or find your local association here.
Questions about the benefit? Contact the HBRAMA office at 617-773-3305 or admin@hbrama.com. Code questions go directly to codeguys@hbrama.com.
Program details are from HBRAMA’s Building Code Consultation page. Consultant background is from HBRAMA and Mass Construction Consultants. 10th Edition effective dates are from the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards. Consultation is advisory only; final code interpretations rest with the local building official.