Glendale policy: tub and shower boxes must be grouted before the inspection

The city's technical guideline is a written policy from the plumbing and mechanical staff. It reads: "tub/shower boxes shall be grouted at the plumbing top out inspection for commercial projects and at the frame stage inspection for residential projects." The guideline was issued 3/12/2018 and revised in 2021. It lists no code section. It is city policy, not a line in the adopted International Plumbing Code.

The guideline is one page and does not explain the reason or define a tub or shower box. Use the construction drawings and the city's inspection instructions to identify the boxes covered on your project. Do not read the policy as a direction to grout tile, a finished shower pan, or a valve enclosure.

Check the city's Building Safety and Codes Services pages for the current version before each project, since the PDF you saved last year may not be the one inspectors use today.

• Tub or shower box: the construction box referred to by the city's guideline. The PDF does not define its dimensions, construction or material; identify it from the approved project details before scheduling the work.
• Plumbing top out inspection: the commercial stage where the piping is roughed in but the walls are still open. The guideline names this stage for commercial projects.
• Frame stage inspection: the residential stage the guideline names, when the framing is complete and the walls are still open.
• Grouted: the city's required preparation of those boxes by the named inspection stage. The guideline specifies timing, not a grout product, installation detail or responsible trade.

Plumbing contractors, builders and tenant-improvement contractors installing tub or shower boxes in Glendale. The timing depends on the project type: commercial projects use the top out inspection, residential projects use the frame stage inspection. It does not replace the ordinary plumbing rough-in and final inspections, and it does not apply outside Glendale.

A hotel or apartment building with many bathrooms. The project team identifies the boxes covered by the city policy and schedules their grouting before the plumbing top out inspection is called. Calling the inspection first means the inspector finds ungrouted boxes.

A new house. The boxes are grouted before the frame stage inspection, so the contractor responsible for the boxes completes that preparation ahead of the inspection, not after.

The edge case: a remodel that only swaps a tub. The guideline speaks of commercial and residential projects by inspection stage. If your remodel has no frame stage or top out inspection, ask Glendale Building Safety which inspection applies before the box goes in.

A tenant improvement with new restrooms. Commercial fit-outs with tub or shower boxes follow the same top out rule as a new building. The plumbing contractor should tell the general contractor early so the responsible crew is scheduled ahead of the plumbing inspection, not behind it.

1. 1Read the one-page guideline on the Glendale Building Safety and Codes Services pages before you schedule the crew.
2. 2Put the grouting on the schedule ahead of the top out inspection (commercial) or frame stage inspection (residential).
3. 3Confirm with the Development Services Center at 5850 W Glendale Ave (623-930-2800) if your job does not fit either stage.
4. 4Request the inspection only after the boxes are grouted.

• "This is in the International Plumbing Code." It is a Glendale policy. Chandler's homeowner inspection manual describes rough-in testing but does not address this Glendale preparation rule.
• "Grouting can wait for the final." For Glendale the guideline names the top out or frame stage inspection.
• "The guideline changes the rough-in inspection." It only sets when the boxes are grouted. The normal plumbing rough-in and final inspections still apply, as in Phoenix and Chandler.

The rule is Glendale's Technical Guideline for Grouting Tub and Shower Boxes, a one-page PDF on glendaleaz.gov. The city's answer for your project, not this summary, decides a real dispute.