Start with the scope
A code number is useful only when you know where it applies. Check your country, local rules, building class and approved design. Check the code edition and any exceptions too. A national model code may not be the version used at your address.
Follow the source
Our guides explain rules in plain words and link to their source. Follow the clause or table link for each number. Check for changes to that rule. Some standards must be bought from their publisher. We explain how to use them without copying licensed span tables.
What review dates mean
“Source text checked” is the date we checked the cited text for the stated scope. These checks may use software. The date does not mean an expert has approved your project. We name a professional reviewer only when that person has done the review.
Some older pages do not yet have a source-check date. A page’s publish or update date is not proof that its sources were checked. Sources can change between checks. We give rechecks priority when rules change or readers flag errors. Ask your designer or certifier to resolve unclear rules before work starts.
Tools and printed sheets
The free tools and sheets work out shapes, lengths or quantities from your inputs. They do not choose code-compliant sizes, design a structure or approve a building. We check the sums in worked examples apart from the page layout.
Each printed sheet has a version and a link to its web guide. Use that link to check for a newer copy before you use a saved sheet.
Tell us about an error
Contact Chippy Tools with the page URL and the place the rule applies. Include the clause or table and a link to the official source. Add the code edition and start date if known. We check the source before changing a rule. We then update the guide and any sheets it affects.
Do not send private job records unless we need and ask for them.