Honestly, I've never really understood the hate towards inspectors - especially in new construction when codes are clear and building things correctly the first time couldn't be easier.
Code Check manuals are available to every single person out there. It takes like five minutes to look something up to ensure you're moving in the right direction.
The only excuses a contractor or sub has for doing it wrong the first time are lack of education or laziness, and the first one is honestly pretty easy to fix.
The time tested way is to apply for a building permit and wait for the planner of the day to mark up your plans. :). If you want to get ahead of the planner a bit, there are some good books out there that will give you a pretty solid foundation. I use this as a reference for design work. If you are building something that is not typical or prescriptive, you can have an engineer do your calculations, most planning departments are happy with an engineers stamp.