Welcome to our informational blog on permits--when and why you may or may not need them.
To start off we have the answer to your #1 question "What is a permit for?". Permits are designed and legislated by the ordinance of the city, state , or municipality that you reside in. They serve several functions, the first being that they protect you the consumer on your construction projects. You may ask "In what Way?". The answer to that question is that they will make sure that your chosen Contractor will perform your construction project to a "correct Set Construction Standard". This means that your Contractor may not be able to come in and just throw your project together. The Contractor will have to work by a set of construction rules that we will refer to as "Code Compliant".Hereby Code sets the proper Building and Construction standards and practices . If you have chosen your contractor according to our previous blog on "Choosing Your Contractor" then you can be safe assured that they will already be knowledgeable in Code Compliancy.
In addition your Chosen Contractor will be responsible for obtaining these necessary permits. They will schedule, at necessary points of your project, to have your city inspector come to your project and make sure that it has been performed to these set standards. Your Architect or Contractor will provide the plans necessary to obtain the permits, have them approved by your city or municipality, and execute the entire inspection process to the final, finished construction project..
Lastly, Permits serve a couple of other reasons. One being that they will let your city or municipality know how much money that you have spent on your rehab or construction project. Unfortunately they will increase your personal property taxes by increasing the assessment value of your home. Yes, we have to pay these taxes...but GOOD NEWS --you have increased the equity value of your home. This may help you in paying your mortgage early, take out or refinance for future construction projects, or to simply up-crease the value of your home for re-sale.
Our #2 question asked is "When do you need permits?". The rules on obtaining permits will always vary from city to city or municipality however we can sum it up for you in describing some of the most code compliant demands for permits as follows: Any construction project that processes a load bearing circumstance I.E. removing a wall that may be holding your roof up, concrete foundation work that would support load bearing walls on an addition, or any garage or out-building projects that will be considered Load-bearing.
You will need permits for any process that will require a Licensed Electrician, Plumber, or HVAC Mechanic.
Other common instances when a permit is needed will be fences, retaining walls that are beyond minimum requirements allotted by your City or Municipality.
Ending we would encourage you to call your city or municipality to describe your construction project and they should be happy to let you know if you will need permits. In addition you may also call a Contractor, hopefully BBB Accredited, that may to give you this helpful knowledge. Speaking of BBB Accredited companies please join our next blog on the Better Business Bureau, its functions, and why they are a very important resource for your Home Construction needs and projects. Thank You and see ya next time.
