The Expert Podcast

One of the most common questions we get as to how to go about getting a building permit And if you even need a building permit some types of work do not need a permit. And. How do you determine that And how do you get one if it's needed Well first let's take a look at an example of a permit application. This one happens to be. from Oregon one of the cities in Oregon. And it's an example of a building permit You notice it's only one page most counties and cities try to make it simple to get a building permit started. And it'll tell you, what is the type of work you're doing Are you doing a new construction addition alterations This is what most people do Alterations demolition, category of construction Is it a single family Is it a accessory building like a shed? Is it a commercial building or multi-family. And then the job site information you have to put the address of the, work you're doing. And across street So that way they can find it If you're doing I work on a property The inspectors are going to have to come out and this helps them find it. If there's a subdivision name like a sign out front like, you know shady Oaks or whatever it is you put that there they also need the tax number the parcel number Here's why. street address is good for delivering mail and sometimes driving directions, but in order to make sure. That the work is on a certain legal parcel within the boundaries They need the tax number. Here's your description of work What are you doing? I'm replacing an air conditioner. I'm put putting out a new roof. I'm doing sheet rock whatever the work is electrical work. And then here's the key right here Property owner. Or tenant or. Builder contractor. And the reason why that's important is because if you are a property owner you may be allowed to do some things without a license For example you may be able to do some simple electrical or plumbing and some cities without being a licensed electrician, but you can't hire somebody else to do it unless they're licensed So if you're the property owner or maybe putting in a new ceiling fan, He may be allowed to do that but you can't pay a handyman to do it You have to either do it yourself or hire an electrician. If the applicant is an engineer or architect or contractor you put that information here. The name of the contractor They're CCB licensed That's their contractor. licensing board. and then you have to sign it. Over here It'll get into the finances. W what is the amount of work you're doing in terms of dollars? What is the amount of work you're doing in terms of square footage. This is going to be necessary to calculate the building permit fees…They're going to charge you a fee for this and the more complicated the job, the more fees you're going to pay now. How do you determine if your work needs. permit. Well we're not attorneys we're not giving you legal advice However, here's some general guidelines that will give you an idea. Anytime you're breaching the envelope of the house meaning that you're cracking open. The seal. Of the house. You probably need a permit. If you're replacing maybe a shingle on the house or you're replacing trim work around a window, probably don't need a permit technically, but if you're taking out the window casing putting in a new one, now you're breaching. The case of that house If you're putting in a new door, it's one thing to take the door off a hinge and put new doors on the hinge. If you're taking out the whole doorframe where you're cracking open the. The envelope of that house, you probably need a permit. What about new construction Well, in most jurisdictions if you want to build a low. shed or lean to, or a. A wood. Storage bin. Probably don't need a permit. However if your shed is bigger than so many square feet some states and counties it's a hundred square feet or 200 square feet. Now you need a permit Or if it's above a certain height like 12 or 15 feet, Now you need a permit. The permits required to make sure you're not putting it too close to your boundary. Some states have a setback five or 10 feet. You're not putting it too close to a septic system or a water line. Or too close to your existing house. you may also need more engineering if it's bigger Look if it's a 10 foot little storage shed. Probably don't need engineering. If it's 20 by 80 feet and that's not a shed anymore you might need better foundations. Better engineering for the floor plan to design. the roof needs might need some tie-downs. So. that's going to be. Determined by jurisdiction. Look there's 3,611 counties in the country. Plus thousands of cities, every city and county may be different In fact, One county might have a rule for their…Jurisdictions in the general county, but outside. The city limits might be easier than if you're in a city in that particular county. So you have to look at where you're located to see what the rules are. Make sure that if you need a permit you get one because if you don't cities are now using aerial views and advanced mapping and artificial intelligence to see if there's addition to put on a house or shed without a permit and they can come back and inspect it and make you tear it down, pay penalties pay fees. If you really do something egregious. Most of the time the skilled trades like electrical and plumbing almost always need a permit. you're going to be changing around electrical, putting in conductors devices. Plumbing, you need a permit to do that Anytime you're breaching that system. If you are doing plumbing. That's normally again something that requires a permit. Now, if you're changing out a faucet…And not breaching the pipes that may not need a permit. If you're adding a dishwasher that maybe is not hardwired and just can screw on a hose that may not need a permit, but if you're rerouting. Plumbing or adding on an outlet or adding on a switch. That's probably a permitted. Type of. work. Also remember that grading. Sometimes needs a permit. In most jurisdictions if you're moving earth moving dirt more than a certain number of cubic yards. Sometimes it needs a permit to make sure you're not changing the flow of water or. drainage or digging into pipes or changing the way that there's erosion. That might need a permit So…if you're just digging a hole for something that might be one thing but if you're grading large amounts of earth or materials on a property or adding materials putting in fill, that might be something that's a permanent process. The easy answer is look things that are major changes that can…pose a risk to residents or neighbors. You want to get a permit if it's something simple that really isn't anything more than cosmetic adding moldings maybe putting up a shelf, probably don't need a permit. But you want to make sure you understand what your jurisdiction has. The other reason why is because if you make some of these changes and there's a problem and it does damage to your house, you may be voiding your insurance policy. If you have substandard work that wasn't permanent.