How to Obtain a Permit for Fall Home Improvement Projects

How to Obtain a Permit for Fall Home Improvement Projects – While many people start their projects in spring and finish in fall before the freezing winter sets in. It’s always important to obtain a building permit for any projects you take on: Change the footprint of your house, move a load-bearing wall, create a new door or window opening, replace an electric stove with a natural-gas model, move a sink, or install new electrical wiring. The reasons behind getting a permit are pretty finite. The most important two being inspectors will see if the work is good and not going to cause a fire or that your house wont fall down. The other reason: fines. You could be made to pay three times what you spent on the project or asked to dismantle it and start over, after you get the permit. Acquiring a permit starts with checking with your cities town hall or city web site. The Department of Codes Compliance should have the application you will need to fill out. Once you turn in an application and fee, depending on your town, it could take several weeks to months to get back to you. So if you’re planning a project prepare to wait for the OK. Starting a project with just the application submitted isn’t good enough. With fewer applications turned in during the summer for the fall and winter, these applications go through quicker and with less hassle. In order to gain this permit there are things you will need besides the application.

A clear cut plan for your home improvement

We built a barn in the back yard 3 years ago. We had several different blue prints; from several different barns. After taking a look at them all we drew out our own.

A time table

How long is it going to take you to complete this project. Remember that fixing the roof, or building one on an addition to your house should be completed quickly.

The cost of your project

(If you overestimate the cost of your project without a permit you could be made to pay more then you spent)

Price it out. Home Depot or Lowes are great places to start with this search. Depending on your town or local you could also have lumber yard.

Know your towns zoning laws

The biggest problem we face in house improvement projects has to do with doing them improperly. Many people don’t know their districts zoning laws. Because they don’t many towns make them tare their structures because they are too close to property line, or aren’t to code. If you have an historical house you may be required to follow a different set of guide lines. It comes down to a porch for me. My house is more then enough feet porch less from the road there are certainly some in our neighborhood that are almost on the road with a porch. But as we researched doing so with the city we discovered that the zoning laws had changed since that house had been built. We couldn’t have our porch. So, knowing your laws, and knowing that they are up to date is one of the most important steps you can take.

Just remember that the most important things you can do to prepare for a project is put the application in in a timely manner and have your project set.