According to Zippia, the average homeowner spends $7,560 annually on home improvement projects. Whether building a deck or adding a room to the house, people love to spend time improving their homes.
However, it’s not easy to make these improvements. Even if you own a home, any additions you make to your house must comply with local building codes. As such, you must receive building permission from local municipalities before you can add to your house.
You can receive this permission by submitting a building permit application. This application demonstrates that your proposed addition will follow building codes. However, many people wonder how to apply for building permits.
That’s why we’ve compiled this FAQ! Check out this guide to answer your questions.
How Do I Apply For a Building Permit?
The first thing people often wonder about is how to get a building permit application. First, contact the building office or clerk of your local government. Then, explain your construction plan to them so they can decide what permits you need.
Then, fill out the permit application forms with all the required information. Sometimes, municipalities may require additional documents like insurance or bond forms. Also, remember that some permits may require in-person appointments.
Finally, submit the permit fee with the application. These fees can range from $50 to thousands of dollars, depending on the scope of your additions.
What Do I Do With the Permit After I Get It?
Once you receive your building permit, keep it displayed during construction. Otherwise, inspectors could come and hold up the project.
Depending on where you live, you may need to schedule inspections of the work to ensure that things follow the plan you described. However, you may wonder what happens if something necessarily changes in your project. We’ll cover this in the next section.
What Do I Do if My Plans Change During the Project?
Sometimes, changes necessarily occur in your construction project. Fortunately, municipalities generally recognize this. Once you receive building permission, you can make small non-structural changes to the construction plan.
Most of the time, this leeway will cover the issues you face during your building project. But, what happens if you need to make a significant change to the structure?
In these cases, you’ll likely need to contact the building department. Explain the change you need to make and ask if they require you to submit revised plans for their approval.
Sometimes, they may not require these submissions. However, it’s best to prepare in case you have to submit these updates.
Can You Bypass This Building Permit Application?
Every home addition requires a building permit. However, you don’t have to be the one who gets these permits. Instead, you can hire contractors to do this job for you.
Contractors don’t just build additions to your house. They also handle the building permit application process.
In fact, local municipalities often grant these permits to contractors faster than to DIYers. They have more confidence in these contractors because of their experience with this construction.
Luckily, we offer each of these services and more to our clients! Check out our services to see how we can assist you.