All of the All Pro Home Inspectors here at All Pro Home Inspectors Inc. get asked by our Ponte Vedra Beach, FL home buyers every now and then if particular modifications or additions identified (or exposed by the home sellers) should be or must have been permitted. Our answer normally depends upon exactly what was modified, changed or added to the home in question. Throughout the years and after doing several thousands of pre-purchase home All Pro Home Inspections, we’ve discovered that almost all home buyers, house sellers, and home owners have no idea of what exactly should be permitted vs what may not need to be permitted. The following list will help as a great place to start in determining if the addition or modification should be permitted based on the latest International Residential Code (IRC) manual.
Based on the IRC, permits are not required for the following:
* Detached one-story accessory structures (tool sheds) lower than or equal to 200 sq.ft.?* Fences less than or equal to six feet., driveways, sidewalks, swings and play ground tools?* Retaining walls lower than or of about 4 ft. coming from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall & with no surcharge?* Water tanks in grade less than or of about 5,000 gallons & height/width ratio lower than or equal to 2:1?* Painting, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter & similar finish work?* Canopy showing lower than or of about 54 inches coming from exterior wall & supported from wall?* Decks less than or equal to 200 sq. ft. & less than or equal to 30 inches above grade and not attached with home or serving a required exit door
We wanted to give this particular list of what commonly can be done to your house without a permit in accordance with the latest IRC to help you resolve a number of the confusion for our home buyers, sellers, and owners. If perhaps what you’re planning to build falls outside of the list mentioned above it is safe to assume that the permit is necessary. However, the local city/county building official has the final say concerning what should be permitted. Thus before you build make sure to call your local building department to prevent issues and hefty fines in the future.
For more information regarding building permits in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, speak to All Pro Home Inspectors Inc. at 904-807-0939 right now!