All of the All Pro Home Inspectors here at All Pro Home Inspectors Inc. get questioned by our Ponte Vedra Beach, FL house buyers every now and then if certain improvements or additions discovered (or disclosed by the home sellers) have to be or must have been permitted. The answer generally depends upon exactly what was altered, changed or added into the home in question. Over the years and right after doing thousands of pre-purchase home All Pro Home Inspections, we’ve discovered that nearly all home buyers, home sellers, and homeowners do not know what exactly needs to be permitted vs what may not have to be permitted. This particular list will help as a great place to start in determining if your addition or modification should be permitted based on the latest International Residential Code (IRC) manual.
As per the IRC, permits aren’t needed for the following:
* Unattached one-story accessory buildings (tool sheds) lower than or equal to two hundred sq.ft.?* Fences less than or of about six feet., sidewalks, driveways, swings as well as playground tools?* Retaining walls lower than or equal to 4 feet. coming from the base of the footing to the very top of the wall & with no surcharge?* Water tanks on grade lower than or of about 5,000 gallons & height/width ratio less than or of about 2:1?* Painting, tiling, cabinets, carpeting, counter & similar finish work?* Awnings showing less than or of about fifty four inches from exterior wall & supported from wall?* Decks less than or equal to 200 sq. ft. & under or of about thirty inches above grade and not attached to house or serving a required exit door
We wanted to give this list of what normally could be done to your house without a permit based on the latest IRC to help resolve a few of the confusion for our house buyers, sellers, and owners. In case what you are intending to build drops outside of the list mentioned above it’s safe to assume that the permit is needed. Nevertheless, your local city/county building official has got the final say concerning what must be permitted. Therefore prior to deciding to build make sure to contact your local building department to prevent troubles and large fines in the future.
To learn more about building permits in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, speak to All Pro Home Inspectors Inc. at 904-807-0939 right now!