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 so often if certain improvements or additions discovered (or exposed by the home sellers) must be or should have been permitted. The answer normally depends on exactly what was altered, changed or added to the home involved. Throughout the years and after doing thousands of pre-purchase All Pro Home Inspection reports, we have found out that almost all home buyers, house sellers, and homeowners do not know what exactly must be permitted vs what might not need to be permitted. This particular list will serve as a great place to begin in determining if your addition or modification should be permitted according to the latest International Residential Code (IRC) manual.
Based on the IRC, permits aren’t needed for the following:
* Unattached one-story accessory structures (tool sheds) less than or of about two hundred sq.ft.?* Fences less than or equal to six feet., sidewalks, driveways, swings and playground equipment?* Retaining walls less 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 equal to 5,000 gallons & height/width ratio lower than or of about 2:1?* Tiling, painting, carpeting, cabinets, counter & similar finish work?* Canopy showing less than or of about fifty four inches from outside wall & supported from wall?* Decks lower than or of about 200 sq. ft. & less than or of about thirty inches above grade and not attached with house or serving a required exit door
We wanted to provide this particular list of what commonly could be done to your house without a permit based on the latest IRC to help you clear up a number of the confusion for our house buyers, sellers, and owners. In case what you are planning to build drops outside of the list mentioned above it’s safe to assume that a permit is required. Nevertheless, your local city/county building official has got the final say concerning what needs to be permitted. Therefore before you build be sure to speak to your local building department to avoid troubles and large penalties in the future.
To learn more about building permits on Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, speak to All Pro Home Inspectors Inc. at 904-807-0939 today!