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Professional Renovations - 30 Years Experience

Why Permits & Inspections Are So Important!



So you’ve decided to add a room or two on to your home, you want it done right but you are thinking about doing it without a permit to save time and money? This would be a very bad choice, and the financial and safety consequences may cost you much more in the long run.

In most areas of North America, you have to have a permit for any work that involves structural changes to your home or the addition of a structure. The exception may be some areas that are so remote the nearest town’s building department does not include it as part of it’s jurisdiction. Even in this case, you are still required to build according to the areas building codes.

Doing things correctly does cost more and take more time, but there is a very good reason for doing so, to protect you, or the person who might buy your home in the future. Permits and inspections ensure the work done meets minimum safety requirements. Without them, how will you know if the all the work being done is correct and safe? You won’t!

In addition, when you use permits and proper blueprints (if required), you can have the piece of mind that any structural considerations will be engineered to proper specs, snow loads and so on. The responsibility to have these drawings prepared is yours, the architect you hire, or possibly the contractor you hire (some can do this in-house or have knowledge of good architects they can hire). It is not the building departments responsibility – they just make sure what is provided meets the building codes. Permit fees cover the cost of the building department checking blueprints and preforming required inspections.

While getting a permit and having work inspected will make sure the work is done safely and meets local building codes, quality of work is not the responsibility of the building department unless it is so poor that the work does not meet minimum code requirements. You are responsible for hiring a contractor that has a reputation for doing quality work and making sure the finished project meets “Your” expectations.

And never forget the power of your local government, if you add an addition onto your home without a permit, your building department can make you tear it all down – and in many cases, they will make you do it.

Bottom line: Don’t take a chance, do it right and get the required permits for your next project!

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April 12, 2010 | Filed Under Building Code & Permits 

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