Typical permits required to build a new single-family house include:
Building Permit that authorizes construction of the foundation system, framing and carpentry of the overall building, and exterior and interior finish work.
Plumbing Permit which authorizes installation of drain, waste, and vent piping, potable water piping, fuel gas piping, and plumbing appliances and fixtures.
Mechanical Permit which authorizes installation of furnaces and ducts, boilers and circulation piping, and exhaust fans and ducts. A separate Mechanical permit is required for the installation of a gas fireplace or wood stove.
Electrical Permit which authorizes installation of wiring, receptacles, switches, light fixtures, electrical equipment, and fixed-in-place appliances, and connection of this system to utility service. A separate electrical construction meter permit is required if a temporary electrical service will be installed during construction.
WHO PULLS THE PERMITS?
The general contractor must pull the building permit. If you are building your own house, acting as general contractor, you will pull your building permit. Plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits must also be pulled by the contractors doing the work. If you are doing the plumbing, mechanical, or electrical work on your own house, you will pull those respective permits yourself. If you are not registered as a contractor, you can only get a permit to work on your own house. If you are being paid to do work for someone else, you must be registered as a contractor in Summit County.
if you are a homeowner wishing to act as your own general contractor, you will be asked to complete a homeowner/builder code review before receiving your building permit. This review is actually more of a short course on residential building codes and procedures intended to help prevent unnecessary and costly mistakes during construction. If you will be doing your own plumbing or wiring, you will also need to take a homeowner plumbing and/or electrical code review before obtaining those respective permits. There is no mechanical review, although if the mechanical permit includes gas piping, such as for installing a gas fireplace, you will be asked to answer some gas piping questions from the plumbing review.
All of the reviews are open book and unlimited time, and can be taken anytime during normal business hours. You will be given a copy of the appropriate codebook for use during the review.
Please understand that as a homeowner/builder, you are obligated to fulfill the same responsibilities as a professional contractor, including knowledge of and complying with all requirements of the codes.
CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION
All contractors, other than homeowner/builders, doing work in Summit County must be registered with the County. The owner/president must apply in-person to register as a contractor. We will need a completed application, proof of liability insurance with Summit County listed as certificate holder, a photo ID (or copy) of the company's owner or president, and the registration fee. Plumbers and electricians must show their Colorado Masters License, and electricians must also show their State of Colorado Contractors License. The contractor registration fee is $100, except plumbers pay $25 and electricians have no fee.
APPLYING FOR A BUILDING PERMIT
To apply for a building permit, you will need to submit one set of complete building plans, a completed application, and a check for the plan review fee. The applicant must complete all of the shaded boxes on the application, including: Street address of the project; Legal description of the site; Name, mailing address, and telephone number of the owner; And name, contractor's registration number, mailing address, and telephone number of the general contractor.
You may apply for a permit anytime during normal business hours. Plan to spend about 45 minutes.
REQUIRED PLANS
You must submit one set of building plans along with your application. However, plans that contain over 20 sheets will require two sets of plans. The plans must be complete, accurate, and drawn to scale, and must be stamped by an architect or engineer. If your building site consists of expansive soils, the foundation will need to be engineered. Factory-built (modular) houses also must have engineered foundations. Plumbing, mechanical, and electrical plans are not required for houses. Houses on wells need to provide a copy of their State Well Permit. The following checklist describes minimum plans and information that must be submitted when applying for a building permit:
SITE PLAN (scale at 1:10 pr 1:20) including:
Building location(s) & dimensions to property lines, easements, and setbacks
Location of road(s), driveway, & well and septic if applicable
Percent of slope of the property and driveway
FLOOR PLANS of each floor level and basement including:
All dimensions shown & room uses labeled
Locations & dimensions of exterior decks & porches
Locations & sizes of all doors & windows
Location & type of all plumbing fixtures and appliances including hot tub
Location of furnace, boiler, & water heater, type of fuel
EXTERIOR ELEVATIONS, all four, including:
Accurate grade & finish floor levels
Decks, stairs, and landings
FOUNDATION PLAN with dimensions, including:
Location & size of all footings, pads, piers, walls, and retaining walls
Thickness and reinforcing of slabs
Location of any steps in footings & walls Location & size of all openings in walls
Location & construction of interior support walls & columns
Foundation details of all footings and walls, pads, piers, retaining walls, including:
Size, & spacing of all steel reinforcement Dimensions
Notes specifying materials: rebar grade, concrete strength, etc.
FRAMING PLANS for each floor, roof, and deck, including:
Type, size, & spacing of all beams, joists & rafters Layout & spacing of manufactured trusses Type, size, & location of columns & support posts Type and size of headers over openings.
Framing Details of major connections & post baselcap anchors
Structural notes specifying species & grade of wood framing members, design loads, etc.
PLAN REVIEW AND ISSUING THE PERMIT
Before a building permit can be issued, a plans examiner must evaluate structural integrity, construction details, and provisions for meeting fire and life safety requirements. This requires that permit applications be accompanied by plans that accurately describe the project and the proposed construction. It is especially important that foundation plans, framing plans, structural details, and design notes be complete and accurate so that the plans examiner can see that the design complies with all code requirements.
The building Department recognize that there are numerous methods for complying with the code and they merely evaluate each applicant's proposal. Building department personnel cannot design the building for you, but will advise you of items that do not comply with the code.
Plan reviews are performed on a first-in, first-reviewed basis. Depending on the number of plans being submitted plan reviews are usually completed within three to four weeks from submittal. If there are items that are incomplete or incorrect, you may be asked to revise and re-submit the plans for additional review. It may take several days before the plans examiner can evaluate the re-submittal.
The Building Department will contact the applicant as soon as the plans have been approved. The general contractor then comes to the office and pays the permit fee, returns the completed "sign-off' card (see the "sign-off" section below), signs the permit, and picks up the field-set of approved plans and the field inspection card (FIC). The permit is thus issued.
If during the course of construction you wish to make changes to your plans, you must get those changes approved by a plans examiner prior to proceeding with the change. Bring the field-set of approved (redlined) plans into the office and a plans examiner will go over the changes with you. Changes to plans must be stamped by an architect or engineer. Unless your project is significantly altered, there is no extra charge to have changes approved.
"SIGN-OFFS" FROM OTHER AGENCIES
Before the building department issues a building permit, you will need to obtain approvals from other agencies having jurisdiction over a project. Other agencies which you may need to visit, depending on your location and type of project, include:
§ Summit County Environmental Health Department for septic system design and installation.
§ Planning Department for proposed building setbacks, height, and other plat requirements.
§ Engineering Department for grading, excavation, and access permit.
§ Your respective sanitation district for availability of sewer taps and payment of fees.
§ Your respective water district for availability of water taps and payment of fees.
§ Your respective fire protection district
§ Your Home Owner's Association
When you apply for a building permit, you will be given a card which you must take to each applicable agency to obtain an authorized signature indicating approval by that agency. We will inform you of which agencies you must visit. Separate permits and/or additional fees may be required by each agency. Agencies having jurisdiction for each subdivision are identified in the Matrix available in our office. You can be obtaining these sign-offs while your plans are waiting to be approved.
PERMIT FEES
The total fee for the building permit includes the permit fee, which pays for your inspections, plus the plan review fee, which pays for your plan review. These fees are based on either the contractor's estimated building valuation or the Building Official's assigned valuation, which we will calculate using building area from the plans and building valuation data from a national source. When there is a difference between the contractor's valuation and the assigned valuation, the higher valuation will be used.
The plan review fee must be paid at the time the plans are submitted for review. The permit fee must be paid at the time the permit is issued. There is a minimum permit fee of $50.00 (plus plan review fee) to cover basic administrative and inspection costs associated with any building project.
Plumbing and mechanical permit fees are also based on an assigned valuation of work, derived as a percentage of the total assigned building valuation. Plumbing and mechanical permits each have a minimum permit fee of $50.00. Electrical permit fees are based on the total building area. There is no plan review fee with plumbing, mechanical, and electrical permits for a single-family house.
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