Understanding A Building Permit Application -- The Building Permit Process Made Simple, Part 1

[Music] so welcome to another edition of building code buddy online thank you for being here i hope you all are staying safe and healthy during these trying times the way i see it history has shown things will get better they have to right this video is an updated version of part one in the building permit process made simple which is a series of videos to help people understand and navigate the building permit process on this video i will review a building permit application its contents and what it means to you if you are submitting for a building permit if you are wondering what types of work require a building permit don't forget to view my other video titled types of work exempt from building permits this will give you an idea if the work you are proposing will require a building permit please keep in mind that building permit applications will vary throughout building departments however the content shown on the building permit application we'll review are the basis for most all permit applications now let us get started in general the building permit application is a legal document that is used by cities counties and states to gather project specifics such as description of work property ownership applicant information and contractor information if applicable depending on the project you are proposing a building permit application is sometimes required to be accompanied by other documents such as building plans calculations and specifications an example is a replacement of a water heater typically such work will only require this middle of a building permit application and maybe manufacture specifications however if you were submitting for an addition to your house then in addition to a building permit application you may also need to submit building plans and supporting documents on future videos i will review submittal requirements for specific projects so please subscribe and stay tuned generally there are local and or state laws which govern building permit applications here is a comparison of state law governing building permit applications to the right and a building permit application to the left you notice the similarities and now let us review the contents of this building permit application starting with the permit information a couple of these are very straightforward the date would represent the date the building permit application was submitted and job address is the address of where the work is proposed however under fire sprinklers this is where you would indicate if there are fire sprinklers installed on your existing building this will help determine if fire sprinklers are needed for your proposed work if this was new construction then the selection would be yes since most all new structures require fire sprinklers but check with your local fire marshal for fire sprinkler requirements next is valuation of construction this is where you would indicate the value of the construction you are proposing please keep in mind that this is not an arbitrary number the valuation must be the exact cost of materials and labor for the proposed work in this exercise we are submitting for an addition of 500 square feet to an existing single-family residence with a valuation of 100 000 moving on to building occupancy classification occupancy types building occupancy classification is basically the use of the building the building code outlines criterias for all the possible occupancy types there are a variety of occupancy types for example look around a community how many variations of building occupancies do you see you may see offices you may also see schools or you may see factories and very common in communities single-family residential buildings the building codes categorize single-family residential buildings under occupancy classification of r for residential makes sense doesn't it furthermore single-family residential is under group 3 as an r3 of the occupancy classifications which is why you will see building codes make reference to r3 when referring to single-family residential buildings versus let's say apartment buildings which is an entirely different occupancy group in simple terms the occupancy group number three in r3 indicates the level of risk and hazard to occupants example r1 hotels motels you can expect to have a high number of occupants as opposed to an r3 single-family residence therefore in terms of risk and hazard r1 occupancies would have greater life safety requirements than an r3 occupancy now the same applies to all other occupancy categories to find the list of all occupancy classifications refer to chapter 3 of the international building code the link to access the building codes is on the description box or you may view work exempt from building permits video of this series for additional information on accessing the building codes and other helpful information on this example however i will be submitting for an addition to a single family residence therefore i indicate our occupancy for residential group three r3 moving on to construction type construction type is very commonly misunderstood all buildings are classified in one of five construction types which generally are based on the occupancy and the size high the buildings taking into account those factors buildings are then assigned one of the five construction types to determine fire resistance ratings for the construction theoretically what fire resistant rating means is the duration in minutes or hours that the building construction materials or assemblies should withstand a fire exposure thus giving the fire department time to put out the fire and allow people time to leave the building in the event of a fire let us briefly take a look at the five types of construction type 1 and 2 construction require structural elements to be non-combustible this oftentimes requires protective coatings to further delay heat penetration type 3 construction requires exterior structural walls of non-combustible and allows for interior walls to be as allowed by code minimums type 4 construction non-combustible exterior walls and heavy timber interior walls such as 6x6 6x10 and so forth and finally there is type 5 construction the most combustible of them all such buildings designed to type 5 standards can basically be of any materials that are allowed by code wood or other this is typically what single family residential buildings are constructed to now that we have covered construction types the addition to the single-family residence that we are submitting for will be constructed of standard wood stud framing as allowed by code therefore here we would indicate construction type 5. next square foot of construction this is where you would indicate the square footage of the addition we are proposing which we will put 500 square feet for the addition then there is the number of buildings proposed if we were constructing a building or buildings then we would indicate the number of buildings but since our sub biddle is for a 500 square foot addition to an existing building we would put down zero this completes our first block of information the next item is a question which asks if the building permit we are submitting for is to clear a violation we would check yes if we were submitting this permit application to legalize on permitted work however since we are not submitting a permit to abate a violation we check no on a future video i will go over the code enforcement process and clearing violations from permitted work so click the sub button to get future notifications next are selections for disciplines as you see there are a variety of options and basically let's say you have a contractor applying for a storage shed with no utilities then building would be selected however let's say you were installing electrical in the storage shed then both building and electrical would be selected some building departments issue separate permits to the different trades however this also allows the building department to verify if the contractor doing the work has the appropriate license so check with your local building department before submitting your application nevertheless we are submitting for an addition so we make this selection which for this example will include all associated disciplines and now to one of the most important part of the building permit application the description of work considering the building permit hence the description of work is subject to public information if the building permit is submitted initiated under a vague description of work it can create project setbacks during the inspections and the permitted work can come in a question if the property were to sell on a future video i will review the public records act as it relates to building permits so stay tuned what about you do you have any experiences with vague descriptions and building permits and how has it affected you or your project please let us know in the comments section below next you see the current property owner information this is fairly self-explanatory however keep in mind that you may not be issued a building permit as an owner builder if you are an escrow or if you are the tenant additional documentation may be required so contact your local building department if you are in either of the two situations next is the applicant's information this is a person that is physically or digitally submitting the permit application to the building department let us further decipher this information as an owner you are typically entitled to submit and obtain the building permit and do the work on your legal property or you can submit and obtain the building permit and subcontract portions of the work to a licensed contractor in this scenario you would select this it is very important to check with your state contractors license agencies to inquire about owner builder requirements especially as it relates to hiring licensed individuals however if you will exclusively have a licensed contractor oversee the project then you would make this selection authorized agent is required to be checked if the applicant once again the person submitting the application is neither the contractor or the property owner one example is permit runners or permit expediters which are usually firms who are paid to submit and follow up on permit submittals other examples of authorized agents are relatives or employees of contractors overseeing the permit submittal if either of these scenarios is you then you would check this there may be affidavits however required to be submitted along with a permit application if an authorized agent is submitting and picking up the permit so check with your local jurisdiction before assigning an authorized agent now regardless of whether you are a property owner contractor or an agent submitting the building permit application the remainder of this would have to be properly completed in this example the property owner will be submitting and doing the work so we select property owner will be completing the work the next block is where the contractor's information would be indicated if you will be doing the work as an owner builder you do not need to complete this section however if you are the owner builder and decide along the project phase to hire a contractor or contractors to carry out portions of the work that you would complete this information with the appropriate contractor's information let us take a look at what is being asked and what it means first there is contractor's license class or license classification there are a variety of license classifications as you see in this video from the california state license board generally each separate trade is assigned a classification in this example you see a list of licensed classifications with a link to a brief narrative of their license scope this agency also provides a handout describing what this license classification can and cannot legally do under the license typically you can also verify contractor information including complaint disclosure on the website generally every state has a contractor regulatory agency so be sure to visit their website for information that can help you make informative decisions prior to hiring a contractor licensed contractors are required to provide you with a license number so be sure to ask for the contractor's license number which will enable you to accurately look up their contractor information on your state's contractor agency website or you can use the state agency website to find a contractor's license number business licenses are generally required prior to conducting any business within a jurisdiction which means prior to starting construction work this is a process that can be done concurrently with the permit submittal and it involves verification of state and local licensing requirements next workers compensation information in general workers compensation or workers comp is basically business insurance a contractor is required to have with some exceptions that provides benefits to employees who experience work related injuries amongst other liability relief to the contractor again every state differs so check with your state or local license board now a licensed contractor will normally fall under one of these three selections if the contractor you are hiring has workers comp this is selected or this is selected if the contractor certifies that they are self-insured or if the contractor certifies that they are exempt from workers compensation then this is selected the exception typically applies to contractors who are the sole employee of the company and who have no employees none a worst case scenario would be a say the contractor certifies that they have no employees but end up bringing in help to work on the project and the help gets injured now this scenario can put the property owner in a legal bind if the help decides to pursue damages caused at the property against the property owner as well as a contractor i urge you to verify workers compensation requirements with your state contractor's license board prior to hiring your contractor the final portion of the building permit application is completed if you will have a licensed architect or engineer involved in the design of your building plans such individuals are regulated similarly to the licensed contractors and correspondingly you should verify your design professional's licensing information this is an example of the california state board of professional engineers website and as you can see there is a quick link to run a license check this page contains basic information which also includes the license check portal once you access a portal you can now search your design professional's information licensed architects are also regulated in most all states here's a clip of a california state website which enables one to check architect's license to include other information of interest which should help you make your decisions before hiring a licensed architect in most all states there are limitations to what an unlicensed individual can design we will cover that on a future video or leave a comment with your experiences designing and submitting for building permits as a layperson i mean what are the different structures that you have designed as a layperson kudos to anyone tackling on the task of designing their own project is definitely no easy task this completes the building permit application but before i get to some final thoughts i want to mention at the building permit application when accurately and adequately completed truly does contribute a small but significant role in helping facilitate the permit process for your project so take the time to properly complete it i can never emphasize enough the importance of the description of work be as descriptive as possible if you have to use a supplemental sheet just as long as you capture a detailed project scope a detailed project scope will help not only the agency but most importantly you during the permit process and beyond the final project contact your local building department to confirm the permit process preferably through email this allows you to use the email for reference if you have to keep in mind that the permit process can differ slightly throughout agencies to this point here are some things to confirm with the building department prior to submitting your building permit application ask are there other documents that i need to submit along with the building permit application if you're going to be doing the work as an owner builder or if you're going to have an agent submit the building permit application or if you will do the majority of the work but hire a licensed contractor for specific disciplines what else do you need ask if you will need to submit building plans along with the permit application ask them what their submittal requirements are for your project with technology being ubiquitous can i submit my application and documents online once you are issued the building permit be sure to keep it on site post it preferably at all times also if you are planning on changing the scope of work after the building permit is issued be sure to inform your building department prior to deviating from the building permit scope this will prevent delays and setback to your project if the deviations are discovered during the inspections lastly and perhaps not related to the building permit application before an agency processes your permit application a search of your property's permit and code violation history is made if there are any expired permits and or open code cases against your property it can hinder your ability to obtain a building permit so get ahead of this by conducting your own research prior to purchasing a property through public records information now this concludes this video thank you for viewing and i hope the information is of help to you your input is important so please do not hesitate to leave questions or comments on the comment section below my intention is to go over the entire building permit process through these videos in hopes to help you navigate the ever-evolving and what some may feel mystifying building permit process take care stay healthy and stay positive see you next time

Channel: Building Codebuddy Online

Views: 16,649

Rating: 4.8792453 out of 5

Keywords: BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION, BUILDING CODE BUDDY ONLINE, BUILDING CODE, BUILDING INSPECTION, CITY PERMITS, CITY BUILDING PERMIT, BUILDING CODES, INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL, CALIFORNIA STATE LICENSE BOARD, PERMIT APPLICATION, PERMIT PROCESS, BUILDING PERMIT SUBMITTAL, CONSTRUCTION, CONSTRUCTION PERMIT, THE BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS MADE SIMPLE, BUILDING OFFICIAL

Id: g2rToAnoFv0

Length: 20min 19sec (1219 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 02 2020