The hurricane seasons over the past couple of years have been pretty quite here in South Florida and another season is slowly approaching. Will this be the year that we get hit? Nobody knows but it is best to be prepared. If your home doesn’t have any form of hurricane protection, you might want to consider making the investment. Now is a good time. Prices are low and it is a very competitive market. Please visit our Helpful Links page for a list of contractors.
If you are a “do it yourself” type of person, you may need a little help with the permitting, and Permit Source, Inc. offers home owner’s assistant in preparing your permit package to submit to the building department. We make sure that you have all the proper Product Approvals/Notice of Acceptances, and that the forms, tables and charts are completed properly. If your building department requires elevations and detailed floor plans we can perform a site survey and prepare the required drawings. No mater what you are planning to do; hurricane panels, hurricane shutters or impact windows, when can assist you.
Permit applications, and all associated documents, that are submitted as a part of your application are considered to be legal documents. Depending on the type of documents, they may require original seals, and signatures, by the architects and engineers that prepared them. The actual application requires original notarized signatures. Copies of originals will not be accepted by the building department.
Modifications to the original documents with the use of whiteout or liquid paper is not permitted. Cross out the error or write over it. Do not try to cover it, or re-copy it. Most building departments will not accept permit documents and applications modified in this manner. Signed and sealed plans that are modified in this manner will also not be accepted.
Remember these documents are viewed as legal documents. Do not modify them!
“Is there one central location where I can get building permit history in the Sate of Florida?” That is one of the most common questions I hear, and the answer is very simple. No! In South Florida alone, there are roughly one hundred building departments. Each having it’s own database, systems and procedures, and none of them link to each other in anyway. Some building permit data may be available on an individual municipalities website, but the quantity, and quality, of information varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
If you are looking for actual copies of building permit documents, the situation is even more dire. There are only a couple of municipalities that make copies of those documents available online, and that is only recently. For example, about a year ago, Miami-Dade County converted from paper document submissions to digital permit document submissions in pdf format. Those documents can be retrieved via their website. Anything before the conversion is on micro-film and you have to physically go to their office to retrieve copies of the documents.
One of the services we offer at Permit Source is building permit document research and retrieval. You could spend hours just trying to get information by navigating through poorly designed websites, making phone calls, or leaving messages that go un-returned . Our years of experience and daily interaction with the South Florida building departments allows us to move through the process much more efficiently. We already know the procedures, and where to go, to get the information and/or documents you need.
My last blog entry was about work without a permit, and since a large number of people end up at the Permit Source website using the search string; “Do I need a permit?”, I figured it would be helpful to offer information on this subject. Please understand this only relates to Florida and specifically South Florida.
The answer to the question is, almost always, yes. All mechanical, electrical and plumbing work requires a permit. Roof repair or replacement requires a permit. Exterior window and or door replacement requires a permit. Driveways, fences, screen rooms and sheds. Believe it or not, in some municipalities, the Zoning Gestapo police might cite you with a civil violation if you do not get a permit to paint your house. They need to make sure you are using an approved color. Every municipality has their own local Code and Ordinances which can supersede State or County Code if it is more stringent.
As always, call your local Building Department to get an answer your question, “Do I need a building permit?”. It is better to be safe than sorry. They can double the permit fees for work “without a permit” and asses daily fines until the permit is issued. Make note! That is issued not applied for. Checked out the Permit Source Helpful Links page for the listings of the South Florida building departments.
Everyone is always trying to save a buck, and many a home owner, as well as, business owner looks at a small job and assumes a building permit isn’t nessecary. In Florida, and especially South Florida, you had better do your homework before you decide to do work without a building permit.
Section 105.1 of the Florida Building Code specifically states; Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any required impact-resistant coverings, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by this code, or to cause any such work to be done, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit.
Now you are saying to yourself that I am not doing any of that. It is just a minor repair. Section 105.2.2 of the Florida Building Code specifically states; Ordinary minor repairs may be made with the approval of the building official without a permit, provided the repairs do not include the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support, or the removal or change of any required means of egress, or rearrangement of parts of a structure affecting the egress requirements; additionally, ordinary minor repairs shall not include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas, soil, waste, vent or similar piping, electric wiring systems or mechanical equipment or other work affecting public health or general safety, and such repairs shall not violate any of the provisions of the technical codes.
Guess what! You had better call, or even better, visit your Building Department before you do any work. You can get misleading information over the phone. That section of the Florida Building Code says that you need to get approval to do work without a permit. In today’s big brother world of big intrusive government you need approval, which will permit you,…. to not get a permit,… and permit you to do the work without a Building Permit. I am sure your head is about ready to explode at this point! Something as simple as painting your house will probably require a permit, and more than likely, you will have to use a color that is approved by your local government.
If you do work without a building permit, it can cost you. Big time! Double fees at a minimum. Possible fines assessed on a daily basis until you are issued an approved permit. Last but not least, liens on your property. On top of all this you still may be required to remove the work you did because it does not meet the code, encroaches on setbacks or easements, or just simply violates zoning restrictions.
Permit Source can help with Building Permit issues in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County. Feel free to post your question or comment here.
The hurricane seasons over the past couple of years have been pretty quite here in South Florida and another season is slowly approaching. Will this be the year that we get hit? Nobody knows but it is best to be prepared. If your home doesn’t have any form of hurricane protection, you might want to consider making the investment. Now is a good time. Prices are low and it is a very competitive market. Please visit our Helpful Links page for a list of contractors.
