Deciding whether you want a structure license for your home renovating venture can be troublesome, in light of the fact that allowing offices frequently baffle property holders’ endeavors to figure out rules. Offices generally have focused on business interests over those of mortgage holders accomplishing their own work. Regularly it is an inclination borne from need: project workers, developers, and the exchanges address a predominantly greater part of candidates.
While all urban areas and regions are unique, certain subjects truly do arise to explain allowing prerequisites. These subjects can be summed up as open and individual security, plumbing, electrical, and flammable gas. Projects addressing those regions will require licenses. With changing well being codes and a requirement for more noteworthy income, urban communities and districts shift more undertakings to the “Permit Required” list.
Permit Usually Required
Most localities will require a permit for these home projects:
| Topic | Project |
| Walls | Demolishing a load-bearing wall |
| Roof | Changing house’s roof line |
| Layout | Whenever you expand the house in any way or alter the house’s envelope, you will need a permit. |
| Electrical | Installing any new electrical wiring or adding circuits |
| Fences | Installing a fence over a certain height, such as 6 feet, triggers a permit. Most municipalities will consider an add-on such as shrubbery to be part of the fence. |
| Demolition | Parking your roll-off dumpster on a public street will require a permit. This is one of the rare permitting instances where your own property is not involved. |
| Decks | Building decks over a certain height, such as 30 inches above grade. |
| Sewer | Doing anything with a sewer line typically requires a permit. This permit action concerns not just your personal safety, but the health of those serviced by the main sewer line down from your house. |
| Addition | Building an addition will always require a permit. |
| Driveway or Garage | Building a garage or even a carport |
| Windows and Doors | Exterior doors, windows, and skylights that require a new opening |
| Fireplace and Chimney | Fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, and inserts nearly always require a permit because of the potential for fires. Chimney cleaning will be an exception, though. |
| Garages | Garage conversions |
| HVAC | Installing a new furnace or air conditioner |
| Water Heaters | Installation of a new water heater |
| Plumbing | New hose bibs for the outside of your house |
| Roofing | Re-roofing involving structural elements, including but not limited to sheathing, skylights, change of roof pitch and change of roof material where the total weight exceeds 10 pounds per square foot. |
| Swimming Pool | Installing either an in-ground or an above-ground pool requires multiple permits. |
Permit Might Be Required
| Topic | Project |
| Plumbing | Moving a sink, as this entails running new plumbing supply and drain lines |
| Walls | Demolishing a non-load-bearing wall usually requires a permit. Even though this type of work does not structurally compromise your home, some permitting agencies want to be overly cautious and make certain that do-it-yourself homeowners do not undertake dangerous repairs. |
| Doors and Windows | Replacing doors or windows on a one-for-one basis |
| Landscaping | Cutting down a tree on your property |
| Landscaping | Retaining walls more than 4 feet tall tend to require permits, as retaining walls have a tendency to topple above this height. |
Permit Often Not Required
| Topic | Project |
| Roof | Laying in a new roof of similar materials. |
| Demolition | Parking your roll-off dumpster on your own property. However, if you happen to live in an association-controlled neighborhood, make sure you do not run afoul of your own housing association’s rules. |
| Flooring | Putting in any kind of hard flooring (wood, laminate, vinyl, etc.) or carpeting |
| Plumbing | Replacing an existing sink |
| Painting | Interior or exterior painting |
| Kitchen | Replacing your countertops |
| Siding | Freshening up the exterior with new siding, as long as it is non-structural |
| Electrical | Minor electrical work, such as replacing a light fixture or an electrical outlet, often does not require a permit. Replacing a circuit breaker in-kind will not require a permit either. |
| Decks | Decks below a certain height (such as 30 inches) are not considered to be a safety hazard and therefore do not require permits. |
| Exteriors | One-story detached buildings like workshops and storage sheds as long as they do not receive electrical or plumbing services |
| Landscaping | Building tree houses under a certain size and height may not require a permit. However, habitable or live-in tree houses will need a permit. |
| Fences | Fences below a certain height, such as 6 feet |
| Property Boundaries | Permitting departments are not concerned with matters involving your boundary with your neighbor. Disputes are civil matters for the courts. |
| Landscaping | Retaining walls below 4 feet tall |
| Decks | Decking surface replacement, as long as you are not replacing structural materials |
| Bathrooms and Kitchens | Bathroom and kitchen fixture replacements without plumbing line modifications such as sinks and toilets |
| Appliances | Appliance replacement in the same location as long as you are not modifying gas, plumbing lines, or electrical circuits such as dishwashers, ranges, ovens, gas logs, washers, and dryers. |
Play It Safe
It is consistently best to check (and twofold check) regardless of whether you really want a grant. Most districts and urban communities have sites for the structure office. They generally have a FAQ area for allowing necessities. Assuming assessors discover that an undertaking was managed without a license, they could require the expulsion of drywall or different surfaces to review the recently introduced wiring or plumbing, for instance. They could then necessitate that the venture be allowed, which could incorporate a fine.
https://www.dsm.city/departments/development_services/permit_and_development_center/index.php
https://www.wdm.iowa.gov/government/development-services/building-inspection/permit-applications
https://www.grimesiowa.gov/OurCommunity/DevelopmentServices/PermitsInspections.aspx