BuildWellBuilding permit
A building permit is official permission from a city or county to perform construction work, usually issued after the plans are reviewed for code compliance.
Structural work, additions, new construction, and most electrical, plumbing and mechanical work need a permit. Cosmetic work, such as painting or replacing flooring, often doesn’t. What requires a permit varies by city and county, so check with the local building department for each job.
The permit holder is responsible for the work meeting code and for scheduling inspections. In many places a licensed contractor must pull the permit, and a homeowner permit usually requires the owner to do the work themselves. Don’t work under a homeowner’s permit when the job is really yours.
Unpermitted work can lead to stop-work orders, fines, finished walls opened up for inspection, trouble when the house is sold and complications with insurance claims. It can also put your license at risk.
Write into the contract who pulls the permit and who pays the fee. Build permit fees and plan review time into your estimate and schedule; on some jobs, review takes longer than the work.
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- Estimates, invoices, clients and projects
- Clients sign on any phone
- Card and bank payments, no extra BuildWell fee
- iPhone, Android and the web
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