Permitted Play

Your backyard is meant to be the family's oasis. How much of it needs a permit depends on how big, how permanent, and how intensive a project it will be.

A blow up kid's splash pool does not need a permit.
A swimming pool (above ground or below) will require a permit.

A swing set will most likely not require a permit, though it may.
A full play land will most likely require a permit. Also, you need your HOA's approval.

When in doubt, your city's Building Department is happy to answer a question. It is better to ask first than pay fees from skipping the permit process altogether.

Asphalt Shingle Weathering

"Weathering" is a general term used to describe the effects on shingles of long-term exposure to the elements.

Weathered shingles aren’t necessarily damaged shingles, although weathering will eventually damage shingles. Weathering is a natural process that causes shingles to deteriorate over time. The rate at which shingles weather can be affected by a number of things.

Shingle Quality
Low-quality shingles will fail before high-quality shingles. Quality can vary widely among manufacturers, and even within a single manufacturer’s product line.

Structure Orientation
South-facing roof slopes have shorter lifespans due to increased thermal cycling and UV exposure. Some portions of the roof are affected by prevailing winds more than others.

Degree of Roof Slope
Flatter roofs have shorter lifespans because they shed moisture more slowly and are more directly exposed to UV radiation than roofs with steeper pitches.

Climate
Harsh climates shorten roof lifespans. Wind, moisture and thermal cycling all contribute to deterioration of roofing materials.

Thermal Cycling
Climates with large daily temperature swings shorten roof lifespans because they cause greater amounts of expansion and contraction. This increases the roof's rate of deterioration.

Roof Color
Darker roofs absorb more heat, which shortens shingle lifespan by accelerating the loss of volatiles and increasing thermal cycling.

Elevation
Homes at higher elevations are exposed to more UV radiation, which deteriorates most roof-covering materials, including asphalt shingles.

Roof Structure Ventilation
Poor ventilation of the roof structure shortens shingle lifespan by failing to keep shingles cool, resulting in accelerated loss of volatiles and greater amounts of thermal cycling.

Quality of Maintenance
Failure to repair damage and keep roofs clean can result in damage and deterioration from moisture intrusion and wind.

Source: National Association of Certified Inspectors

Emergency Services

In an emergency, you need the problem fixed immediately. If you don't have a specialist you trust, you still need to know that your home will be safe and protected.

Imagine it is 1am and your water heater pipe bursts, causing water to spray all over your garage, making a mess, and generally upsetting everyone who is now awake.

Before you call any plumber out of the phone book, check their reputation online (it's an extra 5 minutes to visit the BBB) and ask about permits when you call. You want them there immediately; I understand. But this extra question on the phone of, "Are you going to pull a permit for this work and will I get a copy of the final?" could save you hundreds of dollars down the road if the work was improperly done.

Permit Expediting

Ideal For: Local business owner's or architect's with one or two projects. We help get all their permits for their local locations.

We will conduct:

• Due Diligence: We will research all requirements, time frames, fees and approvals needed for you to understand what must be done then coordinate with your architect or construction manager a permit plan to get your permits in the quickest time possible.
• Submit: We will attend plan check, fill out all paperwork, manage your receipts and payments to the local jurisdiction, negotiate with the city or county on your behalf and manage your corrections as a member of the development team.
• Get Project Ready To Issue: After all the corrections have been made, we will reapply and then fight to get everything ready to issue.

Source: Permit Place

Permit Fees

Like the cost of everything else, permit fees have increased over the years at a steady pace with the inflation rate, but, during the last year, and in the worst recession in decades, the fees charged by municipalities, has in many cases, increased by 100 percent. With local Florida governments looking for additional revenue sources, one of the first places they targeted was permit fees.

Estimate your permit fees to be 3-5% of the cost of your project, or as much as 10% in Key Biscayne and Weston. There are a few municipalities that have held their permit fees at pre-recession levels but they are few and far between. 

Please continue to use the proper permitting process and don't skip doing work under permit as it protects you from fees of up to 150% after the fact, and ensures the work was done properly and will last you a long time.

What We Do

We at Your Permit Solution.com handle all aspects of permit requirements from beginning to end. 

• We complete all the required forms
• Ttrack & monitor the plans as they are approved, ready for inspection, fail and need reapproval
• Submit plans to T.C.O/C.O of the property

Your Permit Solution.com enables clients to avoid the costs and headaches that could stem from acquiring a property plagued by hidden problems!

Expedite

Expedite your process by using Your Permit Solution. We will be your go-between in:

• Picking up permits from the City
• Getting them signed off by your contractor
• Arranging inspections
• Arranging re-inspection if necessary
• Handling all the scheduling
• Making every trip to the City so you don't have to
• Standing in line so you never will
• Seeing your project completed quickly and successfully

New Building Codes

New building and construction codes went into effect on March 15th, 2012 for Broward County. These codes changed the zones for hurricane resistance, making more stringent building restrictions so that properties will be better protected against wind. Existing properties will not need any changes made to them. Any changes made going forward will need to adhere to the new codes. Any plans already approved will remain approved, but may be out of code by the time they are built. Many builders are redoing their plans so that they will adhere to the new code.

Code violations harm property sales

Code violations can sink a real estate sale

What comes to mind when you hear the term "code violation"? If you're like most people, you think of a breach of the local building code that regulates minimum construction standards.

But that's only one of 70 or so types of code violations that can be attached to a property, according to Rudy Krupka of Code Violation Services, a Windsor, Colo.-based firm that helps lenders uncover code violations. Worse, any one of them can sink a real estate sale.

The most troublesome code violations are unpaid property taxes and homeowner association fees. But a growing number of hard-hit municipalities are aggressively flagging homeowners who don't mow their lawns, who allow trash to collect in their backyards and who don't take proper care of their pools.

Typically, these violations occur when the property involved is being sold under some kind of duress — a foreclosure, for example, or a short sale. But they can pop up even when the house is clean as a whistle and the sellers are Mr. and Mrs. Perfect, as opposed to a distant lender or servicer.

Often, the issue is cleaned up before the house goes on the market, so the buyer is unaware of it. But the ticket doesn't go away. At the closing table, the local government is there with its hand out, demanding payment in exchange for letting the deal go through.

Sometimes, Krupka says, what started out as a $200 fine that went unpaid when it was levied years ago blooms into a five- or six-figure penalty by the time the place is sold. In one extreme case, a Florida property had $684,000 in fines, most of them the result of a barking dog.

Usually, the sanction can be negotiated down to a more reasonable amount. But that takes time, and the closing is delayed until everyone is satisfied.

Admittedly, barking dogs and uncut grass are extreme examples of code violations. More common are liens filed for unpaid dues and assessments by homeowner associations.

In 16 states and the District of Columbia, homeowner associations hold "super lien" status, meaning that liens placed against a property by a homeowner association take precedence over all others, including those filed for unpaid taxes.

If an association records its lien, it becomes public record and the title company will find it. But often, the lien isn't recorded.

If the lien is recorded, the homeowner association will step up to stop the sale until it recovers what is due, or the parties agree to pay at closing. But if the association does not learn of the transaction and it closes without the lien being satisfied, the lien transfers with the property, and the new owner is on the hook for what's owed, with little recourse against the seller except to sue.

Sometimes, a property can be the subject of multiple homeowner association assessments, one by the main association and another by the golf or tennis club. In one unusual case in Florida, several separate but related HOAs lined up to present past-due notices.

According to CoreLogic, a real estate information and analytics firm based in Santa Ana, Calif., code violations tend to be a larger problem in the handful of states and markets with the highest foreclosure rates and negative equity — Florida, Nevada, Arizona and parts of California and Michigan.

Very large fines are common in Miami-Dade County, Fla. But CoreLogic has found that officials there are more willing to stop issuing new fines if they see someone attempting to correct existing violations, and sometimes they will reduce fines significantly.

San Francisco, on the other hand, "has little empathy" for attempts to correct violations, according to a recent CoreLogic white paper. Another jurisdiction that sometimes plays hardball is Maricopa County, Ariz., which has required significant structural changes to correct conditions that have existed through several previous owners.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Electrical Work

Planning on changing or upgrading the electrical work in your home?

When do I need a Permit?
Electrical permits are needed when installing or altering electrical service, wiring, or circuits in existing buildings. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Installing a new or temporary service
• Modifying existing service or circuits
• Relocating an electric water heater, furnace, or other electrical appliance
• An electrical plan may also need to be reviewed

Electrical permits are NOT required in the following cases:

• Appliance replacement without modification to electrical circuits, such as dishwashers
• Appliances connected to outlets with a plug
• Repair or replacement of motors, transformers, appliances, recessed or other light fixtures, switches, or control devices of the same type and rating in the same location
• Taping joints
• Removal of electrical wiring

Source: My Building Permit

Plumbing Permit!

You will need a plumbing permit in order to do the following:

• Replace water heaters and underground piping
• Alter piping inside a wall or ceiling, or beneath a floor, and for plumbing in all new installations.
• Emergency repair, alteration, or replacement of freeze-damaged or leaking concealed piping, if new piping exceeds 5 feet.
• Remodel or add on to your one- or two-family dwelling when existing plumbing is to be relocated. This includes installation of building sewers, water service, and exterior rain drains.
  

You will NOT need a plumbing permit under the following circumstances:

• When a property owner does "ordinary minor repairs" to plumbing systems on his or her own property, which means repair, replacement, or maintenance of existing accessible fixtures, parts, and appliances and their related water and drain attachments. Do not alter an existing plumbing system without a permit.
• When a property owner or licensed plumber performs emergency repairs to, or replacement of, freeze-damaged or leaking concealed piping, provided new piping doesn't exceed 5 feet in length.

You can get a plumbing permit from the Building Codes Division offices or your local building department. You will have to fill out some paperwork and pay a fee, both based on your exact location.

Remember, if you are using a contractor to do the work, that person is responsible for obtaining the permit and ensuring that the required inspections are done.

Things to keep in mind:

• A plan or blueprint is usually not required for a one- or two-family dwelling permit.
• Fees are based on the size and complexity of the job. Some local building departments base fees on the number of fixtures to be installed or the number of feet of piping for water, sewer, or rain drains.
• A plumbing inspector or office staff member can discuss your project with you.
• If you have the necessary information for the proposed project, you can usually leave with your permit.
• Plumbing permit fees are paid when the permit is issued.

For more information on this and other types of permits, visit our website!


Source: Building Codes Division

Building Moving Permits!

Building Moving Permits are required for moving any extra-legal load which is overweight and/or oversized on a County Road. This includes:

• Moving Equipment
• Buildings
• Mobile Homes
• Other Oversize Structures

Moving permits must typically be submitted at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled shipment and in some cities, transport may only take place during certain hours of the day and on specific days of the week.

Source: SDCounty

Mechanical Permits!

What is a Mechanical Permit and when do you need one?

Mechanical work performed on one or two family dwellings includes work on heating, cooling, or ventilation systems, including bath vents and wood stoves requires a Mechanical Permit. Installation, alteration, or repair of gas piping between the meter and an appliance or other equipment, including all liquefied petroleum gas piping, is also considered mechanical work and will require a permit.

More specifically, a permit is required to do the following:

• install or change any part of a heating or cooling system that must be vented into any kind of chimney, including un-vented decorative appliances
• install a woodstove, fireplace insert, pellet stove, or related venting
• install, alter, or repair gas piping between the meter and an appliance (indoors or outdoors)
• install bath fans, dryer exhausts, kitchen range exhausts, and appliances that are required to be vented
  

A few important things to note are:

• Plans are generally not necessary to get a permit to do mechanical work on a dwelling. However, you will be requires to describe the work you will be doing.
• If applying for a permit to install or replace a wood stove or fireplace insert, you will be asked whether the appliance is certified to meet Department of Environmental Quality emission standards.
  
• Mechanical permit fees are generally based on the number of appliances, chimneys, vents, or gas piping outlets that will be installed. Permit fees are paid when the permit is issued.

For more information about this and any other type of permit, contact Your Permit Solution!

Source: Building Codes Division

Permit Types - Electrical Permit

Electrical Permit

An electrical permit is required to do the following:

• install or alter any permanent wiring or electrical device

• run additional wiring, put in an electrical outlet or light fixture, install a receptacle for a garage-door opener, or convert from fuse box to circuit breakers

• install or alter low-voltage systems such as security alarms or stereo or computer systems

For homeowners, a permit is not required to replace electrical devices or to perform the maintenance on an existing electrical installation.

If you are not sure if you need a permit, call the building department responsible for your area.

Permits are issued by Building Codes Division (BCD) field offices or your local building department, depending on the jurisdiction responsible for your area.

• Drawn plans are not necessary to get a permit to do residential electrical work.
• Drawn plans are not necessary to get a permit to perform residential electrical work, unless the service involves 400 amps or greater. Some building departments require a plan review for service over 400 amps.
• An electrical inspector or office staff member can help you make sure you have all the necessary information for the proposed project. If everything is in order, you can usually leave with your permit.
• Electrical permit fees are paid when the permit is issued.

Any work performed under a permit must be inspected by a certified electrical inspector. You may call the inspection request line at the building department in your area within 24 hours of completion of any phase of the project. A minimum of 24-hours' notice is usually required for inspections.

When you call, you will be asked for the permit number, homeowner's name, project address, type of inspection needed, and date on which the inspection is desired. Be prepared to furnish detailed directions to the job site and a detailed description of the electrical work performed.
Unless all of the work is outside and accessible, an adult needs to be at the site to provide access for the inspector.

For more information on how to acquire an electrical permit, call Your Permit Solution!

Source: Permits Protect