Construction permits and project plans
Permits give owners (and the local building department) confidence that a project was properly reviewed for structural and other safety, utilities, fire and life safety, accessibility, drainage, and other requirements. Cosmetic projects may require limited documentation, while those changing the structural system, utilities, adding square feet, changing uses, or more, will require varying degrees of review.
What the permit process can involve
Electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing, and structural work might require separate permits, or special approval by some trades or agencies. The permit process requires the correct drawings – if you want the source, it’s https://techcrunch.com/, information, and organization to minimize confusion and avoid repeating submissions. These steps may not seem like an issue in planning stages but can result in lost time, money, and frustration if not properly managed.
Some questions that can help project owners determine the amount of documentation needed:
- Is the scope of work clear and are the existing conditions properly described? For instance, floor plans showing existing and proposed conditions, site boundaries and conditions, mechanical layouts, and other pertinent information
- Are there any issues not visible on site that may change the scope of work and the types of reviews required, such as easements, setbacks, utility connections, party walls, etc.
- Will the work affect other people or properties?
- Is the project more than just a cosmetic repair or is it adding square footage, moving load bearing walls, replacing systems, or changing the uses within the space?
- Are the trades involved with the project and what permits or approvals do they require?
- Who will coordinate the project, track status, and communicate the changes, and is this role clear from start to finish?
When coordination becomes a project of its own
Permit coordination can range from making sure the correct documents are submitted, organizing and managing submittals, tracking comments and approvals, sharing corrections with the design team, to managing all revisions until the permit is received; the practical side of permitting assistance Miami starts there. This process may be easy for owners to manage, particularly if the scope of work is minor and the requirements are available online.
Other projects may be large renovations requiring many trades and multiple documents to be coordinated. If the process is not well-organized it can take over a team and result in a substantial administrative work-load for the project owner. For the team at Gaven Constructions, this is overkill when the work is purely cosmetic.
Why review comments may come back
Building permit documents
It is not uncommon for review comments to be sent by reviewers after their initial review. These are not necessarily cause for panic. They are typically sent as a letter of correction and request more details, updated drawings, engineering, or additional clarifications. They don’t always mean that the project won’t work or isn’t acceptable.
This letter could be for the owner, designer, or engineering team to address and then resubmit all or part of the project for review. This process could repeat a couple times until all the questions and comments have been properly addressed. Resubmitting only part of a project can be tricky; one or two sheets can change multiple others and cause repetition.
Keeping track of comments, who they need to be sent to, responses to those comments, and the date the revisions were sent are all helpful ways to make sure the team is working from the correct documents and not mixing versions of revisions. In most cases, reviewers can only review what is submitted to them; more time and money can be saved if the submittal documents are detailed and thorough initially.
Owners should check not only how long the permit is active, but also any requirement to begin work by a certain date. Many jurisdictions require proof of progress or an extension request at regular intervals to maintain a permit’s validity. So, before the construction even begins, delays or issues can cause the approved permit to expire.
What happens after approval
Once the permits are received, contractors can execute the work, and inspections are then coordinated to check progress. These staged inspections can be required prior to covering up parts of the work, installing, or putting systems into service. While it is not uncommon to make small changes on site, these changes might not match the approved documentation and would have to be updated or a new permit submitted. It is helpful to communicate changes during construction so the documents can be modified as needed and the inspections won’t be delayed.
A permit is just one component of managing a project well; it is not the be-all-end-all solution that allows for the construction process to commence – a good source here. Planning for inspections, permits, and construction changes from the beginning can help to avoid stopping a project mid-mobilization. It is important to be thorough from the beginning so that all questions or comments are appropriately answered and revisions are made to address those. Planning for material or demolition deliveries, or contractor availability on a “guessed” permit receipt date could result in project delays or substantial costs to the project owner.