No permit needed

Thurman

O.K., so I've got a weak spot. I was asked by an older lady, whom I've done much work for on her home, about building a "storage room" onto her older sister's home. I'm not licensed in that county, but I'll look at it. She wants an 8 x 10 storage room added to the back of her double-wide. No insulation, no interior walls, no finished ceiling, and use the one existing exterior outlet for electricity for her freezer. The freezer is now located in one of those kit metal buildings which is about to fall down. Just a dry 8 x 10 space. I've got half the material laying in my shop and she agrees to pay half price for that. SO- I do the right thing-I go to get licensed in that county ($25) and to get a permit. When I tell them what I am doing, and provide a nice detailed drawing, they tell me I DO NOT need a license to do that, NOR do I need a permit, because it is not living space. HUH! The clerk tells me the homeowner can do this if they want to and I'm her "neighbor" doing the work. Didn't the county just cut themselves out of monies? And, the clerk states that because I'm licensed in my county (which is much more populated, etc) they will honor my license. Heck, in my county ANYTHING over nine (9) square feet requires a building permit and a license ($200) to pull it. Why the nine square feet rule--that allows you to pour a concrete pad for a deep well without a permit for the pad. Weird government stuff- - - David

Snav

Yeah - same with my county. If it's not altering your living *space* then it doesn't need a permit.

It's not a "don't they want their money" thing - it's a "it's not written in the code requirements list" - if they said you needed a permit for something that you really didn't NEED a permit then they'd be easily accused of theft and misguided information.

However - decks that attach directly to the home do need a permit, but not a pergola or a floating deck.

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