Before you get too far into planning your pergola building project, you must look into the possibility of obtaining a pergola building permit. Building permit applications are granted by your city building commission. Every city planning department has a section that handles building addition permits and they all have pages on their websites that can let you know if you might need to get one for a pergola.
Chances are about fifty fifty that you will need one. Some cities look at the simplistic design, lack of walls and complete roof and are note concerned. Others look at the fact that people will be sitting under the pergola or cooking or placing plants to grow on it and want to make sure it is built to carry it's load and not buckle or topple in bad weather or under normal wear and tear.
Don't stress if you do need a permit. All you need to do is sketch out where it will be on your property, fill in the dimensions and let them know exactly what type of wood or other material you will use. In other words, you just need to give them your pergola plans that you will be following.
There will be a small fee to apply for the permit. Again, it varies by city, but of the ones that want you to obtain a permit, some may then require a final inspection after it is done to make sure you followed everything you said you would in the application.
Do take the time to check! You don't want to find out after that you violated a regulation and have to tear it down. That will cost you a lot more money and hassle than the simple application process will!
No comments:
Post a Comment