
From BUILDER sibling Remodeling comes a survey of builders regarding the process of obtaining building permits.
Ask remodelers nationwide what they think about pulling permits and the responses range from bliss to outrage, with a heavy dollop of caution to hew to the local rules--or else.
An informal REMODELING survey conducted this month finds that permit pulling required an average of 4.8 hours of personnel time per week, though more than half of the nearly 150 respondents said they spent two hours or less in line ... and often no time at all.
Source: REMODELING survey, August 2018Roughly four out of five pulled the permits themselves or had a staff member do it, while nearly 10% hired an outside firm. Just over 5% relied on homeowners and architects to pull permits, and the rest of the responses varied from a combination of the above to not working in areas where permits were required.
Respondents' opinions about the permitting process varied dramatically. Some said it's relatively painless, particularly in jurisdictions where online applications were allowed and processes were made more efficient. Other remodelers--typically in more bureaucratic localities--said permitting was as painful as ever.
But no matter where you operated, one recommendation came through: Don't be sloppy.
"Our regional building department has gotten MUCH MUCH better; they are in the 21st century; fully computerized," reported Jonathan Herdt, of Revisions by Jonathan, Colorado Springs, Colo. "We have simple hand-outs guidelines for most common processes."