Elite Permits

A Certificate of Occupancy and Certificate of Completion are documents issued by the building department, to the builder or owner once the construction project has been completed. These documents have different meanings, and we will review in detail what each of them represent from a building code compliance point of view.

Residential versus Commercial Code

Understanding the building code that applies to your project is essential; however, for people not involved in code compliance it is not as clear as it should be. I will try my best to make it simple and understandable.

When you build a new house or go through a remodel process there is a set of construction documents that are processed at the local building department prior to proceeding with the work, unless someone did work without a permit! These historical documents are called “Building permit records.” In my experience, these records are available at the local building department for projects done within the last 10 years (after writing this post I found that Florida requires a minimum of 10 year of records retention); however, older projects also may be available depending on the records keeping policy that each jurisdiction currently has.

What is a blueprint?
Have you ever spoken with your builder or anyone about your blueprints??? Actually, a lot of people understand that you are referring to a floor plan or construction drawings, but this terminology is obsolete, and it has been for almost a century. Since the old construction prints were blue in color, many people still refer to them as blueprints.

Building permit is very important as it not only protects the property and the life of the current and future occupants, but it also saves you from having issues trying to sell in the future, dealing with penalties, and having to redo what you just did because the work was not properly inspected. In this blog, we will explain some general steps you can follow when applying for building permits. Keep in mind, though, that these vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and from permit to permit as each job is unique. In this blog, we will explain some general steps you can follow when applying for building permits. Keep in mind, though, that these vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and from permit to permit as each job is unique.

A Notice of Commencement is a legal document that informs the public that a project has started. The main reason to file this document, when improvements exceed $2500 (or $7,500 for A/C equipment) is to protect owners from paying their contractors twice.

Finding your flood zone can be confusing. In this blog, we will explain step by step how to do so.