do i have to pull a permit ?? "carport"

has anyone deal with this ? I need to build a car port, wont be attached to any building . Just a free standing car port ? Is there loop holes ?? should i do cement post or just bolt to concrete slab . Any help is great ... just dont need city bugging me, . thanks .

 

Well having been the mayor of off the grid before I am going to suggest that you call the city planning commision and ask them. They are all assholes and will have your first born if you do something that pisses them off or keeps them from collecting revenue so that they can buy another bently.

 

All municipalities are a little different. Where I live a carport doesn't require a permit nor does any building under 200 square feet. Check your local building department for restrictions in your area.

 

thanks guy ... i hope not to open a can of worms ... thanks ...

 

When it comes to the city,you are not off the grid, why not just take a trip to city hall and find out what kind of permit you need. Build it without the permit they can fine you and if they want to be asswipes ,they can make you take it down and still fine you. And where the hell is off the grid?

 

Out here in Tucson, carports need a permit if they are affixed. What folks here do is make them mobile by having small wheels on them. Make sure you take pictures of the wheeled legs. Then wheel it into the pre-dug holes and cement in place. Legal? Yes. Loophole? Yes.

Plenty of homeowners and car wash businesses do this frequently.

 

You are not opening a can of worms its like asking what the weather is going to be like today. The question becomes where are you? I could tell you if you were in KC but I may just have to know exactly what neighborhood if it is a car port they are not allowed in some neighborhoods.

Does that make any sense?

Best to call the city and the county and ask them.

Oh and I would bury the posts in case the wind blows much in where the hell off the grid actually is.

 

I used to sell them and sold many.

99.9 percent of the time you don't need a permit because it's not a permanent structure.

However I did have one guy one time that lived in a trailer park. The owner of the park made the guy get a permit even though the town the park was in said he didn't need one.

Also keep in mind that government is going broke. So they try to drum up a buck anyway they can sooooooooo.............

 

Mass . lol 1950 chevy sub you one funny guy ! love it .

 

Remember if you buy a pre fab one all of the engineering has been done and it will go through the permit process much quicker (assuming you need one in your area). Be sure to ask your city building department about it being a temporary structure or it will end up on your property taxes.

Charlie Stephens

 

As mentioned, every town or municipality has different rules. Most times any more you have to submit a plan and have it approved. Down here they say it is because it needs to be safe in a hurricane. They will tell you how far it has to be from your house, what the foundation has to be thicknesswise, how far from property lines, etc.

Sometimes you can fly under the radar, but if a nosy neighbor calls them or they drive by and see it there you can be fined and maybe have to tear it down. That has happened, so it is better to play it safe and by the rules. The days of us being able to do whatever we please on our own property are long gone. There are some remote areas down here where people used to be able to get away with whatever on their property because no one could see. Now the officials are flying around in planes and citing owners for junk and old cars sitting there. Big Brother is hard to beat sometimes.

Don

 

Not only the question about permit or not, but whether they are allowed at all.... I have run into all combinations of "rules" in different towns in Mass. and New Hampshire. Some towns do not allow the temporary structures at all. Just ran into one that only allows them certain months of the year, or you can only have them up for a certain number of months to meet the "temporary" criteria, etc, etc - no real consensus.

Of course, then it also depends on how visible it is, and if neighbors want to rat you out....

 

Don
Here you have to submit blue prints/plans and an architect has to have signed and sealed them. They can kick your application for whatever tiney infraction they feel like and last I checked there was a 200 application fee. In the '90s the average building plan got kicked 5 times. You pay the application fee everytime you submit.

If you know someone you are in there like swimwear.

 

When you talk with the city folks you need to have a clue about the type of construction you need/want. Temporary canopy style? Metal framed canopy with metal covering? Wood framed with trusses and conventional roof material? Metal framed with trusses and metal cover?
All will have different requirements as well as provide different results.

.

 

Here locally they are nailing the guys who have set up these metal carports that you see for around or under 1000 bucks because they don't have them on a slab or pavement and or didn't get a permit.

 

In the upstate of South Carolina you have to have a permit to do any type of construction,,even a free standing carport. HRP

 

my garage is hidden in the woods behind my house on purpose. the building inspector in town is a huge douche and i'd rather not deal. check out "garage journal" it will be helpful for a project lie this.

 

Definitely know what you are going to build.

I built a wood shed with a deck and pergola over the deck. I have been a framing carpenter off and on in my earlier years and have done light drafting work too. Drew up the plans for the structure (in scale in 3d) printed everything out with all dimensions and metal clips to be used (went by a few government parks to see how they build structures for hurricanes).

Called the county office and made an appointment for the one day the engineer was in that week. Brought him everything and he marked a few things on easements (might will need a plot drawing), asked if the shingle will be the same as the house (historic neighborhood) and okay-ed it. Paid the fee and off to build.

 

I had a friend ask me to extend their carport to equal a 3 car deep 1 car wide carport tied in to the existing 1 car carport. I asked about ggetting a permit amd was told to just get it built quickly and the city probally will not notice. It was an addition of 25' long. I used simpson ties and anchor bolts and continued to keep the posts spaced the same as the old ones were. After completion a week later the city tagged it for being built without a pemit, and the inspector commented, 'well constructed'. The home owner went down to the city to get a permit and was told they were going to have to pay a fine for building without a permit plus the cost of the permit so it was going to cost around $400 for a $200 or so original fee. They asked what if they just took it down and they were told they needed to pay for a demolition permit which was like $300 so with the cost of material and my labor they decided to get the permit to keep it and then was informed the carport was built 10' too long and it needed to be cut back in order for them to keep it legal.
The neighbor had a carport that was standing for years previous to this one being built and the inspector tagged it as well to be removed because the rain water drained into the neighbors property.
The lesson here is go ahead and give in to the city and get anything you build onto yyour property permitted so you dont get hassled later and you are sure you are compling with ordinances you may not know of including set backs and anything else they may require.
I will never build anything without a permit ever again.

 

And an electrical permit if you are going to wire it in any way. As stated, different regional conditions, ie earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and local conditions like wetlands and easements across your property can affect your ability to build and what constitutes a safe structure. We are being a**holes here at the City about a guy who added on to his house and covered up our sewer line. The addition is coming down or he pays us to reroute the sewer. Doing it by the book is slow, expensive and aggravating but rebuilding it by the book is even moreso.

 

Aren't you in Boston? You need a permit just to park there! I'm sure they want your first born to build something.

My buddy was drywalling his mom's basement in Brighton. The house is high on a hill and the only windows to the basement we covered by shrubs. Still, one day an inspector shows up "you have a permit for that construction?" No idea how this guys even found out he was doing anything....

~ Carl

 

permits make the process legitimate, and when it comes time to sell it does not become an issue. in the last three homes i sold i had to provide copies of building permits for everything we did.

 

They find out shit through Google Earth and note any changes.

 

I worked for the county government for 30 years ( now retired ). Most of the inspectors were frustrated builders who could not make a honest day's wages in the building community. INCOMPETENT. The little bit of authority went to their heads and they were ALL butts.

I live on a DEAD END street which has almost no traffic except the residents. Two gargages have been built in the last 10 years ... without permits.



Everything was COOL until the county started using aerial photography to find building violations. One owner was fined ( he built the gargage ) and the second owner just had to pay the taxes on the improvement. He had bought the property after the building had been built.


SO ... you might as well try to do it legal.
They will find out.
They are government employees and have nothing else to do.

 

And neighbors that call for whatever reason.

There are weriod rules though, so check it out. It used to be okay here for a home owner to change out 2 windows a year without permits (not sure now, probably not).

 

It is a pain,.....

I don't even live in a city or a town,.....but the county says I can't build shit within 25'-0" of my own property line!!!! Twenty five FEET!

Gonna have to build my new shop on the other end of the property so they can have 25 feet on each side of my house, get this: to be able to get fire equipment in my back yard in case of a grass fire! I've been a firefighter for 25 years and never needed to get a rig in someone's back yard!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Sorry.

 

Just do it and tell them to go to HELL.......then hire an attorney @ $185 PER HR. Building inspectors are pricks in general. On my house project the contractor never pulled a permit but charged me for one (1000 sq ft addition, new roof, foundation walls, windows, siding, etc.) After I questioned some of his building methods and started doing research I found out he was no where near building code. I called the county myself to get them involved and the idiot didn't have the slightest clue at what was code and what wasn't. I had to fire the contractor, tear out everything, rebuild it all to code, and get permits. The inspector came out again when I called and had the nerve to complain that he didn't get to make sure the holes for the handrail posts on a deck were 42" deep! They are know nothing fools that couldn't survive swinging a hammer.

 

Now a days..... Big Brother is always watching!

 

Inspector driving around the streets, and followed the truck full of sheets of drywall being delivered.......looked at his list of permits, and said hmmmm...no permit for this address !