Do I need a permit?
The below items refer to residential and agricultural uses. Generally, any non-residential work requires commercial building permits.
House Addition – yes, a building permit is required.
House Renovations
- Modifications that affect structural members such as load bearing walls required a building permit.
- Changes to the location of plumbing piping / HVAC ductwork and electrical work such as rewiring, new breaker boxes, adding or moving receptacles, etc., requires a MEP permit (or building permit if being done with other work).
- Replacing lighting fixtures, appliances, hot water heaters, HVAC units etc in kind does not usually require a permit. However, if you change system types (ie electric to gas, oil furnace to forced air, etc.), a permit is required.
- Replacing doors/windows in kind does not require a permit. Adding doors/windows and/or putting in larger doors/windows may require a permit. Contact the building code official for confirmation.
Roof Replacement – replacing shingles only does not require a permit, however, if any substructure / sheathing etc is replaced, then a building permit is required.
Accessory Buildings – Yes, permits are required for all accessory structures including sheds, accessory buildings, detached garages, greenhouses, barns, etc. Buildings under 1,000 SF require a zoning permit and over 1,000 SF require a building permit.
Fences – Yes, a fence permit is required for all fences.
Deck/Patio – yes, for patios and decks 30” or less off the ground, a zoning permit is required. For decks where part of the deck will be more than 30” off the ground, a building permit is required.
Driveways – Permits are required for new driveways as well as expansions of existing driveways or paving of existing driveways. Any driveway work within the right-of-way of a State Road requires a PennDOT permit also.
Pool/Hot Tub – Building permits are required for any pools over 24” in depth. For inflatable pools that get put up / taken down each year, contact the building code official for current permitting requirements.
Generator – An electrical (MEP) permit is required.