sgclendenon
New Member
Posts:4
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| 06 Aug 2011 10:24 AM |
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We've come up against the hard reality that the plan we would like to build would strain our budget. A lot.
The plan is 4br, 2ba, great room, office/media room. It is a nice clean simple rectangle, planned to be built with SIPs. What we are thinking of doing is initially finishing only the great room, one bath and 2br. The second bath would be roughed in. Would we encounter difficulty getting a certificate of occupancy with this approach? |
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acwizard
Basic Member
Posts:265
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| 06 Aug 2011 03:01 PM |
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What about the kitchen, and garage. Also where are you going to install the heating equipment. Code requires a garage and the ability to maintain 65F indoor space temperature. |
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toddm
Veteran Member
Posts:1152
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| 06 Aug 2011 06:38 PM |
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no one can answer your question with authority except for your building inspector. Provisional COs are common in these parts, which means that the house is safe and functional but the finish is incomplete. In zipcodes with higher median family incomes, the emphasis may be finished and saleable, to guard against unfinished, beyond the owner's means to complete and thus a drag on property values. Recognize that the BI in either case will be appraising you as well as your plans. |
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sgclendenon
New Member
Posts:4
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| 06 Aug 2011 07:31 PM |
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Great room includes the kitchen - which would have to be finished. The plan has an attached garage with a utility room and the heating equipment goes there. We're planning to do a geothermal integrated heating/cooling/dhw system.
Code requires a garage? That sure doesn't sound right. There are a lot of houses without garages. |
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acwizard
Basic Member
Posts:265
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| 07 Aug 2011 12:45 AM |
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heating system must be working. Temporary CO are common but the building dept will only allow a certain amount of time before they revoke it and tag the home. |
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4327
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| 07 Aug 2011 06:53 AM |
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Posted By sgclendenon on 06 Aug 2011 10:24 AM
We've come up against the hard reality that the plan we would like to build would strain our budget. A lot.
The plan is 4br, 2ba, great room, office/media room. It is a nice clean simple rectangle, planned to be built with SIPs. What we are thinking of doing is initially finishing only the great room, one bath and 2br. The second bath would be roughed in. Would we encounter difficulty getting a certificate of occupancy with this approach?
Every building department is a little diferent , but usually a CO will be issued as long as a home is habitable, one working bathroom, kitchen sink working drywall cobering walls, saftey items like smoke detectors , all electric working and covered up (wall plates) etc., handrails.
However if the home is financed by a bank the CO will not get your final funds released , you will also need to finish the home and inspected by the bank so that they know the funds were used to complete the home.
You still need to speak to your local building official to verify what they will or will not accept |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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sgclendenon
New Member
Posts:4
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| 07 Aug 2011 07:57 AM |
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The reason for the tight budget is that we want to initially build what we can without a mortgage, then finish the rest. Does that change things? |
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JeffD
Basic Member
Posts:282
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| 07 Aug 2011 12:38 PM |
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I have a friend who is building his own home here in Florida and is about to get his CO before the house is completely finished. His inspector required him to either finish with tile or seal his concrete floor in the bathrooms before he would grant CO. |
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| Metal SIP Building Designer<br>jeff@panelfusion(dot com) See us on Facebook |
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4327
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| 07 Aug 2011 10:35 PM |
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Posted By sgclendenon on 07 Aug 2011 07:57 AM
The reason for the tight budget is that we want to initially build what we can without a mortgage, then finish the rest. Does that change things?
It will be easier for you if you are self financing, then you only need to satisfy the Building Official and yourself. Again I strongly recommend that you speak directly to your building official, so there are no suprises |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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Rosalinda
Basic Member
Posts:353
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| 07 Aug 2011 11:29 PM |
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I too strongly recommend you talking to your code official. You should also be able to get the code for your state online. Your county might also have their code online. There is a wealth of info in your state and county code as to exactly what is required.
In my case we have an at level ground floor we have designated as the basement, which is electrified and plumbed and has room partitions, for future finishing with no fixtures installed, but only finished to rough unfinished drywall, required to cover the insulation for code. We also have a utility room on the ground floor with the completed heating and hot water system, and the water system, in addition to having the completed septic system (I live on a farm with our own water and septic).
Do you have your building permit yet? If you haven't applied yet, you might be able to divide your house build into phases, and get a building permit for each phase. This way when phase one is complete to code, you can get the C of O and move in, then just apply for a second permit when you can afford to do phase 2. We did this with our decks - did not include them in the initial building permit - because we did not know when we would be able to get to build them, so did NOT need them completed for our C of O. When we are ready to start on them we will file for another building permit. Fortunately building permits are affordable in our area, $100 covers both town and county.
-Rosalinda |
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| Sum total of my experience - Designed, GCed and built my own home, hybrid - stick built & modular on FPSF. 2798 ft2 2 story, propane fired condensing HWH DIY designed and installed radiant heat in GF. $71.20/ft2 completely furnished and finished, 5Star plus eStar rated and NAHB Gold certified |
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mlsy
New Member
Posts:9
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| 08 Aug 2011 03:41 PM |
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I agree with Rosalinda. It all depends on your permit and Building Department/Inspector.
We are entering the 5th year of OBing. Finally our insurance company got tired of us and told us to shop for a new carrier. We were told that if we get temporary C of O, we can change the policy from construction to regular home owner insurance so last week I called the Building Department. To get final C of O, we need to finish everything shown on the permit. To get temporary C of O, all we need to complete is one bathroom, stair, guardrail on deck and 2nd floor, heating and hot water, all required smoke detectors, and somewhat functional kitchen (one sink, a refrigirator, a microwave, etc.). As you can see, there are two criteria they are looking for when issuing C of O: life safety and health. As long as nobody falls down, gets hurt or sick, they'll sign your C of O. It's all about liability and doesn't have anything to do with how the project is founded or if you are OB or GC.
I don't know what's in your permit. In our case, we planned for 2 baths but only shown 1 bath in the permit. The other bath was labled "future bathroom, under separate permit". Since we are doing all the work (including plumbing and electrical and all of the cabinets) ourselves, finishing two bathrooms would take forever to get C of O.
You need to talk to your Building Dept to find out what will take to get a C of O. If part of the house you want to leave unfinished even after C of O, you can ask them if you can revise the permit to reflect the change. Most jurisdiction would allow you to do that.
Good luck with your project. |
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blossom2347
New Member
Posts:20
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| 27 Aug 2011 01:49 AM |
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Great discussion. I enjoyed and learned a lot. Good luck for your project.  |
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| <a href="http://www.oceansevenroofing.com/Services/Insulation/Insulation.html">SPF Roofing</a> |
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superduty
New Member
Posts:42
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| 03 Sep 2011 10:17 AM |
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Talk to your local code officials. The other problem you may run into, assuming they give you the CO for the partially completed building is your permit may expire for the rest of the house and then you will have to pull a new permit to "complete" the rest of the house. That seems like wasted money if you live in an area with high permit fees. |
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4327
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| 03 Sep 2011 11:22 AM |
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superduty;
Partial CO's are typically not for homes, either the home is habitable or it is not. Habitable does not mean everything needs to be finished. It only means that one bathroom needs to be working and the kitchen sink is working. You do not even need AC in Florida to get a CO, you do need heat though..................... Partial COs are typically used for commercial space where there are multiple tenants and future permits for each unit are issued for build -outs. |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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Jerry D. Coombs, PE
Basic Member
Posts:138
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| 04 Sep 2011 02:03 PM |
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sgc... You didn't say what state you are in, but likely the state has a minimum adopted building code. Municipalities usually have the ability to modify those codes; mostly toward more strict, but some states allow them to do any dern thing they want.
If you're building under a building code that has not been modified for LESS restrictive, then you are required to finish out all habitable areas to where combustible materials are separated by a fire barrier; 1/2" drywall fits the bill. A few other things do too, and I think there's another thread around somewhere that goes into this in depth.
Also, these things are required before any occupancy at all. Many municipalities ease up on this for a temporary.
And it is really a good idea, anyway. |
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Jerry D. Coombs, P.E.<br>Coombs Engineering, P.C.<br>
<br>You can have with quality; You can have it fast; You can have it cheap.
Pick any two. |
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mlsy
New Member
Posts:9
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| 06 Sep 2011 02:12 AM |
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Just a quick update: we passed the inspection for temporary CO last week. We could have got the certificate on the spot except our septic contractor forgot to call for septic inspection when he finished his work a few months ago. He promised to get it done this week.
It took us two days to build a temporary stair and another day to build guardrail/handrail. We have one bath, a temporary kitchen (sink, refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven & coffee maker).
Now we can live in the house legally and get reasonable homeowner insurance. This is a big step forward for us. We have been working on the house for more than 4 years. When the original permit expired, we pulled another permit. Most permit fees are based on the construction value of the permit. Before the permit expired, the inspector came and noted how much we had finished and what needed to be done. The second permit is only for whatever left so the fee is much less than that of the original permit.
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