So, you have decided to build or renovate and you need to take out a building permit.  What documents are necessary to get this done?

The Building Code Act requires a permit to be taken by a person specified by the act and must be submitted on a Ministry approved form with supporting documentation.  

The person can be the property owner or a person authorized by the owner to apply for the permit.  In this case a letter of Authorization is required on a ministry approved form.

The documents required can be many, based on the complexity of the build.  You should check the website of your municipality as they will likely have a building permit pack that you can download.  This package will have many of the forms that will be required for your build.  Lets assume a new residential construction.

Site Plan

A site plan is a graphical representation of the property showing its limits and proximity of the proposed building to other structures, roads, driveways, wells, septic beds, hydro lines, water and sewage infrastructure.  It must show the distance the building is from the property lines and all of the Municipal identifiers of the property, such as lot, concession and parcels, etc.

This is also where the designer will submit the Energy Efficiency Design information required by SB-12 that will show how the building will meet the Energy requirements.

In some cases a site plan agreement may be required by the municipal planning department, but usually for a residential build, this is not required.

Architectural Drawings

This is a set of graphical representations of the new construction.  The building code requires these to be “…sufficiently detailed to permit the design to be assessed for compliance…..and to allow a builder to carry out the work in accordance with this design…”.

Generally, you will need foundation plans, floor plans each floor, elevations for all sides of the building, roof plans, cross sections, details plan and electrical plans.

These plans can be supplied by an Architectural Designer with a “House” designation, a structural engineer or an Architect.  You can also create these drawings yourself if you are the titled owner of the property.

Plumbing plans must be submitted by a firm having the required BCIN plumbing designation.

HVAC plans for the heating and ventilation must be submitted by a firm having the required BCIN HVAC designation.

If you have no municipal sewage system, you will need septic plans designed by a BCIN sewage designer.

You will require a designer form from each of the above designers indicating that they are registered with the ministry of municipal affairs.

If you have access to the municipal sewage system, you may need a letter from the municipality indicating that the existing system is of sufficient capacity to connect your new building.

If the roof is a truss system, you will require engineered drawings of the trusses.

If there are any other portions of the building that your designer is not permitted to draw, such as retaining walls or structural components that are not listed in the building code, you will need engineering drawings for these items as well.

You should check with your local municipality as they will sometimes require additional documentation such as an inspection checklist.

The list is a little daunting, but a good designer will walk you through with few issues.

Good luck with your build!