Permit for deck and pergola

[woolie]

I want to DIY build a small, simple at-grade deck and pergola in my front yard. The total material cost will probably be under $1,000. A house across the street built something similar, and I've been eyeing it for a couple years.

Since I assume I am going to need a permit, should I just give up? Will I have to hire an engineering firm to produce detailed plans? Will it take six months to get approved? I'm not looking forward to jumping through 10,000 hoops and spending the next year waiting for approval on something that will take me a weekend to complete.

Or is it pretty easy, and I just have to file some form that lets them increase my home appraisal for next year.

[RedScare]

Decks with a base floor elevation under a certain height (I think it is 2 or 3 feet) do not need a permit. Structures with roofs usually do require permits, but if this is a small garden type structure not attached to the house, you can probably build it without a permit. I would not apply for one.

[woolie]

The deck floor will only be about 1 foot off the ground. The pergola will have 4 supports, and these will be on top of a poured concrete footing with brackets sticking out. The remaining footings will be simple "Dek Block" concrete blocks. Total size of the deck will be about 10x10 foot.

[woolie]

http://documents.pub...01_pp_final.pdf

Please note: Permits are NOT required for:

- Painting - Carpet - Tile - Wood Floors - Cabinets*

- Interior trim and similar finish work - Wood or metal fences less than 8 feet tall

- Uncovered detached decks under 30 inches

I imagine the need for approval on covered structures is so they can verify it can handle the wind load... I guess it comes down to the question of a pergola counting as a covered structure or not.

Or I could build it without the pergola now, and add it at some point in the future.

[woolie]

Heh. Reading through the permitting website. I am not a conservative in any sense of the word, but the idea that "antique dealers" have to be licensed by the city is just absurd.

http://www.houstonpermittingcenter.org/frequently-asked-questions/i-received-a-letter-about-an-antique-dealer-or-secondhand-reseller-license.html

These regulations are much more about protecting market incumbents from competition than it is about consumer safety. It's just total bullshit. I can't think of a good reason I should care if my antique dealer or hair stylist has the appropriate certification and licenses. Whatever happened to caveat emptor.

[LTAWACS]

Heh. Reading through the permitting website. I am not a conservative in any sense of the word, but the idea that "antique dealers" have to be licensed by the city is just absurd.

http://www.houstonpe...er-license.html

These regulations are much more about protecting market incumbents from competition than it is about consumer safety. It's just total bullshit. I can't think of a good reason I should care if my antique dealer or hair stylist has the appropriate certification and licenses. Whatever happened to caveat emptor.

This is one of the many reasons I've lost confidence in those bungling clowns we call elected officials.

[Ross]

The regs on antique dealers are similar to those on pawn shops and other businesses that buy and resell merchandise. There are rules on how long purchased items have to be held by the business prior to resale, and on the type of record keeping that's requried. This is all to assist police in recovering your stolen property. The permits are given to anyone who applies and pays the fee, so there's no "incumbent protection".

As for hair stylists, I prefer to know that my hair cutter has some level of training, as evidenced by their license.

Caveat Emptor is all well and good, but who has time to interview every last service provider, and, absent some independent verification, who's to know whether they are lying about their experience and training? I've had hair cuts from untrained barbers, and it wasn't pleasant.

[woolie]

Bad barbers won't be in business for long. Seems like a self correcting problem to me. And yes, I check nearly every business I visit on Yelp and other sites. Consistently bad reviews will certainly blacklist an establishment. It's an elegant system -- 2012 is a great time to live.

I've had property stolen before, but I'm a little incredulous of the idea that anything is ever recovered. The black market doesn't care about licensing requirements. Neither does eBay.

[RedScare]

Back in the day, one of the few outlets for stolen merchandise was the pawn shop. Even today, most stolen goods go straight to pawn shops. There are fences who have discovered craigslist and ebay, but most burglars are crack/meth heads. They aren't big on ipads...except to pawn them.

Much stolen property is not recovered because the victim has not recorded serial numbers or etched DL numbers on the property. Yes, I know that your description of "red Toro mower" seemed pretty good to you, but when the detective finds 400 of them on the pawn list, how does he know which one is yours?

BTW, am I the only one who thinks LTAWCS probably doesn't care if his hair cutter is trained and licensed?