Building a detached garage on your property can be a huge benefit for your family. Along with increasing your property value and adding additional privacy to your yard, a garage provides you with a secure space to park your vehicles and store other belongings that you want readily accessible. Camping or hiking equipment, tools and hardware – whatever you plan to keep in your new garage, the first step is answering the question, “do I need a building permit for my garage?”
When Do I Need a Building Permit?
Building permits are required when the proposed garage will be larger than 10 square meters (107 square feet). Most double garages are usually between 400 – 576 square feet for the typical dimensions of 20×20 to 24×24. Larger garages that are over 592 square feet require additional drawings that specify the type of foundation that the garage will sit on but still fall under the building permit umbrella. While most garages sit on a concrete slab, larger garages will either need to have foundation walls or be constructed on an engineered floating slab. In rare cases, the proposed garage is so big that its footprint will be larger than that of the main house, and when this happens, it will be necessary to apply for a development permit before the regular building permit application. The development permit gives the municipality an opportunity to review the proposed garage and determine any relaxations that need to be granted if the garage doesn’t meet the requirements of the land use bylaw.
Why Do I Need a Building Permit?
As we all know, part of living in a community means abiding by certain rules and bylaws that your municipality sets out. When it comes to buildings, the goal of municipalities is to ensure that your construction project is safe and doesn’t negatively impact your neighbours. In Calgary, Alberta, garages are considered Accessory Residential Buildings and require a building permit so that the city can ensure the garage complies with the Alberta Building Code. You might be a seasoned expert at building garages, but the city still needs to make sure all of the right boxes are ticked so that you or anyone else who buys your home is protected.
Accurate Drawings Provide Guaranteed Approval
Your municipality requires drawings or blueprints so that they can review the size, location, and construction details of your garage. It’s important to have accurate drawings so that there are no surprises during the building and inspection stages. With garagepermits.ca, your blueprints will be created just for you, and include all of the details that make up your perfect garage. We’ve been working with the City of Calgary, the Town of Cochrane, and other surrounding municipalities since 2011, and have helped hundreds of homeowners and contractors obtain building permits for their garage projects. Our goal is to provide fast and affordable service so that you can get to work on creating your new space quickly and without the hassle of reading through confusing legal jargon and bylaw information. Keep it simple and get exactly what you need when you order now with garagepermits.ca.