Getting permits
Complying with regulations
As everywhere else there is a bureaucracy in building a house. Here is a list of the permits that one who embarks on constructing a house on an acrage inevitably faces:
- Development permit
- Building permit
- PSDS permit
- A number of electrical permits
- A number of plumbing permits
- Gas permit
The cost of each permit varies from $150 to more than $1000. I avoided the gas permit as I chose to go with electrical heating.
The detailed information of the necessary permits in Stugeon County can be obtained from the Sturgeon County web site.
Generaly the procedure is: get a permit, do the work and then call for an inspection. If an inspector finds any problem, then fix it and call him again. Luckily, the inspection fees are covered by the permit payment.
Development and building permits
The first two permits are the most expensive. One has to supply the municipality responsible for issuing these permits a complete set of blue prints. In my case it was the following list:
- Site plan
- Floor plans
- Floor plans with dimensions
- Elevation plans
- Cross section
- HVAC plan
- Electrical plan
- Footing plan
- Foundation plan
- Foundation cross-section
- Beams
- Joists
- Roof rafters
- Roof cross-section
The blue prints are examined by municipality officers for the Alberta Building Code, land zoning and subdivision restrictive covenants compliance.
After the permits are given, they must be posted on a lot for 30 days for a public review. Neighbors have a chance to file a complaint if they object the project.
I got both development and building permits in June of 2002 and planned to begin an excavation next month.