Commercial Building Permit Steps

TO OBTAIN A PERMIT:

An individual seeking plan review for the issuance of a building permit shall obtain an application form from personnel in the Inspection Division or on-line at Permits and Forms. The application must be filled out in its entirety and submitted to the Inspection Division along with the required plans and specifications.

The applicant shall submit three (3) complete sets of construction drawings and site plan and electronic files containing the plans.

The construction drawings must bear the seal of a Design Professional licensed in the State of Ohio. For exceptions to the seal requirement, see the OBC Section 4101:2-1-20 (B) or contact the Building Official in the Inspection office.

Construction drawings shall include:

1. An index of drawings located on the first page.
2. A site plan showing street location, size of lot, setback and side yard dimensions, location and sizes of all utility lines, landscaping, fencing and parking.
3. Foundation plans.
4. Floor plans.
5. Cross sections, wall sections and details, to scale.
6. Exterior elevations.
7. Structural plans.
8. Mechanical, electrical and fire plans including schematics, duct and pipe layouts and power equipment layouts.
9. Designation of occupancy use group, construction type, total square footage, fire resistance rating of structural elements and suppression system hazard classification, if applicable.

PLANS EXAMINATION

The drawings are now reviewed to determine compliance with the OBC in the order in which they are received at our office.

The Plans Examiner, and Fire Chief  shall each approve or reject their respective drawings. In all cases where approval cannot be granted, a correction letter or addendum outlining the items that do not meet the code will be sent to the applicant.

RESUBMITTAL

The applicant shall submit a letter addressing the corrections requested and/or a revised set of drawings that correct the deficiencies noted on the plan review.

APPROVAL

The Building Official shall, in conjunction with the Fire Chief and Plans Examiner review the revisions submitted. Upon approval of all resubmittals, the Building Official shall sign and date the drawings thus issuing certificate of plan approval. This is not a full building permit. To obtain a full building permit, the project will require a zoning certificate of approval.

ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT

After approval of the drawings as corrected, the applicant will be notified that the certificate of plan approval or the building permit is ready to be issued upon payment of any fees still outstanding.

No permits for work being done within the City of Maumee shall be issued to anyone but the contractor doing the work.

MECHANICAL DRAWINGS

Plans for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire alarm and suppression projects shall follow the same procedures as those established for building permit.

CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION

General contractors, roofing, siding and framing contractors all must be registered to work within the City of Maumee.

Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, steamfitter, refrigeration, fire suppression, fire alarm, sewer, sidewalk and sign contractors all must be registered to perform work within the City of Maumee.

Any person performing work for electrical, plumbing, HVAC companies, etc. must be registered as a journeyman or registered as an apprentice with the Inspection Division.

INSPECTIONS

After the building permit has been issued, the contractor has the responsibility of assuring that all required inspections are requested and that any variations from the approved plans are submitted and re-approved prior to making the change.

Only when the permit is displayed and the approved plans are present shall the Inspector perform the inspection.

Each individual subcontractor or the job superintendent must be present during the required inspections. If no one is available, the inspection must be rescheduled.

Required inspections shall be requested by the contractor or his subcontractor a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours before the inspection is needed.

Required inspections are:

1. FOOTING INSPECTION: Shall be made prior to the pouring of any concrete footing. (Trench, forms and any reinforcing shall be in place at the time of inspection.)

2. FOUNDATION INSPECTION: Shall be made prior to the pouring of foundation walls or piers if reinforcing (rebar) is present. (Reinforcing shall be in place at the time of inspection.) If reinforcing is not required then this inspection shall be made prior to the backfilling of foundation wall or piers. Foundation coatings and drainage tile shall be in place, when needed, at the time of inspection.

3. STRUCTURAL INSPECTION: Shall be made after completion of structural work, before any insulation, drywall, lathe, or paneling, etc., is applied, but after any required plumbing, electrical and/or heating rough-in inspections have been approved. All framing shall have been completed with firestops, collar ties, bridging and nailers in place.

4. ROUGH PLUMBING INSPECTION: Shall be made after installation of sanitary and/or storm drainage systems. Multiple inspections can be made if systems are installed in sections. Domestic hot and cold water pipe systems will also hold an air test.

5. FINAL PLUMBING INSPECTION: Shall be made after all plumbing fixtures have been installed and supplied with domestic hot and cold water and while under final air test.

6. ELECTRICAL SERVICE: Must be installed per Toledo Edison specifications and the National Electrical Code.

7. ROUGH ELECTRIC INSPECTION: Shall be made after completion of electrical rough-in prior to covering any wiring.

8. FINAL ELECTRICAL INSPECTION: Shall be made after installation of all electrical equipment and/or fixtures.

9. ROUGH HEATING INSPECTION: Shall be made after completion of heating rough-in prior to concealment.

10. FINAL HEATING INSPECTION: Shall be made after completion of the installation of the heating system and in firing condition.

11. FINAL BUILDING INSPECTION: Shall be made after completion of all construction with gutters, splash blocks, handrails, attic access panels, vapor barriers, etc., in place and prior to occupancy.

12. FINAL GRADE AND LANDSCAPING: Shall be made after completion of final contouring and planting of nursery stock and conforms to the approved landscape plan submitted previously. Compliance with the tree ordinance of the City will be verified at this time by the Zoning Administrator.

Any work which does not meet the standards contained in the Maumee Code of Building Regulations shall be corrected within a reasonable time specified by the Building Inspector or his authorized representative. 

When all inspections are completed and approved, a Certificate of Occupancy will be issued. Occupancy shall not take place prior to the issuance of the Certificate.

EXISTING BUILDINGS OR STRUCTURES.

When any alterations, repairs, additions or change of occupancies are made, the Building Official shall, after inspection and investigation of the existing structure, determine it to be free of serious hazards.

The proposed alteration or repair shall not cause the existing buildings to become less safe or sanitary. Adequate construction drawings shall be submitted so that the entire structure can be evaluated to assure that the existing means of egress has not been made less safe and the existing building service equipment will continue to function as required.

An alteration to any structure shall conform to the code requirements for a new structure and shall not result in an increase in hazard to the occupants. Portions of the structure not altered and not affected by the alteration are not required to comply with requirements for a new structure.

An addition to a structure shall conform to the requirements for a new structure without requiring the existing structure to comply with the requirements for new construction.

A change of occupancy shall not be made to any structure without approval of the Building Official. The Building Official shall certify that such structure meets the intent of the code that governs building construction for the proposed new occupancy.

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

A. New Buildings: A building or structure newly constructed shall not be used or occupied in whole or in part until the certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Building Official and a zoning certificate of occupancy is issued by the Zoning Official.

B. Building Altered: A building or structure that is enlarged, extended or altered, in whole or in part, shall not be used or occupied until the certificate of occupancy has been issued and a zoning certificate of occupancy is issued by the Zoning Official.

C. Change of Occupancy: A building or structure hereafter changed, in whole or in part, from one occupancy to another shall not be occupied for the new occupancy until the building conforms to the applicable provisions of the code for the new use and the certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Building Official and a zoning certificate of occupancy is issued by the Zoning Official.

ASK QUESTIONS

We realize the complexity of the codes that we enforce and that the information listed here covers only the basic fundamentals. Please feel free to contact the Building and Zoning Inspection staff to answer your specific questions. Staff members are experienced in the field and can be valuable resources of information.

We are here to assist you in completing your project as quickly and safely as possible.