Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Building
1. When is a building permit required?
2. When is a permit not required?
3. Must I be a licensed Builder to obtain a Building Permit?
4. How can I be sure the builder I hired is licensed?
5. Does the City of Lansing have an energy code?
6. Is every residential building covered by the energy code?
7. What are the prescriptive requirements of the energy code?
8. I received several pieces of paper when I got my permit. Which is the actual permit?
9. Who do I call to get an inspection?
10. What inspections are required?
11. How deep must footings be?
12. Where are egress windows required?
13. What are the requirements for egress windows?
14. When and where are smoke detectors required?
15. I would like to build a deck at my home. What information do I need to bring to the Building Safety Office to get my permit?
16. I would like to build a garage at my home. What information do I need to bring to the Building Safety Office to get my permit?
17. I would like to build an addition to my home. What information do I need to bring to the Building Safety Office to get my permit?
18. I'm working on the addition to my home for which I already have a building permit. But I realized I'm going to have to notch some studs and floor joists as well as bore some holes in a few. Are there limits on the amount of notching and boring that can be done?
19. Where do I find the square foot cost amount to use to determine the valuation of my project?
20. How do I calculate the Building permit fee for a Pre-Manufactured home placed on a residential lot?
21. What are the requirements for attic ventilation?
22. If I want to add a front porch to my home, how do I figure out my front yard setback?
23. I want to add habitable space to my attic. What are the ceiling height requirements?
24. Can I install a spiral stair in my home?
25. I have large icicles hanging from my roof eaves. What causes this and should I be concerned?
26. I want to replace some of my sidewalk and alter my driveway approach. what are the requirements for this?
Didn't find your question? Feel free to submit your specific question to buildingsafety@ci.lansing.mi.us
1. When is a building permit required?
A building permit is required whenever a building is erected, altered, enlarged, structurally repaired, moved, or converted to different use group (as defined in the building code). Additionally, a permit is required for:
- Siding (other than painting)
- Re-roofing when the existing roof covering is removed or two(2) layers of roof covering are already present (the roof must be stripped), or there is obvious structural damage to framing or decking.
- Replacement windows or doors when the opening size is altered.
- Pools, hot tubs, and spas that are more than 24 inches deep.
- Decks (including porches) that meet any one of the following:
- Are attached to the house.
- Are more than 30 inches above adjacent grade.
- Are covered with a roof.
- Garages or carports.
2. When is a permit not required?
A permit is not required for:
- Sheds or other accessory structures that are less than 200 square feet (120 square feet for commercial properties). However, exterior wall fire resistance must be provided as required based on location of the structure on the property (call 483-4363 for further explanation, or to determine if these requirements will apply to your structure). You should check with the Zoning Office at 483-4069 about zoning restrictions.
- Fences less than 6 feet in height. You should check with the Zoning Office at 483-4069 about zoning restrictions.
- Interior partitions less than 5 feet 9 inches in height.
- Patios and driveways on grade.
- Painting, wallpapering, or other similar finishes.
- Replacement windows, doors, or storm doors when the opening size is not altered.
- Prefabricated above ground pools or in ground pools less than 24 inches deep.
3. Must I be a licensed Builder to obtain a Building Permit?
A property owner may obtain a building permit for work to be done at his or her own property without being licensed.
If the work is being done on someone else's residence or by someone else on your residence, then the permit must be obtained by a licensed builder. Occasionally a contractor will suggest that the homeowner obtain the permit because it's cheaper or easier. BE CAREFUL, permit fees are the same regardless of who obtains the permit, and the applicant to whom the permit is issued is legally responsible for compliance of the work with the Code.
4. How can I be sure the builder I hired is licensed?
Ask to see his/her license or for his/her license number. Any reputable builder will be glad to give you this information. You can then check the license by following the link "Verify License" to check the status. If you wish, you can also search by name. Read the directions carefully. You may have to use "wildcards" in the search.
Additionally, you may wish to ask the contractor if he/she is a member of the local Home Builders Association or Remodelor's Council. Reputable contractors are interested in maintaining professionalism in the industry.
5. Does the City of Lansing have an energy code?
The City of Lansing enforces the Michigan Uniform Energy Code (Part 10 Michigan Building Code Rules).
6. Is every residential building covered by the energy code?
The following non commercial buildings are exempt from the energy code:
- A residential building or portion of a residential building that has an intended maximum rate of energy usage less than 3.4 Btu/h per square foot of floor area for all purposes.
- A residential building or a portion of a residential building that is not heated or mechanically cooled.
- An existing building.
- An alteration of any existing residential building or portion of a residential building.
- An addition to any existing residential building.
- An existing residential building moved into or within the City. A manufactured building shipped for installation in the City is not considered a moved building.
Buildings not meeting one of the exceptions above would have to comply with either the prescriptive requirements or a systems approach for the entire building performance.
7. What are the prescriptive requirements of the energy code?
In the City of Lansing which is located in zone one, the following minimum requirements would need to be met:
| Walls |
R13 |
| Roof/ceiling |
R30 |
| Floors over unconditioned spaces |
R21 |
| Slab on grade floors Unheated slabs Heated slabs |
|
| Crawl space walls |
R5 |
| Finished lower level walls |
R5 |
| Exposed basement walls Greater than 7% of gross exterior wall area (GWA) |
R5 |
| Fenestrations/openings Up to & including 15% GWA 15% to 20% GWA greater than 20% GWA |
|
8. I received several pieces of paper when I got my permit. Which is the actual permit?
You received a white computer print out that is the actual Building Permit, a required inspection checklist (the yellow or white sheet attached to the permit), and a heavy paper weather card. The weather card should be posted at the job site so that it is visible from the street. You may also have an approved set of construction drawings, depending on the project. Approved construction drawings should be kept at the job site for you and the Inspector to refer to until the project is completed.
9. Who do I call to get an inspection?
The Building Inspector's name and telephone number appears at the right margin near the top of your building permit and near the bottom of the inspection checklist sheet. You can call the Building Inspector listed between 8:00 and 9:00AM or 12:00 and 1:00PM to arrange an inspection. You can call at other times and leave your name and telephone number on voice mail and the inspector will call you back during office hours. You may NOT schedule inspections on voice mail.
10. What inspections are required?
A sheet listing the required inspections for your project is attached to your Building Permit.
11. How deep must footings be?
The bottom of footings must be on undisturbed soil a minimum of 42 inches below finished grade (except for certain detached accessory buildings, call or email our office for further information).
12. Where are emergency escape and rescue openings (egress windows) required?
Emergency escape and rescue openings, commonly referred to as "egress windows", are required in all habitable rooms (including bedrooms) located in the basement and all sleeping rooms below the fourth floor (4th) of the building. This requirement applies to all newly constructed and remodeled sleeping rooms.
13. What are the requirements for "egress windows"?
"Egress windows" must have a clear opening area a minimum of 5.7 square feet, a minimum clear opening width of 20 inches, and clear opening height of 24 inches. The sill of the window must be within 44 inches of the finish floor. The window must be openable without tools, special knowledge, or special effort. Grade floor egress windows (sill height not more than 44 inches above exterior grade) may have a minimum of 5 square feet clear opening area, subject to the same minimum height and width dimensions as above. See the handout Egress Windows for further information.
Security bars and grills are prohibited on egress windows except in certain cases. Egress windows located below grade must have a window well meeting certain requirements. Please contact our Office for further information on these issues.
14. When and where are smoke detectors required?
Please see the handout Smoke Detectors for a complete answer.
SPECIAL NOTE: The Building Safety Office and the Fire Prevention Office strongly encourage you to install smoke detectors in the noted locations in existing homes whether or not you are "required" to. Early detection and warning to the building occupants of a fire is the single greatest factor determining you and your family's chances of survival. Secondly, test the operation of your smoke detectors regularly and replace the batteries with fresh ones before they are needed. We suggest that you change your batteries twice a year when you change your clocks for daylight savings time. Thirdly, if you have occasional nuisance alarms, relocate your smoke detector. DON'T disable it. The hassle of a few nuisance alarms is better than putting your entire family at risk. Contact the Fire Prevention Office at 483-4200 or visit their web site for more information on fire safety in the home.
15. I would like to build a deck at my home. What information do I need to bring to the Building Safety Office to get my permit?
A completed building permit application, a site plan showing the proposed location (fill in the various dimensions of the existing structures, etc, and sketch in the proposed deck), a basic sketch of the design of the deck including the sizes and spacing of posts, beams, joists, and decking, as well as steps and guardrails etc.
If you are designing your own deck, the handouts Residential Decks, Guardrails & Steps, Handrails, and Span Tables may be very useful to you.
16. I would like to build a garage at my home. What information do I need to bring to the Building Safety Office to get my permit?
You will need to bring a completed building permit application, a site plan showing the proposed location (fill in the various dimensions of the existing structures, etc, and sketch in the proposed garage), a basic sketch of the design of the garage including the sizes and spacing of studs, posts, beams, rafters, and roof decking, as well as footings and siding etc. The handout Garages (for a conventionally framed garage, or a post & beam garage) may be helpful to you.
If you are building your garage from a kit or package from a local lumberyard, just bring the kit information supplied by the lumberyard along with the site plan and application.
17. I would like to build an addition to my home. What information do I need to bring to the Building Safety Office to get my permit?
A completed building permit application, a site plan showing the proposed location (fill in the various dimensions of the existing structures, etc, and sketch in the proposed addition), a basic sketch of the design of the addition including the sizes and spacing of studs, posts, beams, floor joists, ceiling joists, rafters, and roof decking, as well as footings and siding etc. The handouts Home Addition (note that your footings will be required to be 42 inches below finish grade) and Span Tables may be helpful to you.
18. I'm working on the addition to my home for which I already have a building permit. But I realized I'm going to have to notch some studs and floor joists as well as bore some holes in a few. Are there limits on the amount of notching and boring that can be done?
Yes, there are limitations to the amount of notching and boring you can do before you compromise the structural integrity of the building. See the handout Notching & Boring for more information.
19. Where do I find the square foot cost amount to use to determine the valuation of my project?
The square foot values are found in the document Cost Data. You can use this link to Cost Data and a link is also contained in the fee Schedule A.
20. How do I calculate the Building permit fee for a Pre-Manufactured home placed on a residential lot?
The procedure to calculate is contained in the document Pre-Manufactured Dwellings. Please note that you must use the current square foot values (see # 19 above) in the calculation (not the values used in the example). The State of Michigan Technical Bulletin #2 is available by a link embedded in the PDF file or you may use this link
21. What are the requirements for attic ventilation?
Please see this handout, Attic Ventilation.
22. If I want to add a front porch to my home, how do I figure out my front yard setback?
Please see this handout, Front Yard Setback.
23. I want to add habitable space to my attic. What are the ceiling height requirements?
Please see this handout, Ceiling Height.
24. Can I install a spiral stair in my home?
Please see this handout, Spiral Stairs.
25. I have large icicles hanging from my roof eaves. What causes this and should I be concerned?
Please see this handout, Ice Dams.
26. I want to replace some of my sidewalk and alter my driveway approach. What are the requirements for this?
Sidewalks and curb cuts are under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Department. Please feel free to call them at (517) 483-4460 for Information. This handout may also be helpful.
