Do You Need a Permit For Your Shed?

There are several fun and exciting areas ahead if you’re thinking about installing a new shed on your property. For the engaged homeowner, installing a shed is a major project that can change the way several major gardening and home improvement processes work. It can really change your entire home life.

At A-Shed USA, we’re here to help make this a reality for you. We have a huge variety of shed options, from ranch and barn options to YardMaster and J-Series selections, to ensure your property gets the perfect shed option. We’re also here to help with some of the process-related details that go into purchasing shed materials and installing them – and one of the most important sections for certain sheds or structures here is permits. While not all such buildings require building permits, there will be some in certain counties or locations that do. Let’s go over some basics it’s important to know in this area before you get started with material purchase or shed installation.

No Standard Guidelines

Here’s the issue with sheds and similar buildings when it comes to permits: There’s no set, country-wide guideline in terms of which sizes or styles need permits and which don’t. This means that these decisions end up coming down to the building codes put forth by the county the building is being erected in, and these codes can vary greatly even between counties in the same state.

Now, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few basic standards you can expect. For instance, it’s generally accepted in most counties that smaller sheds are well within building code requirements, but that larger sheds or similar buildings might be pushing up against these limits. In the end, the only way to know for sure is by contacting either A-Shed USA or your local building department to ask about the specific qualities of your shed and whether you need a permit for it.

Various Restrictions to Know

Here are some of the various areas where zoning restrictions might limit your ability to build a shed, or specific parts of the shed:

• Size: Certain counties may have very different limits from others in terms of overall shed size on the property.

• Location: There may be situations where code requires that you avoid certain areas of the property or certain items when building. These might include trees, property lines, fences, or outdoor pools.

• Purpose: Most purposes for a shed are just fine, such as storage or gardening concerns, but if you’re planning to use it for uses like additional home living space, for instance, this may not be allowed in your county.

• Electricity: There could be restrictions on whether you can install electrical wiring, or how it can be wired and connected.

• Weather: Areas that experience extreme weather may have to meet specific thresholds for holding up to these extremes.

• Foundation: Before a shed can be placed on previous foundation, said foundation has to be up to code.

For more on whether you need a permit for your shed, or to learn about any of our quality sheds or new garages, speak to the pros at A-Shed USA today.