Which bathroom work usually needs a permit, what gets inspected, and what to keep when the job is done.
Permit Basics
A bathroom remodel most often needs a permit when it moves a drain or a supply line, changes the structure, or adds electrical work.
We go through each of those on the free estimate, so the question is settled before any work starts. In Ohio, permits are issued and the work is inspected by local building departments, which the Ohio Board of Building Standards certifies; the board also adopts the state's building codes.
When the job is more than one change, we plan and build the whole room.
bathroom remodel in DaytonBefore Work Starts
Before any work starts, you should ask whether the new layout moves a drain, a supply line, a vent or an electrical circuit, because those are the changes a permit covers.
Taking out the bathtub for a walk-in shower is the common case. A "tub-to-shower conversion" often means moving the drain and replacing the "shower valve", the control inside the wall, so it is worth settling early.
A "surround replacement", new walls around a tub or shower, keeps the fixtures where they are.
Inspections
The written scope should name the waterproofing system and the inspection points, with the jurisdiction and sequence set early so the schedule fits.
The "Scope of Work" is the written list of what the price covers. When it names the "waterproofing membrane" behind the tile and where each inspection falls, nobody is guessing halfway through the job.
Here is how a permitted bathroom job usually runs:
The work is drawn and written up clearly enough to apply for the permit.
Finding out which building department covers your address comes first, since it decides the visits.
New supply and drain lines, and any new wiring, go in while the walls are open.
Where the permit calls for it, that work is looked at before board and tile cover it.
A last look at the finished room closes it out; keep that record with your papers.
Older Bathrooms
Opening the walls of an older home can turn up outdated wiring, old plumbing or moisture damage, and bringing those up to date is work a permit usually covers.
An outdated bathroom may still have old fixtures and wiring that is no longer safe, and the plumbing connections and drains for the toilet, shower, sink and tub need professional skill. If something behind the tile changes the cost or the timing, we write it down and you approve it before that work goes ahead.
Beside the Permit
Two more things sit beside the permit on a bathroom remodel: an association's sign-off where your street has one, and the records kept at handover.
No, homeowners association approval is a separate matter from zoning and permit requirements, and one does not stand in for the other.
If your home is in an association, check what it asks for as well as what the permit needs, before the work is scheduled.
When the job is done, you should keep the inspection records together with the final scope and the product information.
These are the papers to keep after the remodel:
Free Estimates
Call and tell us what you want to change. We look at what the layout moves and put the whole job in writing before any work starts.
Monday through Saturday. Calls outside those hours go to voicemail and we return them the next working morning.
