Building Department Review

The Building Department Review, or permitting, is the final stage of review before construction begins. This review looks specifically at the building Construction Documents (CD’s) which details the structural design, mechanical, plumbing and electrical engineering, architectural design and the safety of the building. 

Typically, this review is performed after approval of the planning application. However, some jurisdictions allow for overlapping this review while the planning approval is nearing completion. Similar to the Civil Engineering Review, the design team will receive comments from the building officials which we’ll need to respond to. 

Here’s an outline of what kind of timeline you can expect for this phase of the project: 

Whether you’re using a negotiated bid or soliciting bids from a number of general contractors, the bidding of your project should begin during this phase. By this phase, the construction documents have been completed and provide enough information to the general contractor in order to get an accurate price. Your construction contract should NOT be based on these documents. Invariably, the Building Department Review results in additional, code-driven changes to these documents prior to the issuance of a Building Permit, which may impact pricing. Once the CD’s have been approved and are issued as the Permit Set, the general contractor should update their bids as necessary. 

Congratulations on getting through the approval process!