Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana that were in the path of Hurricane Ida have either hunkered down or traveled to a safe place as I write this article. Living along the Gulf of Mexico has its benefits from great fishing to good food, and a culture like no other, but it also has a big risk. And that risk is hurricanes. As I native and resident of Houston, Texas, I understand this natural challenge like my neighbors in Louisiana.

In fact, you can still see blue tarps on residential roofs in southwest Louisiana; and you can see homes that were left in shambles and empty from prior hurricanes. The bottom line is that rebuilding from many residential property owners is not only stressful, but it also holds a lot of challenges, especially when making decisions on how to approach repairs, assessing insurance coverage, determining repair costs, investigating permits needed, and selecting reputable contractors.

To minimize headaches often associated with jurisdiction construction permits, below are 5 tips on when a residential permit is to make repairs caused by Hurricane Ida.

• Tip 1: Building new additions such as a sunroom, 2^nd floor, patio area, or bedroom
• Tip 2: Expanding interior rooms involving moving load bearing walls such as enlarging den, kitchen, or another room
• Tip 3: Installing new windows which impacts energy efficiency and structure on home
• Tip 4: Installing a new roof or major repairs to an existing roof
• Tip 5: Building a new shed or garage

While permitting may be less stringent in rural areas, in most cities, building permits are required for nearly most types of new construction, renovations and major repairs. This is contrary when doing minor repairs and below is a general rule-of-thumb and is applicable in most cities in Louisiana.

3 Types of Residential Work that Does Not Require a Construction Permit

• Emergency repairs to residence such as boarding up windows, doors, and placing tarps on roofs
• Cleaning up debris after flood and wind damage to home
• Replacing sheetrock, installing flooring, painting, and other minor works

In Conclusion

During times of destruction, many people become fearful and struggle in making the best decisions when hiring a contractor to make repairs or worse case in rebuilding their home. We get it! And we’re delighted to provide you with basic tips on when a building permit is required for fixing your home. If you have any questions about obtaining a building permit after incurring damage from Hurricane Ida, call 1.844.PERMIT.4 and a member from the PermitUsNow team will be glad to speak with you.

#BuildSafe