The Inner DIY-er Comes Out

We're in the process of getting some estimates about the roof and the front porch. The estimates we've had so far are, how shall I say, a little stunning in their expensiveness. The sticker shock has finally reignited the DIY spirit inside Michael (who has a lot of skills and experience working on his father's house growing up.) He's thinking about redoing the porch foundation and decking by himself, and asked me to help out with the research on building code, permitting, etc.

I already know that repairing a porch doesn't need a Certificate of Approval from the Planning Commission, unless you change design elements. A review of the Design Guidelines would probably be a good plan, though. And it's possible that the repairs would be extensive enough to make a CoA a good idea anyway.

Athens Clarke County's Building Permits and Inspection web site is a little bare bones - basically just contact information. I found the Athens Clarke County Code of Ordinances hosted at a site called Municode. It looks like Part 3 Title 7 is the building codes, and in general, ACC follows the state regulations for building codes (Georgia Building Codes).

Building permits: We will probably need a permit, according to 7-1-6; there is a list of exemptions, but things as simple as drywalling need a permit, so porch foundations certainly would. Scale drawings are needed when a permit application is submitted. Section 7-1-555 discusses permit fees. There's not enough detail in either the code or the Building Permits website to exactly figure out what the process is for applying for a permit, so probably a phone call or office visit will be necessary.

Code: Georgia Building Codes follow the International Building Code (2006), with very little in the way of amendments. (The IBC came out with a revision in 2009, but apparently GA has not yet adopted the revision.) The IBC is available from Amazon for $95 in softcover. It does not seem to be available for free download on the web. Edit: yes it is! http://bulk.resource.org/codes.gov/ga_building.pdf Warning - 735-page pdf document. BIG.