St. Louis County Building Permits: Navigating Before You Break Ground
Did you think we had covered it all in our previous post about building permits for St. Louis? Well, we did… for the City. St. Louis County has its own set of rules we need to follow.
When is a permit required?
For residential construction in St. Louis County, building permits are required for projects like new house construction, home additions, finishing basements, kitchen remodels, bathroom remodels, new garages, new porches/decks, swimming pools, solar panels, and outdoor kitchens, etc. Repairs due to damage like storms or fires also need a permit before starting construction. You may also need separate, additional permits for plumbing, electrical, and mechanical work (installing or repairing HVAC systems, installing gas kitchen appliances, etc.) as well as land disturbance like clearing or grading.
There are some instances where permits are not required; these are usually smaller home maintenance and repair projects like replacing gutter downspouts, installing a basketball hoop or installing a small shed on your property.
Not sure where your project falls? You can check out the St. Louis County website to find out, or just make sure to hire a licensed professional general contractor like Maurer Construction who knows which permits you need and when.
What’s the difference between St. Louis City and County building permits?
County permits are a more complex process to navigate because we’re often coordinating between multiple municipalities. Many construction jobs in St. Louis County will be inspected by both the municipality inspectors and the county government inspectors. Additionally, the permitting requirements are different for each municipality in the County.
For example, Webster Groves, Ballwin, and a few other municipalities do their own inspections, while Town and Country does only the building and mechanical inspections and lets St. Louis County do the remaining electrical, plumbing, etc. inspections. Kirkwood does their own building, mechanical, and plumbing inspections, but St. Louis County inspectors cover the electrical and any other permits. Additionally, Pasadena Hills issues its own building permits, but all other inspections are performed by St. Louis County inspectors.
Municipalities like Webster and Kirkwood have additional steps. They require architectural review boards, zoning approvals, tree protection plans, and impervious surface plans. Here are a few of the things we consider when planning a project in these neighborhoods to ensure we meet the requirements:
Architectural Review Board (ARB) - The ARB ensures proposed developments and signs are in harmony with the character of the existing neighborhood. You won’t be able to complete the building permit review process until you have received ARB approval, so it is important not to overlook this step when adding a structure.
Zoning - When adding on a detached garage, shed, greenhouse, etc. we need to make sure the maximum size is not more than 7% of the lot size.
Tree Protection - Projects that affect more than 33% of the lot size or take place in close proximity to trees will need to include a Tree Protection Plan and Tree Study.
Impervious Surface - If we are adding more than 1,000 square feet of impervious surface or if construction will cause your property to have a total of 25% or more impervious surface, we need to plan for stormwater mitigation.
You’ll need a contractor in St. Louis who is well-versed in all areas of permitting for both the City and the County. It is important that your contractor knows who to contact and when for your project to go on without a hitch.
How much does a St. Louis County permit cost?
Permit cost varies depending on what work you are having done. A typical finished basement costs around $500 in permitting fees, while a kitchen renovation may cost around $750. The full list of fees is available on the St. Louis County government website here.
The cost increases significantly if work is completed without having an approved permit in place. Fines, demolition, re-dos… these are all things we definitely want to avoid, and the first step is getting a permit.
When you work with a licensed and insured contractor like Maurer Construction, you don’t need to worry. We take care of getting the permits, making sure the work is built to code, and getting everything correctly inspected. We also build in permit fees as part of the total cost of your project, so you know exactly what to expect upfront.
How do I get a permit in St. Louis County?
The permit process in St. Louis County is done almost entirely online through their permitting portal. From the portal, we are able to apply for a permit, schedule an inspection, pay fees, and check the status of a permit application.
To start an application in the portal, we start with the address of the project, and then select whether it is a commercial, multi-family, or residential building, and then choose if it is a new build, existing build, non-habitual structure, or temporary structure.
Once we go through these steps, the permit application is automatically generated. We fill out this application and then submit our drawings. The drawings requested are based on the type of project and are required to get approval. Some examples of drawings we submit are municipality zoning approval, site plan, drawings and plans of the structure or changes that are being made.
What are inspections like?
At Maurer Construction, we welcome inspections! We think of them as a third party that verifies our work for the homeowners. Each trade has its own inspector: electricians, HVAC, plumbing, building, etc. These inspectors come to the job site and review our work in person. They verify it is up to nation, state and municipal building codes.
Typically, inspections are scheduled one to two days in advance. The inspectors will give an 8am - 4pm window of time when they plan to come by. On the day of, we call the inspector between 7 and 8am to ask what time they plan to arrive. The municipality only publishes the inspector’s land line and does not give out cell phone numbers, so we make sure to connect with the inspector first thing in the morning to get a timeline. This is when it pays to be working with an experienced contractor. We not only handle the inspections, but have policies to get in direct contact with the inspector themselves. This ensures the best communication possible, and helps your project continue along smoothly.
What happens if you don’t get a permit?
Not getting a St. Louis County permit means you risk your project coming to a halt, and in some cases demolition of unapproved/unpermitted work. We do not want this to happen! Not only would it be incredibly costly due to fines or re-doing work, but you can also run into issues when selling your home or conflicts with insurance later on.
All of our construction projects start with the permitting process whether we’re in St. Louis City or County. Working with professionals who know how to navigate the process means you can proceed with your kitchen remodel or finished basement project knowing everything is approved and correctly inspected.
The Bottom Line
The first step of every major residential construction project we take on is getting the required permits in place so that we can proceed smoothly. While the permit process for St. Louis County is especially complicated, we take care of it all for you so you can be certain your project is built correctly!
