Step 3- Construction Document Phase

Preparing the Final Construction Drawings
 
During the Construction Document Phase, Greenwood & Moore, Inc. (G&M) prepares the detailed construction drawings, as well as building specifications and calculations that a contractor will need to construct your project. When the construction drawings are complete, the client will typically be provided with 5-10 sets of the construction document that will be used to obtain building permits, while others will be used by General Contractors to provide bids for the project.

G&M typically holds one or two progress meetings with the client during this phase of the project, typically occurring at the 50% and 90% completion points of the phase. The Construction Document Phase typically ends when the design drawings and specifications have been delivered to the client. To learn about the Building Permit Process, continue reading below or move on to Step 4, the.
Building Permit Process

The procedure for submitting for building permits requires the applicant to go to the local Building Department and/or other local municipal agencies and fill out the appropriate applications. Although the client may submit the documents themselves, most G&M clients choose to have G&M submit the documents on their behalf.

Regardless of who submits documents, various plan check fees will be required at the time of submittal. Your local municipality determines these fees. Besides the Building Department, other departments that may need to check your plans are Fire, Engineering and Public Works, all of which may require a fee. For more information on these agencies, review Step 1 of the Residential Building Process.

Other fees could include the building permit fee (which is not the same as the plan check fee), electrical, mechanical, plumbing, Health Department, school fees, sewer, seismic issues, specific taxes, paper retention (archiving of your documents) and more.

The plan check process typically takes 4-6 weeks to complete, depending on your local Building Department’s current backlog. When the plan check process is complete the Building Permit will not be released until the above fees are paid. Either a licensed General Contractor or the project owner must pick up the building permits.