Residential Amendments & Revisions

After the building permit has been reviewed the first time, it is still possible to make changes to the construction documents. There are two avenues to follow, either an amendment or a revision.

Amendment

An amendment is any change that requires the approval of other departments, besides the Building Inspection Department, or requires another field inspection. Typical changes include:

• Any change to the size of the footprint of the building
• Any change to the location of the house on the lot
• Reversing the house on the lot
• Any change that affects the location of the garage entrance (example: front entry verses side entry)
• Any increase in the number of bedrooms - if the house is on a septic system
• Any change in the square footage of the house
• Any change made to the plan that will require a follow-up inspection (i.e. the change is submitted after the rough inspection is completed)

To request an amendment submit a Residential Amendment Application (PDF) along with a $57 fee. Additional permit fees may be assessed if the scope of the work has changed. The documents required varies based on the situation, please call 804-751-4990 for assistance.

Revisions

A revision is any change that does not affect any other department and is submitted before the rough framing inspection is completed. Typically they fall into two types of changes:

1. Structural revisions - example: the contractor changes the size of a beam
2. Layout revisions - example: the contractor wants to move an interior wall

Revisions are usually changed and approved over the counter and do not require a fee. The applicant brings in the original "field set" plans and the plan reviewer will manually mark up the field and office sets of plans to reflect the change. In most cases, the homeowner/contractor will be able to leave with the revised plans.

If the project is adding to or renovating an existing building, the remainder of the structure is not required to be brought into code compliance.