The permit question after water damage in Snellville starts with one fact: whether the address sits inside the City of Snellville or in unincorporated Gwinnett County. The building department with jurisdiction over that address is the one that answers. This guide explains how to find that office, which repairs usually raise the question, what the drying itself does and does not need, and how to ask the office before the rebuild starts.
Key takeaways
- The office is set by the address: city or unincorporated county, and the county line near Loganville makes this a real question.
- Drying and cleanup usually raise fewer permit questions than the rebuild does.
- Ask the office before the work, and get the answer by name, date and the scope it covers.
- The homeowner, the contractor and the insurer each have a different role in the paperwork.
Which office answers: the city or the county?
The office with jurisdiction over the address answers, and that is decided by whether the property is inside the City of Snellville or elsewhere in Gwinnett County.
Snellville is a city, and the properties inside its limits are under the City's own building department. Properties that sit outside the city limits, in the unincorporated parts of Gwinnett County, are under the county's building department. Both offices are part of the same county government, but they are separate offices with separate forms and separate inspectors, and a permit that is right for one may be the wrong form for the other.
The owner does not have to guess which one applies. The property record, the tax bill and the address itself are the first places to look, and the office that receives the call will confirm it. Writing down the answer, with the name of the person who gave it and the date, is the simplest way to keep it straight through a rebuild.
Why a county line changes the answer
Loganville straddles the Gwinnett and Walton county line, so a single street can change which office is correct.
The Loganville area is the one place in this service area where the question is most likely to be sharp. The town sits on the county line, and the Walton County side is a different government with its own offices. A house on the Gwinnett side and a house a street or two away on the Walton side can have very different answers for the same repair.
The same caution applies to any address near a boundary, and it is the reason the first question on a rebuild is the address and not the scope of the work. A homeowner who has the address confirmed before the drawings are drawn avoids the most common version of the problem, which is an application sent to the wrong office and sent back.
Which repairs usually raise a permit question
Structural, electrical, plumbing and some mechanical repairs are the usual cases, while cleaning and drying are less often in question.
A water-damaged house is rebuilt in pieces, and each piece has its own question. Replacing a damaged joist, a beam or a sill plate is structural work. Rewiring a circuit that stood in water, or replacing an outlet in a wet wall, is electrical. Moving or replacing a water heater, a supply line or a drain line is plumbing, and replacing a furnace or a heat pump is mechanical.
Drywall, paint and flooring are the finish, and they are the part of the rebuild most often done without a permit. Whether a given finish repair needs one depends on its scope and on the office's own rules, which is why the question is put to the office rather than settled by the homeowner or the contractor.
- Structural: a joist, a beam, a sill plate or a load-bearing wall
- Electrical: a circuit that stood in water, or a receptacle in a wet wall
- Plumbing: a water heater, a supply line or a drain line that is moved or replaced
- Mechanical: a furnace, an air handler or a heat pump that is replaced
Does the drying need a permit?
Drying and cleaning usually do not, but the homeowner confirms it, because a scope that opens a wall can change the answer.
Setting fans and a dehumidifier, pumping standing water and cleaning a slab do not normally change the structure of a house, and they are not usually the work that a permit covers. The question changes when the drying turns into demolition: a wall that is cut open to reach a cavity, a floor that is lifted to reach the joists, or a ceiling that is taken down.
The distinction is worth raising with the office before the work starts. A short description of the drying plan, the openings it will make and the repairs that follow is enough for the office to say whether a permit is needed for any part of it.
How to ask the office before the rebuild
Ask with the address, the scope in writing and the names of the people doing the work, and write down the answer.
A permit question asked on the phone is answered quickly and forgotten quickly. The better approach is a short written scope that lists the repairs, the openings and the trades involved, with the address at the top. The office can then answer each line, and the answer can be filed with the claim.
The owner is the applicant for a permit on the owner's own house in most cases, and the contractor is named where the work is done by a trade that the office requires on the application. The homeowner should ask the office who must apply, and not assume the contractor will do it. A permit that is pulled by the wrong person can delay an inspection, and the delay is the homeowner's problem if no one has been told.
- The property address and which side of the city line it sits on
- A written scope listing each repair, opening and trade
- The name of the applicant and the name of the contractor doing each trade
- The office's answer for each line, with the name and date of the person who gave it
The inspection, and what is kept on file
Any permitted work is inspected at the stages the office sets, and the approval is kept with the house's records.
Where a permit is issued, the office sets the inspections. The work is covered up only after the inspection has passed, so a wall is not closed before the framing has been seen and a rough-in is not finished before the electrical has been checked. The schedule is the office's to set, and the homeowner is best served by asking for it at the start rather than at the end.
The approved permit and the inspection results are kept with the house's papers. They are part of the record of the rebuild, along with the scope, the readings and the invoices, and they are what a buyer, an insurer or a later repair will ask to see.
The paperwork that follows the work
The permit, the inspection, the scope, the readings and the invoices are the complete file, and they are kept together.
A rebuild after water damage produces more paper than most homeowners expect. The insurer has an estimate, the drying company has readings, the contractor has an invoice and the office has a permit and an inspection. Keeping those in one folder, dated and labeled by the room, is the easiest way to answer a later question.
This guide does not say how long any record must be kept, or what any office will charge, because the answer depends on the office and the work. The owner is advised to ask the office directly, and to keep the record for as long as the house is owned.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to replace drywall after water?
Often not for the drywall alone. The question changes if the replacement involves a structural member or a wall that is being opened to the framing. Ask the office with the scope in writing.
Is a permit needed for a new water heater?
The office that covers the address sets the answer, and the plumbing and gas or electrical side may each have a separate question. Ask before the old unit is removed.
Who issues permits in Snellville?
The City of Snellville's building department issues permits for properties inside the city limits. A property outside the limits is under the Gwinnett County building department, and the address decides which one.
What if the office says no permit is needed?
Keep the answer in writing, with the name and the date of the person who gave it, and attach it to the scope. That record is the answer if the question comes up later with an insurer or a buyer.
Can a permit delay the insurer's payment?
A permit question that is not settled before the rebuild can slow the work, and the insurer will want to see the scope that the permit covers. This page does not say how the insurer treats the permit, which depends on the policy and the claim.
Do I need a permit to change a drain line in a slab?
It can be. A drain line that runs through a slab is a plumbing question, and the office with jurisdiction over the address is asked before any concrete is cut.
Sources
- Gwinnett County, Georgia (Wikipedia)
- Snellville, Georgia (Wikipedia)
- Georgia State Route 124 (Wikipedia)
This guide is general information for Gwinnett County homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.