Glossary
- Building permit
- Official approval from your city or county to do certain construction work.
- Inspection
- A visit from the building office to check work matches the code and approved plans.
- Plan review
- The office checks your drawings before issuing a permit.
- Unincorporated area
- Land in a county that isn't inside a city; the county handles permits there.
- ILC (Improvement Location Certificate)
- A surveyor's drawing showing where buildings sit on a lot (Jefferson County uses it for setback checks).
- Setback
- The required distance between a structure and a property line.
- Square (roofing)
- 100 square feet of roof area.
- Valuation
- The total cost of materials and labor, used by some offices to set permit fees.
- MEP
- Mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.
- Egress window
- A window big enough to escape through, often needed in basement bedrooms.