trying to learn building codes before buying (Silver Spring, Takoma Park: how much, buying a house)

[mcj79]

We are house hunting in a few areas of DC (Takoma, Shepard Park, Birghtwood, Brookland, Michagain Park, Woodridge, Riggs) and MD (close in to down Silver Spring & Takoma Park.) I should note we are only looking at detached/stand alone single family homes & lots with 1 single family home on the lot.

I have found some information on the subject in MD. But not clear information on carports and set backs and so forth. (DC is more of a headache... really struggling to find information on DC)

Some of the homes we are looking have parking pads in the front or off of a alley way, and some driveways leading to the back yard.. Most of the ones that have parking off they alley way look like there was once a garage on the property. Of course we might dig into the records & pull lot plans to see if there was actually a garage or covered structure. But there is not always enough time depending on the house & market to do so before making a offer. We want to go into this with as much knowledge as possible. And please no build it with out a permit comments we are not going to spend good money just to have it taken down by the city.

Anyone have experience with building covered parking/carport or garages on detached single family home lots? Does the access of back yard alley vs front/side driveway impact the options/rules? Any tips on how to find or whom to talk to to get clear information? What are the set backs & how might they be effected by zoning or size of lot? Does a electric door or gate change the type of permit or chances of getting one?

What about fences? How much of a production is it to put up a privacy fence? Many homes have chainlink fences but we want to change it to wood privacy if at all possible.

Are permits for generators, AC, electric updates, kitchen or bath, hot tub, window up dates, and such hard to come by also? Does this unnecessarily drive up the costs?


Thanks for any constructive information.

[badchad]

If you REALLY want a garage, then look into buying a house with a garage.

In addition to local permits and building codes, you may also have to examine rules and regulations for the home owners association.

For major building projects like larger home additions, construction of entire garages etc. There may be some minor hassles. All of the other stuff like window updates, AC, etc. are easily managed. The majority of contractors include permits in their price; they're cheap. For my HVAC and (gas) hot water heater, a guy from montgomery county literally, stuck his head in the utility room, and three minutes later signed off on the permit. It's not a big deal.