“You can do everything online. You can even submit photos, plans and make payments electronically.”
It happens each year – with warm weather on the horizon, many Airdrie residents make plans to renovate or upgrade parts of their home. To ensure that homeowners meet or exceed Alberta Building Code regulations, the City of Airdrie has streamlined the process for permits and inspections by making resources accessible online.
Save a trip to City Hall by simply logging onto MyAirdrie.ca to apply for your building permits and to book inspections.
“We’ve tried to make this a very simple process,” says Pertti Harkonen, team leader, Building Inspections. “You can do everything online. You can even submit photos, plans and make payments electronically.”
Harkonen says that the most popular building permits in the spring and summer are deck and garage permits and basement permits are higher during the fall and winter season.
Hot tub permits are in demand all year, while requests for air conditioning permits ramp up during the summer.
Permits are only one part of the equation when it comes to home renovations and upgrades. Harkonen and his team offers some friendly advice on how to ensure your home improvements are up to code.
All work completed under a permit must be inspected. Even if the work was done by a licensed contractor a final inspection is required. New building codes became effective Dec. 1, 2019, which may or may not impact a homeowner. Although inspections ensure the improvements to your home meet all the existing and new code requirements, there are other ways homeowners can be diligent.
“We strongly recommend residents hire contractors that are certified and licensed to work in Airdrie,” Harkonen says. “In general, licensed contractors are up to date with codes and your project should go smoothly. This doesn’t mean that a final inspection is not required, but it ensures that the outcome is likely to meet the necessary code requirements.”
The Building Inspections team is a valuable resource on how to get started and recommends that residents ask for referrals from contractors prior to hiring.
If residents are used to doing things the old-fashioned way, they can rest assured that help is still available in person, by email or phone.
To connect with the team for all of your permitting and inspections needs, visit airdrie.ca/buildinginspections, email building.inspections@airdrie.ca or call 403-948-8832.
