What should you know before doing Exterior Home Improvements? 

Happy June everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather here in the United States and all of Northern Hemisphere. This past month was a great one for Rooted, with a lot of announcements and working on some great projects. During this past month, I got a chance to do a Q&A with my alma mater discussing being an Entrepreneur and Architect. I also spoke at a panel regarding investing in Real Estate, and my favorite announcement was the official launch of Latinas in Architecture and Allies Vol. II, in which I am one of sixteen contributing authors. If you are interested in purchasing the book you can buy it here. My chapter touches on my story from moving to the United States, how I decided I wanted to be an Architect, and my journey to the present day of being an Architect. Feel free to reach out if you read the book and have thoughts on it.

Now, here in New York, we are happily entering nicer weather and waiting for Summer to go full speed. With that in mind, this is the time when most people want to do Exterior Home Improvements so they can enjoy their backyard or front yard even more. Such improvements include adding patios, decks, pools, trellises, roof-overs sections and fences. From experience, it is best to begin to plan these projects in the winter or early spring due to several projects requiring permits and to get a contractor who can schedule you in. With that said, if you just started, it may mean you may get a chance to enjoy these home improvements later this summer/fall or maybe based on the information I will provide you may wait until next year to complete, which in isn’t horrible because materials might drop in price by the time you are ready to build in Spring of next year.

Well, whether you are in process, or thinking about any of the mentioned improvements, I want to provide some key questions and answers to consider before you conduct the project and if you have already started, you can always take a few steps back and get clear answers to make sure everything is done legally.

Questions and answers are as follows:

1. Does it need permits?

Every Town/City has variations for what requires permits relating to exterior improvements, which is why it is best to contact your Town directly or check their website to see if it does and if so, what the requirements are. Another way to proceed is to consult with an Architect to find out for you and provide further design guidance. 

For reference, in New York all pools require permits, and this is similar in most or all states. It is so because there is life and safety relating to the size, depth and location of the pool. For instance, in NY it needs to have minimum 48” high fencing and gates. Also, the pool cannot be within 10 feet of a door to the home. The Town/City may also have zoning regulations such as setbacks from lot line and if it counts towards your overall lot coverage. In some cases, if it does and you go over the allowed percentage, you will require to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals to request a variance to proceed with the work.

Other references are that fences, patios and decks may require permits depending on height from the grade. Each Town/City has their own number, still it is common that patios over 6” above grade need permits, decks over 18” need permits and fences over 48” need permits. Also, note that there are also height limitations for fences. As for Trellises or other roof-over conditions, they for sure will require permits as it is a physical building structure.

2. Do you need an Architect to produce the drawings?

It depends on the state and on the scope of the work. Since I am in New York, I will provide more detailed response for this state but if you are in another state, you can reach out to a local Architect or ask this question to the Town/City. Do note that most Architects that do Residential work can design all these types of projects, but some do not require them.

In New York, Decks, trellises, and Roof-Overs are to be drawn by Architects. Even if a deck that is low to the ground and does not need permits, I highly recommend for an Architect to produce the drawings before a contractor builds it to make sure the correct size and type of wood is used. As well as sizing the footing properly.

If a patio requires a permit, then yes you will need an Architect. If it doesn’t you could use an Architect, or Landscape Architect/Designed to guide you to the right design based on the ground you have, and your end goal.

As for fences and pools, even if they need permits, you could use the Pool company or Fence company to produce the drawings and even file a permit for you. A licensed company would have engineers or designers on board to produce the required drawings. Do note that if your improvements also include other scope that an Architect is to be involved, the installation company and Architect can work together to put it all in one permit. 

3. Does the timeline for the project align with when I want to make use of the improvement?

Timing varies in scope, size and whether it needs permits or not. The shortest duration project would be a patio or fencing. Because even if it needs permits, setting up drawings and permits for that would be less time-consuming.

For decks, pools, trellises, and roof-overs it all depends on deriving on a final design and developing drawings, permits and construction time that the Contractor may need, which includes how long it takes to get the materials.

As you gather information for the first two questions, it will begin to provide a more concrete schedule and even then, it is always good to add in some buffer time. That is why in the beginning I mentioned my recommendation to begin this process in late winter/early summer. If it’s small improvements, then this time of year may still be great for you to start.

4. Does what I want to add to the property go aesthetically well with the rest of the home and the neighborhood?

It is common to fall in love with a style or design, but sometimes that style or design doesn’t fit well with the home or neighborhood. There are two ways to approach this. One provides the idea to an Architect who then can come up with something more in line with the aesthetics of your home and/or neighborhood. Second, embrace the differences.

There are more nuances to all these improvements and details to consider such as cost and improvement value of the home, but I think those are best to discuss per individual case.

 Let me know if the blog post was informative and helpful by leaving a comment below. If you have questions or want more information, go to our contact page and send me a message and I would be happy to respond.

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Keep growing,

Katherine Serrano Sosa