suger house

[zippy1wood]

I was wondering how many of you get a building permit? we always just built
things over the years a small barn for the horse and a sawmill building,the town with there satalite spy camaras take photos and send the tax man
I want to build a suger house in 2010 but if I have alot of visitors Im afraid they might give me trouble and ask why I didnt get a permit etc anyone have issues with there town or building ispectors?thanks have a great holiday

[red maples]

I go by the rules for that reason I want to sell and have visitors. in my town (and it is a very small town my wife told the librarian and I told the like 1 person and boom evryone that sees me is asking when I am going to have syrup) the rule for my town is if it cost over $1000 you need a permit. worst case they may make you take it down. I think some places may have a fine as well. it all depends on the town, your inspector, and size of the structure your building. I would say play it safe get your permit.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

In Ny it is up to the individual town but in most rural towns, if the building is for "agricultural" use (and maple fits that definition) there is no permit required.

[3rdgen.maple]

In Ny it is up to the individual town but in most rural towns, if the building is for "agricultural" use (and maple fits that definition) there is no permit required.

Darn Thompson in my town you are required to get a permit to build a doghouseand that is no joke. Inspector is real lazy though and when you call for the inspection he might not show for awhile and after getting a little more than impatient waiting for the okay to proceed further he calls and says sorry for the delay just go ahead and finish it and I will inspect it when you are done. Then he shows after you finish and wants to feel like he did his job and says you need to change this and that. Then signs off on it.

[vtsnowedin]

I took out a permit on the one I'm building because both my wife and I hold town office and can't be seen as thinking we are above the law. Ag buildings are permitted by rule anyway so all the permit really amounts to other then the fee is that I have declared that it will be for Ag use. No inspection here even on a house just the listers (tax appraisers by their old Vt. name) coming to visit and bumping up your taxes. Taxachusetts rules are of course different and you have to play the game by the home team rules.

[firetech]

We are in the process of building our new sugar house. We had to fight to get it ag use because of the new laws that were passed in Dec08 that nobody knew about. That reclassifed Maple production in Michigan. But I still had to pull an Ag use varence permit ($50)to claim it as ag use. they implied that if I ever use it for anything else it would need complete inspections. The kicker is the septic system that I installed comercial permit required($318) because it was not a home system. Oh well I've got the sugar house I always dreamed of having. Good luck and BE HAPPY WE DON"T GET ALL THE GOVERMENT WE PAY FOR!!

[jrbridges]

In our town here in Massacusetts you need a permit for anything larger than 10 by 12. I thought about sticking to that footprint but then decided to go bigger and got the permit which was less than 200 (based on square foot of the building). I have to build it to code and such and it gets inspected for foundation, rough framing and final. Good luck with your project.

[Pete S]

Rather than "Ask for forgiveness, as opposed to permission",...............you had better check with your governing body. Raze issues can be UGLY!

[zippy1wood]

Thanks everyone, Im a mechanic by trade but can build a decent wood
stucture but am always worried the inspector will talk other than english
building codes to me if you know what I mean, and it will become a big hassel
but I guess its best to try thanks

[Dill]

I took out a permit on the one I'm building because both my wife and I hold town office and can't be seen as thinking we are above the law. Ag buildings are permitted by rule anyway so all the permit really amounts to other then the fee is that I have declared that it will be for Ag use. No inspection here even on a house just the listers (tax appraisers by their old Vt. name) coming to visit and bumping up your taxes. Taxachusetts rules are of course different and you have to play the game by the home team rules.

My exact situation. I'm the chair of the board of selectman. I'm pulling a permit and making sure all the T's are crossed before I build. It's also right on the road. Which I'm hoping helps with sales.

[Bucket Head]

Firetech,

How did they reclassify maple syrup?! Whats going on there??!! What did you have to do to get around whatever they passed?

Thanks,
Steve

[Amber Gold]

3rd. gen. That sounds an awful lot like mine. Takes forever to get the permit, takes forever for him to inspect the building, then requests stupid things he wants done/replaced to get the buiding approved. At this point I don't plan on calling him back unless it becomes an issue.

I'm also putting a 6' wide addition on my SH, this weekend hopefully, and will not be getting a permit for that. It's going to cost me $175 in materials, so if it becomes an issue then I'll just apply for a variance then or carefully take it down...then put it back up shortly after.

My town also the $1000 (maybe $500) or under requirement for the building permit threshold.

[Dill]

I was so much more exicted to start building the sugar house this weekend right before I got a ft of snow. Guess I'm doing crushed stone & pavers and not a slab.

[Amber Gold]

That's what I'm doing for my post supports, crushed gravel and concrete blocks. If there's no issues w/ the addition, then I'll likely pour sonatubes.

After shoveling some of the heavy snow last night, I'm not looking forward to shoveling out the rest to get the area cleared out. Wishing now I had thought of it earlier and already had it completed.

[Pete S]

The $1,000.00 threshold typically applies to "Repair or Replace". If it "never was" you proably need a building permit.

[red maples]

exactly pete. permits in my town are pretty cheap $20 min. and like $.05 per square ft over 200 square ft. so not too bad and like I said somewhere our building inspector is pretty good about getting right back to you. He usually comes out right away for inspections even same day as you need him if he is in town. Really nice guy we have I am lucky. So I talked to the folks @ town hall about the maple business and no permit required becvause of the AG but they want me to come in to the next town meeting and bring in some pictures and talk about the process and stuff. So I know I'll get some business out of that. there is nothing like getting stuff made from your home town or the surrounding ones!!!!

[KenWP]

I have the $1000 dollar limit for building or repairs also. But if it's over $1000 bucks they have to let the next door neighbour know so he can object or not. I plan on building a dirt floor pole shed next year out back and go from there in the future. I can run power from the end of the greenhouse as a heavy duty cord pretty easy since they left the wire coiled up and hanging there from the old greenhouse they tore down couple of years ago that was wired the same way.