Continued from last month: Once we have all of the necessary stamped plans and engineering details we prepare checks made payable to the appropriate municipality and go to pull the permits. Our company pulls permits in the City of Santa Clarita, The County of Los Angeles, The City of Los Angeles, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Beverly Hills and Ventura County. All of these municipalities are basically the same with respect to pulling a permit. The biggest difference is the amount of time it takes to get the permit and the cost of the permit.
When we are building a pool in the County of Los Angeles, so long as we arrive at the Department of Building and Safety before 10:00a.m. to receive the necessary stamps from the fire and encroachment department, the permit can be pulled over the counter after approval and original stamps from the plan checker and paying for the permits. The City of Santa Clarita can take from two to four days to have a permit in your hands. The City of Los Angeles is usually an over the counter pull, however it can take several hours in that one day of waiting in all of the necessary lines. The City of Simi Valley takes plan submittals only and the plan checkers look at the plans for a seven to ten day period and call you when the plans are ready for permitting or when corrections need to be made.
Upon receiving approval from the plan checkers the plans are originally wet stamped by the Department of Building and Safety. They keep one set of originals and we take one original set to keep on the job site in a tube which also holds the original signature card for the inspectors to sign at each inspection.
The different municipalities have varying rules regarding when inspections take place, but for the most part, the following is the general rule: Pre-gunite, which takes place after the pool is dug and the steel and plumbing are in place. The inspector will either sign off and approve or leave a correction notice. Once approval has been given, the gunite is shot into the pool creating the hard concrete shell of the pool. The rough electrical is installed and another inspection is called and signed off. The next stage is masonry and anything built above the ground will begin if there is a grotto, slide or wall being built, then the necessary inspections are called at the appropriate times, footings, first grout, second grout, and final.
Once all the building has been completed and preparations have been made for the decking, the pre-deck inspection is called and once the inspector has signed off on the proper preparations then the concrete decking is poured. After this the equipment is delivered and installed by the plumber and the electrician and the fences and gates are brought up to code if necessary and a fence and gate inspection is called. This inspection must be passed before the pool can be plastered and water placed in the pool. Once all of the equipment is up and running the final inspection is called and signed off.
There is a tremendous amount of time that goes into preparing and maintaining a permitted project. The rules and regulations must be understood and the ability to answer questions at the Department of Building and Safety is invaluable in being able to pull the permit in a timely manner and to keep a project moving forward properly.
To view some of the most amazing pools in the world, visit our elaborate website at www.scvpools.com or our design center at 17831 W. Sierra Hwy, Canyon Country, CA 91351.