Home Building Process

When homeowners are looking to build a new home there are several steps they will need to go
through before construction begins. Lets take a look at the process by using this one story 1,729 square
foot home. Well be building this home in the city of West Valley City.
(Show scanned image of project house)
The building process begins with design. West Valley City requires that the building be designed to meet
certain climatic and geographic conditions. Which include: (show design criteria chart with each item
highlighted)
Design Criteria for West Valley City
- Ground Snow load 43 psf
- Roof Snow Load 30 psf
- Wind Speed 90 mph
- Seismic Design Categories D1, D2
- Winter Design Temp 8
- Ice Shield Underlayment Required Yes
- Air Freezing Index - <1000
- Mean Annual Temp 53
- Subject to Damage From
o Weathering Severe
o Front Line 30
o Termite Slight
o Decay None to Slight
o Flood Hazards Original entry into NFIP 1980, Effective FIRM & FBRM 9/21/01
o Hercules Overpressure Zone See WVC Municipal Code 7-10
Building Code Check list
As part of the design process the home designer will need to make sure the house complies with all
state and local building codes as well as zoning and set back requirements. Lets take a look at our
sample home. Our plot is zoned R-112 with minimum setbacks and easements that limit where the
house can be placed on the lot.
West Valley City provides a check list of general building codes that must be included in the design.
Building codes provide for fire and life safety, energy conservation, and systems for heating, cooling,
plumbing, and electrical utilities.
(show general code requirement packet)
Utah State Amendments to IRC Building Code
The state of Utah subscribes to the 2009 IRC building code. However the State has amended certain
sections of the code to meet local requirements. Three of these amendments include Stairs, foundations
and footings.
(insert diagram of stairs)
The amended Stair Code must include
Headroom clearance in all stairways is 6-8 minimum.
7 1/4 maximum rise and 10 minimum run, less than 11 tread requires nosing.
Handrails: 24 38 measured from the nose of the tread.
Guardrails: 36 minimum for residential uses. Guardrails shall also have a pattern such that a 4
sphere cannot pass through in any area. No latter effect patterns on residential.
(Show chart for footings and foundations)
Foundation Footing Size must be
Minimum footing width of 20 with a depth of 9.
#4 vertical dowels placed 24 on center to connect the foundation to the footing.
Soil to be treated for termite protection.
Foundations #4 rebars are 24 on center both horizontal and vertical. Verticals must extend the full
height of the foundation wall.
Local and City Amendments to IRC Building Code
West Valley City includes one additional amendment to the IRC not required by the State. Because of
the blast potential caused by Alliance Technologies, the city has designated overpressure zones
surrounding the facility. Homes and businesses located within these designated overpressure zones
must contain tempered glass in all structure glazing.
(Show zoning map for overpressure zones)
Documents to Submit to Apply for Building Permit
Once all design criteria and building codes are taken into consideration, the process for applying for a
building permit begins.
The process begins with a pre-application meeting with the department of Planning and Zoning. The city
will require that several sets of plans and all specifications be submitted for review. The Building official
may require plans to be prepared by a licensed engineer or architect. Drawings must include:
Plot plan
Footing and foundation plan
Floor plan for each floor
Elevations
Wall cross sections and details
Plumbing, electrical and mechanical layouts
Species and grade of lumber
Truss manufacturers detail sheet
Model Energy Code Compliance Reports

Building officials require at least 10 days to process the construction documents after which if all
documents are in compliance a building permit will be issued and an official address is assigned.
Calculating Building Fee
Permit fees are based on the assessed value of the proposed structure. The value is assessed by
multiplying the square footage of different areas of the building such as improved living space,
unimproved space, basements, garages, carports, etc. Each area is assigned a price per square foot and
multiplied by the square footage. The value is determined when all areas are added up together. The
home value is then looked up in a table to determine the permit and plan review fees.
Building permit fees include:
Building Permit fee
Plan Review fee
Planning/Zoning Site Review fee
Surcharge
Kiva Fee
In addition to the building permit Impact fees are assessed. Impact fees include:
Fire protection fee - $91
Road fee - $846
Park improvement fee -$2,032
Police protection fee - $66
In our example, our home includes 1729 square feet of finished living space multiplied at $46.00 per
square foot. The basement includes 1729 of unfinished space at $9.15 per square foot. Our garage is 484
square feet multiplied by $13.95 per square feet. Added together, the assessed value of our home is
$103,000. Using the assessed value, the building permit and plan evaluation fees can be looked up in the
citys permit pricing table. The total for our impact permit fees for our project come to $5,259.64.
Utility connection fees are paid directly to the utility companies which would include, water, gas, and
electricity.
Once construction begins our project will need several inspections from a city inspector at specific
points before construction can continue. In this way the city insures that the house is being built
according to code. After the final inspection, the city inspector will issue an occupancy permit that will
allow the home owner to finally move in to their new home.
Although the process of gaining a building permit and inspections can seem lengthy, the people in the
city planning and zoning department help to insure that our homes are well built and safe for many
years to come.