Accessory Buildings or Structures

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Accessory Buildings or Structures are located on the same lot as a primary Residential One- or Two-Family Dwelling and are used for a different purpose.

An Accessory Building with any dimension greater than 12’ must comply with the provisions of the NC Residential Code. Prefab Storage Buildings, Pre-engineered Metal Buildings, etc are not prescriptive in the NC Residential Code, therefore must be designed and the plans bear the seal of a NC registered design professional. Typically, the engineered plans are supplied by the manufacturer at the time of purchase.

Accessory Structures such as Retaining Walls, Detached Masonry Chimneys, Pools-Spas, etc. must comply with the provisions of the NC Residential Code. Gazebos, Pavilions, Carports, Covered Pergolas, etc. are not prescriptive in the NC Residential Code, therefore must be designed and the plans bear the seal of a NC registered design professional. Typically, the engineered plans are supplied by the manufacturer at the time of purchase.

To permit an Accessory Building or Structure, you will need to submit:

Apply for Permit Type: Residential Accessory-Accessory utilizing Civic Access public portal, providing a complete description of the proposed work.
A Plot Plan meeting all the specifications listed below in Plot Plan Requirements.
Construction Plans meeting all the specifications listed below in Construction Plan Requirements.
Development Clearance Certificate containing all approved information approved from the Town, if the property is located within a Town served by the Inspections Department.
An Appointment of a Lien Agent for projects costing $40,000 or more.
A certificate of Workers' Compensation insurance or a completed affidavit of Workers Compensation exemption form for contractors for projects costing $40,000 or more.
A notarized Owner-Contractor Exemption Affidavit for projects costing $40,000 or more and where an owner is listed as the general contractor.
If the property is served by well and/or septic, separate permits or approvals may be required from Environmental Health.
Additional approvals may be required from Guilford County Planning & Development regarding Zoning- Use & Setbacks, Watershed and Soil Erosion.

Plot Plan Requirements

A good resource for a plot plan is a survey issued for a recent mortgage or refinance closing. If you draw the plot plan yourself, be sure to sign and date it, and include contact information. The following are requirements to be shown on the Plot Plan.

The plot plan should be drawn to scale, using an acceptable engineering scale. Include bar scale, north arrow, date map prepared including revision dates.
Name and contact information of preparer of the map.
Property lines with dimensions and road frontage shown.
Dimensions, location and use of all existing and proposed buildings and structures including additions; distances between buildings measured at the closest point; and distance from buildings to closest property lines.
Existing and proposed driveways, patios, pool decking, walkways, etc.
All water features including drainage easements, streams, buffers, and flood zone. Watershed boundaries and WCA Tier lines labeled, including allowable and proposed impervious surfaces, total built-upon area shown in acres and with percent of total area noted.
Any other easements or restrictions must be shown.

Construction Plan Requirements

All Construction Plans submitted for permitting must match Plot Plan layouts exactly and are required to be designed to meet the provisions of the NC Residential Code. All structural information must comply with the provisions of the NC Residential Code. Structural elements not found in the NC Residential Code must be designed and plans bear the seal of a NC registered design professional.

This is a minimum plan review checklist; additional information may be added by the applicant or requested in the field by the Inspector to determine compliance. Permit holders remain responsible for meeting all code requirements regardless of whether a review item is listed. This minimum review checklist is intended to help prevent any major non-compliance issues from being built in the field, which typically results in significant costs and delays on a project. Show all applicable information below to clearly describe scope of work, not all items are required.

General

Name, address, phone number and email of the person responsible for the design.
If plans are stamped by a NC registered design professional, their seal is required to be signed and dated.
Indicate heated square footage, unheated square footage, garage square footage, deck/porch square footage.
Energy code requirements: insulation, floors, walls and ceilings, if heated.
Plans must be drawn to scale, legible, with sufficient clarity and detail to indicate the nature of the work, include Bar Scale.
Designate a space on the plans for the reviewer's stamp.

Floor Plans

Rooms labeled as to their intended use, dimensioned, mark all unheated/unfinished areas.
Window and door sizes and locations, Glazing U-Factor.
Room, hallway and stair dimensions.
Show all plumbing fixtures.

Elevations

Front, sides and rear elevations.
Building height, mean roof height and story height.
Roof pitches.

Foundation/Floor Framing

Wall footing width and depth, reinforcement if required.
Foundation wall type, size and reinforcement if required.
Pier footing size width and depth, reinforcement if required.
Pier sizes and solid cap.
Slab footings and layouts for mono-slabs.
Slab thickness and details, reinforcement if required.
Anchor bolt details.
Crawl space ventilation calculations or closed crawl space marked on plans.
Crawl space access size and location.
Girder size, number of members, species, grade and spans.
Floor joist direction, size, on-center spacing, species, grade and spans.
If using I-Joist, plans or layout will need to list manufacturer, series, size and on-center spacing.
If using open web floor trusses, layout from manufacturer required.
Openings in floors, headers and trimmers marked.
Floor sheathing type and thickness.
Engineered structural elements, design and sealed plans are required to be onsite at first inspection.

Wall & General Framing

Wall stud size, on-center spacing, species and grade.
Wall header size, number of members, species, grade and spans.
Number of jack and king studs for each opening.
Beam type or species/grade, size, number of members and span.
Stud column size, number of members, species and grade for beams and point loads.
Wall sheathing type and thickness.
Wall bracing method used.
Portal / narrow wall bracing detail, if required.
Point loads marked with load path and blocking requirements.
If brick veneer used, list lintel requirements.
Engineered structural elements, design and sealed plans are required to be onsite at first inspection.

Roof Framing

Roof rafter direction, size, on-center spacing, species, grade and spans.
Roof tie down method and continuous load path.
Collar ties and rafter ties size and spacing.
Ridge board, hip and valley sizes.
Ceiling joist direction, size, on-center spacing, species, grade and spans.
Openings in ceilings or roof, headers and trimmers marked.
Roof sheathing type and thickness.
Roof vent calculations or marked as unvented.
Attic access size and location.
Engineered structural elements, design and sealed plans are required to be onsite at first inspection.

Decks and Porches must comply with the provisions of the NC Residential Code- Appendix M. Decks with post heights exceeding the requirement of NCRC- App M- Table-AM108.1, and Decks supporting Hot Tubs and Spas, must be designed by a NC registered design professional.

Deck plans are to be drawn with a top view looking down showing a portion of the house, labeling rooms that are leading onto the deck. Show any other proposed structures within. (fireplace, kitchen area, etc.)
Elevations to be drawn for clarity, dimension tallest height of deck floor from finish grade. For porches, show how roof attaches to house, roof pitch.
Overall dimensions and width of stair.
Footing size, width, depth, location, spacing.
Decks with post heights exceeding the requirement of NCRC- App M- Table-AM108.1, and Decks supporting Hot Tubs and Spas, must be designed by a NC registered design professional.
Post size- width, height from top of footing to bottom of girder, spacing.
Girder size, species-grade, spans, number of members, attachment.
Floor joist size, spacing, species-grade, spans, direction, attachment.
Bracing details for free standing decks and decks attached to structures with a deck floor height of 4 feet or more.
Deck-to-house band attachment details.
Show cantilevers with spans from support.
Guardrails are required for over 30” above-grade deck floors.
Porch Post size- width, height, spacing.
Header size, species-grade, spans, number of members, attachment.
Ceiling joist size, spacing, species-grade, spans, direction, attachments.
Roof rafter size, spacing, species-grade, spans, direction, attachments.
Ridge size.
Band attachment to the house for a shed roof.