AUGUST 2025
NAVIGATING THE REMODELING PERMITTING PROCESS
When planning a remodel, permits are one of the least glamorous—but most essential—steps to ensure your project moves forward smoothly. Whether you’re renovating your kitchen or bathroom, adding a second story, or investing in a full-home remodel, navigating the permitting process can feel daunting. At Crescent Builds, we take that burden off our clients’ shoulders. As an established Seattle design-build contractor, our team manages every submission, review, and technical detail on your behalf so that you can focus on the excitement of your remodel. With our expert guidance, project permitting is transformed from a barrier into a pathway that protects your home, your investment, and your peace of mind.
Understanding Types of Permits
Not all projects require the same level of review and determining the type of permit your remodel needs is one of the first steps we guide you through during design and development. In Seattle, permits are generally grouped into two main categories, each with its own review process, required documentation, and expected timeline.
Full Permit Review: These are typically required for large-scale remodels, significant additions, structural changes, or any project that triggers a formal engineering review. Full building permits generally involve multiple stages of review—including structural engineering, energy code compliance, and sometimes geotechnical or environmental assessments—before approval is granted. The process is thorough and can take around three months or longer depending on project complexity and city workload. At Crescent Builds, we coordinate with engineers, consultants, and city reviewers to keep your application on track and ensure your remodel complies with city codes, zoning requirements, and safety standards.
STFI (Subject to Field Inspection) Permit: Smaller remodels—such as cosmetic updates to a kitchen or bathroom—may qualify for this streamlined option. A STFI permit is designed for projects with limited scope that do not significantly affect the structural framework of the home, allowing the city to issue approval without a lengthy plan review. With an average timeline of just one to two weeks, this type of permit enables projects to move forward quickly. Our team prepares the required drawings, defines the scope clearly, and ensures city inspectors have what they need to confirm compliance in the field.
Early Project Considerations
Before permit applications even begin, we start with a thorough evaluation of your property and project scope, looking not just at your design goals but also at the regulatory and environmental factors that may affect your remodel. At Crescent Builds, we integrate these reviews during project development, walking clients step by step through the considerations that influence permitting. This includes clarifying potential restrictions, identifying required consultant reports, and developing strategies to streamline approvals. Key considerations include:
Land use and zoning: setbacks, height restrictions, lot coverage, and floor-area ratios, which define the relationship between the size of the building and the total lot area and ultimately regulate how much livable space can be developed on your property.
Environmental Critical Areas (ECA): such as steep slopes, liquefaction zones, wetlands, or wildlife habitats. Projects in these areas often require special reports from consultants like geotechnical engineers or arborists—we facilitate those relationships for you.
Easements and adjacent property impacts: particularly if your property borders city parks or Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) rights-of-way, which are public land corridors such as streets, sidewalks, or alleys that the city maintains for transportation and utilities.
By identifying these elements early, we minimize surprises and create a clear path forward for your remodel.
Trade and Specialty Permits
Building permits are just one piece of the puzzle. In addition to the main building permit, many remodels also require trade or specialty permits that apply to specific systems or components of the home. These permits ensure that licensed professionals complete technical work in accordance with code, and they often run in parallel with the main permit. Examples include:
Electrical
Plumbing
Mechanical/HVAC
Gas piping
These permits are usually folded into construction costs, unlike building permits, which are accounted for during pre-construction planning. For projects that affect the city right-of-way—such as large deliveries, concrete pours, or dump trucks—a Street Use Permit may also be necessary. This type of permit allows temporary use of public rights-of-way such as streets, alleys, or sidewalks during construction, ensuring that deliveries, equipment, and work zones do not interfere with public safety or city infrastructure. Our project management team organizes these submittals and coordinates with specialty inspectors when required, ensuring that all aspects of the work meet city and safety standards.
Why Permits Matter
We understand that often times permitting feels like a hurdle, but in reality, permits are a vital layer of protection that safeguard both the homeowner and the project. By requiring professional oversight and documentation, they create accountability and ensure the work is recognized as legal and safe. Proper permits:
Ensure compliance with city codes and safety requirements.
Prevent complications when reselling the home or planning future remodels.
Reduce the risk of costly retroactive fixes for unpermitted work.
Protect the long-term success, efficiency, and safety of your remodel.
When you partner with Crescent Builds, we treat permitting as a proactive measure that secures your investment and builds confidence in your remodel from start to finish.
Best Practices for a Smooth Permitting Experience
The most reliable way to navigate the permitting process is with a professional remodeler who knows the system inside and out. As a trusted Seattle residential and commercial remodeling contractor, Crescent Builds manages every step: preparing and filing applications, coordinating with consultants, responding to city reviewers, scheduling inspections, and completing close-out documentation. We view permitting not as a box to check, but as a critical part of the design-build journey that supports the project’s overall success.
By choosing Crescent Builds, you gain an advocate who anticipates city requirements and builds permitting into the broader strategy for your remodel. This oversight not only saves time and prevents setbacks but also ensures the project remains aligned with your goals and vision.
ready to start your remodel? let’s talk permits.
Permits are rarely the most exciting part of a remodel, but they are foundational to its success. With Crescent Builds’ expertise in design-build construction, you can move forward with confidence knowing that we are coordinating the paperwork, approvals, and technical requirements on your behalf. Our role is to make the process seamless—ensuring your remodel is compliant, efficient, and built to last—so you can focus on the creative aspects of your remodel while we take care of the logistics.
Want to learn more? Reach out today to discuss how we can support your goals.