This morning, I stumbled across a new Southborough blog. It turns out that the Building/Zoning Department has been posting helpful information during the pandemic. They also posted the new safety standards and application procedures.
On May 20th, the Town department posted information on construction under Phase 1 of the state’s reopening plan:
As of today you may apply for permits for ALL PERMITS-New construction of your home or new construction of an addition that can be separated from the INTERIOR of a home safely (following all attached guidelines).
Renovations, Remodels for one-three family homes i.e. kitchen, bath, basement, attic, etc. must be physically separated from an Occupied home with plastic, tape, zip system, board, etc and have a separate entrance for the inspector.
The page includes process details, plus the state’s current safety standards and a checklist for construction job sites.
On a separate department page, a “blog” was launched on March 25th to allow homeowners and contractors to ask the Building Commissioner about general code-related questions. Unsurprisingly, the initial focus was related to safety and exemptions during the pandemic. In May, the posts turned to Building Safety Month. That included:
Check Your Wood Deck During Deck Safety Month
Spring is officially here and May is Deck Safety Month. Just like your home, decks require [regular] maintenance and inspections to make sure that deck is safe. Wood decks generally last for about 10 to 15 years. If you are building a deck or already have one, you should know how to evaluate its construction to make sure it’s structurally sound and safe. Below are 5 warning signs of an unsafe deck. (read more)
You can find more blog entries here. You can find other Building/Zoning information, including a link to online permit applications, here.
