Home Remodeling Contractors in Snohomish, WA

Every City of Snohomish permit is applied for online through the Self-Service Permit Portal, the city's paperless system run by Planning and Development Services. After an application arrives, staff assess the fees and post an invoice, and plan review does not start until that invoice is paid.

The city says a building permit is needed for any new construction, remodel, repair, demolition, change in use or conversion, and that only finish work such as carpet or paint generally goes without one. Electrical permits are separate: they come from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, not the city.

Snohomish does not publish review times. Its FAQ says fixture replacement permits for plumbing and mechanical work can issue once fees are paid, while other permits depend on the plan reviewer's workload. An issued permit is valid for 24 months, and inspections are not held on weekends or federal holidays.

The Critical Areas Code, Chapters 14.255 to 14.280 SMC, covers wetlands, critical aquifer recharge areas, flood hazard areas, geologically hazardous areas and habitat conservation areas. For geologic hazards the city names erosion, landslide and seismic hazards as the local concerns.

Flood hazard areas follow the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps dated June 19, 2020. On a lot that is partly in the floodplain, the code asks for improvements on the non-floodplain portion where possible, or on the highest ground, as far as possible from the flood source. The Snohomish River is also a Shoreline of Statewide Significance under the city's Shoreline Master Program.

Snohomish's Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The city describes homes there dating from the 1860s to the present, with an emphasis on the years before 1920, in styles from Craftsman Bungalow to Queen Anne Victorian.

Design review in the district adds no fee, but it adds submittal material, usually detailed elevations with the materials identified. The standards ask that additions stay subordinate in massing to the main house and that historic porches be preserved, so a sympathetic design is part of the permit set rather than an afterthought.

Chapter 14.170 SMC allows up to two accessory dwelling units on any lot with a principal dwelling unit. A detached ADU can be up to 1,000 square feet, while an attached ADU has no maximum size beyond the setbacks. ADUs cannot be built within critical areas or their buffers.

A new structure containing an ADU in the Historic District, the Pilchuck District or the Midtown District goes through design review. The city asks for building plans and a site plan filed through the permit portal, and encourages a virtual counter appointment or a Pre-Application Review first.

The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey puts the median year built at 1978, and about 18 percent of homes were built in 1939 or earlier. Roughly half predate 1980, and about six in ten are detached single-family houses.

A house that old can need its wiring, plumbing and insulation brought up to date once a wall comes open. We raise those questions during design and write the answers into your itemized price, so a century-old kitchen or bath is priced for the house it sits in.