Residential construction site with permit posted

Ray Calder, Founder · April 22, 2026 · 6 min read

Permits in the Puget Sound: What Actually Slows You Down

Two decades of permit submittals across six jurisdictions, and the four things that cause nearly every delay.

Incomplete structural detail

Reviewers reject drawings that leave connections ambiguous. We front-load engineering to avoid the round trip.

Energy code compliance

Washington's energy code credits catch homeowners off guard. Plan them during design, not during review.

Site and tree constraints

Critical areas and tree protection can reshape an addition footprint entirely. We check these first.

The fastest permit is the one that never gets kicked back for a missing detail.

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