Building Inspections

Important changes brought about by NC House Bill 488:

Effective as of August 18, 2023: 

Gaston County can no longer request an Appendix B to be contained within commercial plan sets. 

Monetary threshold for Lien Agent requirements increased from $30,000 to $40,000. For information surrounding the need of a Lien can be found online at liensnc.com. 

Effective as of October 1, 2023:

Monetary threshold for need of permit is increased from $20,000 to $40,000. The same exemptions apply for the need of a permit for projects costing less than the $40,000 amount when structural, electrical, plumbing and/or mechanical work is involved.

Requirement for a licensed General Contractor to be assigned to a project increased from $30,000 to $40,000 for total project cost. 

Requirement for Foundation Survey Approval Letters

Starting January 1, 2023, a foundation survey approval letter will need to be uploaded to the framing inspection requested via the Customer Self-Service Portal. This will apply to the following:

• New single-family homes
• Additions to existing homes
• New commercial buildings
• Additions to existing commercial buildings

This new process will apply to projects that apply for a building permit after January 1, 2023. If a project has already started and a building permit has been issued, you are not required to upload a foundation survey approval letter. 

To request a foundation survey approval letter you must provide a copy of the foundation survey to the Zoning office that issued the Zoning permit for your project.

Once the foundation approval letter is received you will need to upload this document to the requested framing inspection per the following instructions: https://www.gastongov.com/DocumentCenter/View/99/Building-Services---Uploading-Attachments-to-Inspections-PDF