Rebuilding entrance steps in Kanata: permit needed?

Entrance steps in Kanata can trigger a building permit, and the short answer is: ask the City before work starts.

The City of Ottawa's advisory on landscaping materials providing access to a building sets out two situations where a permit is required: where the structure provides access to the building or serves a required egress, and where there is more than 600 mm difference in elevation between adjacent surfaces. Entrance steps provide access to the building, which is the first condition. A structure greater than 1 m in height also requires a Part 4 design.

There is also a question about how the steps sit below grade. The Building Code (9.8.9.2.(3)) says the depth below ground level for foundations for exterior steps must conform to the requirements in Section 9.12. Ask the mason how the base is supported below frost and whether that detail is part of the scope.

On the hardscaping licence: the City's hardscaping contractor licence covers businesses installing or altering steps on private property. The by-law lists four exclusions, one of which is performing minor repairs or minor alterations, but we found no definition of what counts as minor. For a full rebuild, ask the contractor whether the job requires the City hardscaping licence, and check the City's published list of hardscaping licence holders to confirm.

A few things worth having in writing before work begins: the scope of demolition and what happens to the old material, how the base is prepared and to what depth, the stone or brick specified and where it comes from, whether a permit application is included in the price or is extra, and how disposal is handled.

If the property is individually designated under the Ontario Heritage Act or sits in a heritage conservation district, check with the City before any work touches the exterior.

Before you commit to a contractor, ask them directly: will you pull the permit, and what does your quote include if the City requires a structural design?