Building a Home Addition or Remodeling

Q: I want to build an addition onto my house or remodel my house and the building department said I need health department approval. What do I do?

A: If your home is on a septic tank you need to have the existing septic system inspected to determine if it is large enough to handle the addition to the home. Septic system sizes are based on square footage of living area and the number of bedrooms in the home. Adding onto the home may require a larger septic system. The Environmental Health office needs a floor plan of the addition along with the existing house, a plot plan of the property and the septic tank needs to be pumped out. The information is evaluated and approval or denial is given to use the existing septic system.