Lower Township Construction Department

Donald Arndt - Construction Official 
Email  |  Phone: (609) 886-2005  

Hours of Operation: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday

Construction Office - For information or to schedule an inspection  (609)886-2005  Ext 136 or 104

Jacob Spiegel - Building Inspector | Telephone Ext: 137 
Kurt Lindsley - Electric Inspector | Telephone Ext: 138 
Richard Kajander - Plumbing Inspector | Telephone Ext: 148
Jason Dilworth - Fire Inspector | Telephone Ext: 145

Construction Permit Requirements

Application Requirements for Additions, New Buildings and Alterations

1. Completed and Signed Sub Code forms (4 part) and Permit Jacket

2. Copy of current sealed survey by a NJ licensed Land Surveyor with new building, addition, deck etc. shown and setbacks from front, rear and side lot lines depicted.

3. Three (3) sets of legible plans including elevation, floor plans, cross sections, electrical plans, plumbing schematic (water-sewer and gas risers) HVAC plan. Homeowner occupied buildings may have plans drawn by homeowner. Owner must check box 'B' inside permit jacket. For new construction and additions, owner must sign and date inside of jacket. New homes require water and sewer receipts or County Health Department permit

4. Installation instructions for fire places, heating and air conditioning systems and sealed truss plans.

Construction permits, technical forms, rehabilitation sub-code and contractor registrations can be viewed and downloaded from http://www.state.nj.us/dca/codes/. If you elect to use the downloaded forms, 4-signed copies are required for each technical. Permit Jackets are available at the Construction Office as well as a list of minimum requirements for construction plans.

Construction Permit Fee Schedule may be viewed in the Township Code Book in section 235.4 or click here.

MINIMUM CONSTRUCTION METHODS AS TAKEN FROM  SSTD-10 AND THE WOOD FRAME CONSTRUCTION
MANUAL, 120 MPH GUIDE FOOTING AND FOUNDATION ARE FROM SSTD 10 FROM THE ANCHOR BOLTS UP USE WFCM

1. BUILDING HEIGHT SHALL NOT EXCEED 2 STORIES AND BE NO HIGHER THAN 33 FEET FROM AVERAGE GRADE

2. ROOFS WITH A SLOPE OF GREATER THAN 6/12 SHALL BE CONSIDERED A STORY     

3. BUILDINGS DIMENSIONS SHALL BE MEASURED AS A RECTANGLE OR SQUARE FROM THE FARTHEST WALL PROJECTIONS (see figure 3) WFCM

4. DIVIDE THE SHORTER WALL SIZE INTO THE LARGER WALL SIZE TO 2 DECIMAL POINTS. THIS IS THE ASPECT RATIO.

5. FOOTINGS MUST BE 10” DEEP AND 20” WIDE MINIMUM, AND MUST TERMINATE WITH A BOND BEAM ( U BLOCK ) AS THE TOP COARSE. VERTICAL REINFORCEMENT IS #5 REBAR EVERY 8 FEET FOR WALLS UP TO 3 FEET ABOVE FINISHED GRADE. HIGHER FOUNDATION WALLS REQUIRE VERTICAL REINFORCING EVERY 4’-6’. THE HIGHER THE WALL THE CLOSER THE SPACING. VERTICAL REINFORCING MUST OVERLAP 25” MINIMUM AND HAVE HOOKED ENDS AT TOP AND BOTTOM. ANCHOR BOLTS SPACING FOR THE SHORTER WALL IS FROM TABLE 4. ANCHOR BOLT SPACING FOR THE LONGER WALL IS 68 INCHES FOR ONE STORY AND 47 INCHES FOR 2 STORY BUILDINGS. 3”X3”X1/4” SQUARE WASHERS ARE NEEDED FOR ANCHOR BOLTS. ANCHOR BOLT SPACING FOR SLAB ON GRADE IS 24 INCHES.

6. BAND BEAM IS ATTACHED TO SILL PLATE WITH LTP4 STRAPS

7. FLOOR OPENINGS (stairwell) CAN NOT BE MORE THAN 50% OF WALL LENGTH WITH A 12 FOOT MAXIMUM. ANY OPENING CLOSER THAT 2 FOOT TO EXTERIOR WALL CAN HAVE NO WALL OPENINGS.

8. NO WALL MAY CANTILEVER MORE THAN THE DEPTH OF THE JOIST AND MUST HAVE SOLID BLOCKING AT THE LOAD BEARING POINT.

9. FLOOR JOISTS, ATTIC FLOORS AND ROOF RAFTERS MUST HAVE SOLID BLOCKING EVERY 4 FEET IN THE FIRST TWO BAYS.

10. MAXIMUM LENGTH OF LOADBEARING STUDS IS 8’10” (9FOOT WALL) FOR 2X49’9” (10 FOOT WALL) FOR 2X6

11. ATTIC FLOORS FOR GABLE STYLE ROOFS SHALL HAVE PLYWOOD 1/3 OF THE LENGTH OF THE BUILDING INSTALLED ON EACH END OR HAVE CONTINUOUS 2X4 BRACING INSTALLED PERPENDICULAR TO FLOOR JOISTS EVERY 6 FEET AND ATTACHED WITH A 20GA. STRAP AT EACH END TO THE STUD BELOW WITH 10-8D NAILS AT EACH END OF STRAP

12. TOP PLATE SPLICING SHALL BE AS PER FIGURE 12, 13 AND TABLE 6

13. RAFTERS ARE LIMITED TO 2/3 OF THE SPAN ALLOWED UNDER THE BUILDING CODE. FOR EXAMPLE IN THE BUILDING CODE A 2X8  #2 HEM-FIR RAFTER CAN SPAN 20’8” @ 16” O.C. HOWEVER WITH THE HIGH WIND REDUCTION IT CAN ONLY SPAN 13’8” (2/3). RAFTERS MUST HAVE HURRICANE STRAPS ATTACHED TO BOTH TOP PLATES. UP TO 24’ WIDE BUILDING USE H 2.5A UP TO 36’ USE H-9. RAFTERS MUST HAVE COLLAR TIES OR RIDGE STRAPS. STRAP SIZE,  UP TO 36’ USE ST9 OR LST12

14. CATHEDRAL CEILINGS MUST BE SUPPORTED BY A RIDGE BEAM CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING ALL LOADS AND MUST MEET THE SAME CONNECTOR REQUIREMENTS

15. BUILDINGS OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THESE REGULATIONS MUST BE DESIGNED BY A NEW JERSEY LICENSED ARCHITECT AND ENGINEER.

Required Inspections

• Footing Trenched before pouring concrete
• Foundations and all walls up to grade before backfilling, Acchor Bolts, Termite Shield, Sill Plate
• Sheathing
• Rough Electric, Plumbing
• Rough framing after Plumbing, Electric and HVAC have been roughed in
• Insulation
• Final Building, Electric, Plumbing and Fire

Additional Information

- To Determine if your property may be located in a flood zone or contain freshwater wetlands, click here!
- Need more information on Construction Codes Adopted in New Jersey, click here!
- Standard for Hurricane Resistant Residential Construction SSTD 10-99, click here!
- WFCM, Wood | Frame | Construction | Manual, click here!
- New Jersey Building Codes, click here!
- Energy Compliance Reports may be completed online at www.energycodes.gov.
- Emergency Preparedness and mitigation can be found at www.fema.gov.
 - NJDEP Emergency Permit Application Information, click here!