Residential Deck Permit

Follow the steps below to obtain a Residential Deck Permit:

1. Complete a building permit application, available on the Goochland County website. Go to the "Government" heading and scroll down to "Community Development" and click on the "Energov" tab. 
2. Create a site plan of the property showing the location of the new work on the lot. A sample site plan is available on the Goochland County Department of Building Inspection webpage, Site Plans tab. Download the site plan into Energov. 
3. Create construction drawings of the proposed work and submit with the building permit application by downloading into Energov. For  minimum code requirements, view the below and refer to Section R507 of the Virginia Residential Code (VRC). 
4. Pay careful attention to the critical newel post connections for guardrails in the specifications tab referenced above. Any other type of newel post connection must be designed by a registered design professional (Architect or Professional Engineer) to meet the minimum loads of Table R301.5 in the VRC (200 -  pound load in any direction along the top rail).
5. Attaching ledger-boards supporting deck flooring to or through masonry veneers is prohibited. If a masonry veneer interrupts the structural connection to the building’s framing or foundation, the deck must be free-standing.