Do You Need a Permit for a Garage Floor Coating in Burleigh County, ND?
Short answer: no. Longer answer: the work that often gets bundled with a floor coating, particularly adding a heater so the job can happen in winter, absolutely does. Here is where the line sits in Bismarck.
A floor coating is a finish applied to an existing slab. It does not alter the structure, the occupancy, or any building system, and it does not appear anywhere on the City of Bismarck's list of work requiring a permit. In practice that means no permit, no inspection and no fee for coating a garage floor in Bismarck.
Every claim on this page is checkable against the city's own pages, which are linked below rather than paraphrased.
What Bismarck Does Require a Permit For
The city's published list covers the following. Floor finishes, floor coatings and painting are not among them.
- New constructionAny new building or structure.
- Change of occupancyConverting a space to a different use, for example a garage to a habitable room.
- Additions, renovations and remodelsExplicitly including basement finishes, decks, sheds, garages, pools, sunrooms and gazebos.
- Electrical wiringAny new installation, alteration or repair.
- PlumbingIncluding a new floor drain in a garage.
- HVACFireplaces, furnaces, water heaters, boilers, air conditioners and unit heaters.
The Trap: Winter Heat Is a Permitted Trade
This is the one that catches Bismarck homeowners out. Standard epoxy needs a slab at 50 F or above and will not fully cure below it, and Bismarck runs about 3.4 months a year with average daily highs under 35 F. So people decide to put a unit heater in the garage, partly for comfort and partly so the floor can be coated.
Unit heaters are on the HVAC line of the permit list. So are furnaces, boilers and fireplaces. If your floor project has grown a gas-fired heater, the heater needs a permit even though the coating does not, and a gas line into a garage is not a DIY-and-hope item.
There is a simpler route that avoids the whole question. A polyaspartic build cures at temperatures that stop epoxy and does not need the building permanently heated at all. Polyaspartic coatings in Bismarck →
Which Codes Bismarck Enforces
Bismarck has adopted the 2021 editions of the International Building Code, Residential Code, Fire Code, Fuel Gas Code, Mechanical Code, Energy Conservation Code and Existing Building Code, together with ICC ANSI A117.1-2017, the National Electrical Code with North Dakota State Wiring Standards, and the Uniform Plumbing Code with North Dakota State Plumbing Standards. An update to the 2024 editions of the primary codes is in progress.
None of those codes regulate a floor finish on an existing residential slab. They are the reason the accompanying trades are regulated, and they are worth knowing about if your project is bigger than a coating.
Check it yourself
- City of Bismarck: what permits are required for→The official list. Floor finishes and coatings do not appear on it.
- City of Bismarck Building Inspections Department→Department page with contact details for confirming anything on this page.
- City of Bismarck building and design criteria→The adopted code editions, currently the 2021 I-Codes with a move to the 2024 editions in progress.
If anything about your project is unclear, the Building Inspections Department at 221 N. 5th St., Bismarck ND 58501 answers this question routinely, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm. Their own published advice is to ask if you are not sure.
Garage Floor Coating Permits in Burleigh County ND: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to epoxy my garage floor in Bismarck?
No. The City of Bismarck permit list covers new construction, change of occupancy, additions, renovations and remodels including basement finishes, decks, sheds, garages, pools, sunrooms and gazebos, plus electrical wiring, plumbing and HVAC work including fireplaces, furnaces, water heaters, boilers, air conditioners and unit heaters. Applying a floor finish to an existing garage slab is not on that list.
What garage work does trigger a permit here?
Building the garage itself, converting it to another use, or any electrical, plumbing or HVAC work done at the same time. Adding a unit heater so you can coat in winter is HVAC and is explicitly on the permit list. So is cutting in a floor drain, which is plumbing. If your floor coating project quietly grew into any of those, the permit question is now live.
What building code does Bismarck actually enforce?
Bismarck has adopted the 2021 International Building Code, International Residential Code, International Fire Code, International Fuel Gas Code, International Mechanical Code, International Energy Conservation Code and International Existing Building Code, plus ICC ANSI A117.1-2017, the National Electrical Code with North Dakota State Wiring Standards, and the Uniform Plumbing Code with North Dakota State Plumbing Standards. The city has an update to the 2024 editions in progress.
Who do I ask if I am not sure?
The Building Inspections Department at 221 N. 5th St., Bismarck ND 58501, open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm. The city's own guidance is to contact them if you are unsure whether a permit is needed, and they answer that question routinely. It is a two minute call and it is free.
What about outside city limits in Burleigh County?
Bismarck's Building Inspections Department administers adopted ordinances within the city and within the city's extra-territorial area, so a property just outside the corporate limits may still fall under city administration. Rural Burleigh County properties and the Morton County side have their own arrangements. If you are on an acreage, confirm which jurisdiction you are in before assuming anything.
Does a permit matter for insurance or resale?
Not for a floor coating, because none is required. It matters a great deal for the work that often accompanies it. An unpermitted gas unit heater in a garage is the kind of thing that surfaces at a home inspection and can complicate both a claim and a sale. If heat is going in so the floor can be coated, permit the heat.
No Permit Needed. Just a Good Quote.
Send us the garage and we will come back with an itemised written scope. If your project does need a permit for something else, we will flag it.
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