Building Department

Hours:
Monday through Friday
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Address:
Acworth City Hall
4415 Center Street
Acworth, GA 30101

Contact List:

Permits & Inspections

Click Here to visit our Construction Permit Self-Service

History

Building inspections first began in Acworth in 1973 with the first inspector being hired on a contract basis to work as needed. At the time, there were only 2 permits issued each month. By 1995, an average of 15 permits per month were issued and the fees collected were approximately $43,000. Just 3 years later, annual permit revenues in the Building Department reached nearly $500,000 as growth from Atlanta reached the area. Even during the COVID 19 pandemic, Acworth continued to add roughly 10 million dollars of construction activity annually.

Recent Projects include:       

“The Heritage At Acworth” (a mixed use community of luxury townhomes, offices and restaurants, located in the heart of downtown), Governor’s MedSpa, “The Terraces at Logan Park” (townhomes located four blocks from Acworth’s 130 acre Logan Farm Park / Community Center and close to downtown), RaceTrac at Cobb Parkway and Highway 92,  “The Cove at Acworth” (exclusive lake access homes within walking distance of downtown), Crunch Fitness, Sappy Axes, and Portal Pinball (in the old Best Buys Shopping Center), Dairy Queen & Shops, Scoops Ice Cream (in downtown Acworth), Firefly Theatrical Studio, and many others.

Future Growth includes:

Projections indicate continued strong growth into the foreseeable future with over 150 new homes and townhomes at “Rosewood Farms” (on Baker Rd.), Tap Town Bar and Grill (in downtown Acworth), The Logan ($350 Million Dollar Mixed Use Development at I-75 and Allatoona Gateway, consisting of 900,000 sq. ft. of Retail, Offices, Medical Facilities, and Restaurants, as well as Townhomes, Apartments, and an 180 Room Luxury Hotel; all accessed via an 1,800 space parking garage). New Hybrid Office / Garage Business and Retail Units, (adjacent to the NCG Cinema on Acworth Summit Blvd.) and an explosion of new commercial businesses building along the Cobb Pkwy. corridor.

Current members of the Building Department staff include:

Development Director: Alex Almodovar
Office Manager: Kay Waldron
Permit Technician: Mary Ellen Lamb

All members of the team may be reached at: (770) 974-2032, building@acworth-ga.gov, or by mail or in person at:

Acworth City Hall
Attn: Building Department
4415 Center Street
Acworth, Georgia 30101

Building Permits

Permits must be obtained for all new structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, or gas work for both residential and commercial projects. Most signs, detached accessory structures, swimming pools and solar installations require permitting. Also, repair work, additions, remodeling, and low voltage work usually require permitting. Please check with the Building Department prior to performing any work as some exceptions to permitting requirements may apply.

Home owners can sign an affidavit and be issued permits in their name, so long as they are acting as the general contractor, or are actually doing the work themselves. In all other circumstances, permits are only issued to Georgia licensed contractors.

For more information on the requirements for contractor licensing contact the Georgia State Licensing Board at (478) 207-2440, or the Greater Atlanta Home Builder Association Contractor Licensing Help Line at (678) 775-1498. You may also visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s web-site at: www.sos.ga.gov.

All commercial work requires the submission and approval of full building plans, including all trade work (i.e. plumbing, electrical, etc.) The Cobb County Fire Marshal, the Acworth Building Department and other agencies, as applicable, must approve such plans. Click here for the documents required prior to the issuance of commercial building, shell building and tenant finish work permits.

Contact the Building Department before starting any work to ensure proper permits are issued.

Building Inspections

At a minimum, the following types of inspections are performed on all residences, buildings and structures, for new work, remodeling and additions:

• Building (architectural, structural, fire prevention, insulation, and envelope tightness in residential structures **)
• Electrical (distribution and utilization between 60 and 600 volts)
• Plumbing (distribution, utilization, drainage, disposal and venting)
• Mechanical (heating, air conditioning, venting, air distribution, and duct tightness in residential structures **)
• Gas (distribution and utilization)

Inspections are also required on:

• Private and community swimming pools. NOTE: This includes all in-ground, above-ground and on-ground pools, hot tubs, and spas containing more than twenty-four (24) inches of water.
• Solar Installations
• Decks and most deck repairs
• Residential accessory structures greater than 120 Square Feet
• All commercial accessory structures
• Most commercial signs
• Most commercial low voltage work

Inspections are also done to ensure handicap accessibility and the proper maintenance of residences and structures.

After permitting, inspections must be made before covering any aspect of the construction such as: placing concrete, installing insulation or interior/exterior wall covering, before installing any ceiling covering, etc. A final inspection will also need to be done when the project is completely finished. Other inspections can be made by appointment whenever questions and difficulties arise. The Building Department’s goal is to help assure safe, uniform, quality construction. If you have any questions before or during construction, please feel free to email  or call the Building Department.

** Duct and Envelope Tightness Testing (D.E.T.)

The provisions of the Georgia State Minimum Standard Energy Code, as adopted and amended the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, shall regulate the design of building envelopes for adequate thermal resistance and low air leakage, as well as the design and selection of mechanical, electrical, service water heating and illumination systems and equipment that will enable the effective use of energy in new building construction. Any duct or envelope tightness verification or testing required by this Code shall be performed by the City of Acworth Building Department. For due cause, the Building Official may hire or allow an outside contractor to perform such testing. If a builder, owner or contractor elects to perform (or hires an outside contractor to perform) any such duct or envelope tightness verification / testing, the results of such testing shall not be made mandatory upon the Building Official for his acceptance as meeting the requirements of this Code. The building and/or heating and air conditioning contractor shall be charged fees for such duct and envelope tightness verification / testing in accordance with the permit fee schedule on file with the City. Failures in meeting the provisions the Code concerning duct and envelope tightness shall result in the testing being required to be performed again, after corrections to deficiencies have been made, and a re-inspection fee in the original amount has been paid. Upon request, and upon the payment of an additional fee, the Building Department shall perform analysis to attempt to determine the cause of the failure of a duct tightness and / or envelope tightness tests.

The air tightness of the building, dwelling or dwelling unit(s) shall be performed in accordance with the code and after all rough-in inspections have been approved, after the installation of all exterior and interior wall coverings and after installation of all penetrations of the building envelope, (including doors and windows and penetrations for utilities, plumbing, electrical, ventilation, combustion appliances, etc).

The Envelope Tightness Verification shall be performed along with the required Duct Tightness Verification, (together during one inspection). If called for separately, additional fees shall apply.

Accessible Design

Acworth enforces the “2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design” from the U.S. Department of Justice. These regulations apply to all interior spaces as well as to accessible entrances, exits and routes to and from parking areas and between buildings. Please consult these standards in you design both interior and exterior.

The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design codes can be purchased in a binder form (and in the original 2 color format) from the Acworth Building Department for $15.00, or purchased as a set along with the “Guidance on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design” book for only $25.00. This additional guidebook is helpful in understanding the often complex technical provisions of the ADA as well as the changes from the original “Georgia Accessibility Code”. It also contains many details and drawings not found in the actual code book itself.