Permits, Footings and Code: Decks and Siding in Columbus

A deck is treated by the building code as part of the house's structure and, often, part of its way out in an emergency. That is why decks in Columbus need plans, a permit and inspections, while many other outdoor projects do not. Siding is regulated more lightly, but it is still permitted work in the city, and the code's requirements for the barrier and flashing behind it decide whether a wall stays dry.

This guide summarizes what the City of Columbus and several nearby jurisdictions publish about permits for decks and siding, and the code requirements those permits check. Codes are amended and procedures change, so the department that issues the permit is always the final word.

The code behind both

One- to three-family houses in Ohio are built under the Residential Code of Ohio. The current edition took effect in 2019 and is based on the 2018 International Residential Code, with Ohio amendments [1]. Each city, village or county building department enforces it locally and may add its own procedures, design criteria and zoning rules. In Columbus that department is Building and Zoning Services, which publishes the city's design criteria and a series of construction industry communications that explain how it applies the code.

Deck permits in the City of Columbus

Columbus lists building a deck among projects that require both a permit and plan review [2]. Its communication on decks and exterior egress components states that plan approval and a building permit are required for decks, landings, ramps and stairs between the exit door and the ground, with a single exception: a deck of no more than 200 square feet, no more than 30 inches above grade at any point, not attached to the house, and not serving the required exit door [3]. Even that exempt deck needs a zoning approval if it is larger than 169 square feet — and the zoning approval applies to every deck over 169 square feet regardless of location or height [3]. Landings, stairs or temporary ramps 30 inches or less above grade can be issued a minor limited-scope permit with a final inspection [3].

Zoning review checks where the deck sits on the lot — setback distances from property lines and limits on how much of the lot is covered — and a deck that does not fit may need a variance before a building permit can be issued. Properties in special zoning districts, area commission areas or historic districts can need additional approvals before work begins [2].

What deck plans show

A deck permit application is reviewed against drawings, and plan reviewers look for the same information across the region. Franklin County's guide for unincorporated areas lists it clearly [4]:

• Post hole layout — dimensions between post holes and from the holes to the house.
• Post hole section — depth, footing size and the post's bearing.
• Framing plan — ledger size and its bolting, joist size, span and spacing, beam size and how the beams attach to the posts, and overall deck dimensions.
• Framing sections — the beam-to-post connections and, for an attached deck, the ledger detail.
• Deck elevation — the height of the surface above grade, with the guard system shown where the deck is 30 inches or more above grade.
• Stair details — risers, treads, stringer size and how the stringers are supported at the deck and at grade.

Drawings that answer those questions on the first submission are the fastest path through plan review.

Inspections

A deck permit brings inspections at the points where work is about to be covered: the footing inspection once the post holes are dug to depth and before concrete is placed; the framing inspection once posts, beams, ledger and joists are installed and the hangers, bolts and fasteners are still visible; and a final inspection when stairs, guards, handrails and decking are complete [4]. Building the schedule around these checkpoints avoids tearing out finished work to show an inspector what is underneath.

Footings and the 32-inch frost depth

Columbus sets the frost line depth for footings at 32 inches below finished grade [5]. Footings that stop short of it can be lifted by frost heave as the soil freezes and thaws, racking the deck and pulling at its connection to the house. The code also prohibits footings from bearing on frozen soil, which in practice means footings are not poured in ground that is frozen at the bottom of the hole [6].

Franklin County's deck guide shows how that depth translates on site: post holes 38 inches deep, sized from the deck footing table in the Residential Code of Ohio, with the post bearing on at least six inches of concrete, either directly on a post base or on top of a fully concrete-filled hole [4]. Footing size grows with the area of deck each post supports and with the soil's bearing capacity. Helical piles are an engineered alternative used where soil is poor or digging is impractical; they are installed to a specified load and accepted on the strength of their product evaluation and the installer's records.

The ledger: where decks fail

Most serious deck failures start where the deck meets the house. The ledger board — the framing member bolted to the house's band joist that carries one end of the deck joists — has to resist the deck pulling away as well as sagging down. The code is specific:

• No nails. Decks attached to the house must be designed and installed to resist both vertical and horizontal movement, and that attachment cannot be made with toenails or nails that can withdraw [3].
• Lag screws or through-bolts on a schedule. The residential code's ledger table sets the spacing of half-inch lag screws or bolts by joist span, with staggered rows and minimum edge distances [4].
• Lateral load connection. Hold-down hardware tying the deck joists into the house floor framing resists the outward pull that nails and bolts alone do not [7].
• Flashing. Corrosion-resistant flashing is required where a deck attaches to a wood-frame wall, so water cannot reach the house's band joist and framing [3][4]. An unflashed ledger rots the house as well as the deck.
• No ledger on veneer. Prescriptive deck guidance does not permit a ledger to be hung on brick or stone veneer or on a cantilevered floor; those decks are built freestanding, with their own beam and posts beside the house [7].

The American Wood Council's prescriptive deck construction guide, DCA 6, illustrates all of these details and is widely used by builders and plan reviewers [7].

Guards, stairs and the door step

Columbus's deck communication lists the egress rules that apply to every deck [3]:

• A 36-inch guardrail is required on any deck where the grade is more than 30 inches below the deck surface measured three feet out from the edge, including along perimeter fixed seating.
• Stair risers can be no more than 8¼ inches high and treads no less than 9 inches deep; open risers must not pass a 4-inch sphere; solid risers need a nosing between ¾ and 1¼ inches.
• A handrail 34 to 38 inches high is required on at least one side of stairs with four or more risers.
• The step from the door threshold down to the deck surface can be no more than 8¼ inches when the door does not swing out over the deck.

Guard openings must also stop a 4-inch sphere, riser heights within one stair run may not differ by more than 3/8 inch, and the handrail must be graspable [4]. Each guard is designed for a 200-pound concentrated load [8], which is a structural requirement on the posts, not just the balusters.

Nearby suburbs

Each suburb runs its own permit process, and the details differ. What the departments publish:

• Upper Arlington requires a building permit to construct a deck, and for siding work when exterior sheathing or framing is being replaced along with the siding [9].
• Hilliard lists decks and siding among the residential projects that require a permit before construction [10].
• Westerville asks for construction plans and a survey-based plot plan showing the deck's distance to property lines, and work in the Uptown Architectural Review District needs a Certificate of Appropriateness before construction [11].
• Unincorporated Franklin County is served by the Franklin County Building Department, whose deck guide is quoted throughout this page [4].

Other communities — Dublin, Worthington, Gahanna, Grove City, Bexley, Grandview Heights and the rest — publish their own requirements. The address decides the jurisdiction, and a Columbus mailing address does not always mean the City of Columbus.

Siding: permit, barrier and flashing

The permit. The City of Columbus requires a building permit for every residential siding replacement, without plan review [2][19]. Each siding permit carries one exterior inspection at the end of the project; the inspector checks that fixtures, electrical panels and meters are fastened to the structure rather than to the new siding, that penetrations through the siding are caulked, that any Certificate of Appropriateness was followed, and that the work meets the manufacturer's specifications [19]. Suburbs vary, as the list above shows. A siding permit is simpler than one for a deck, but the work still has to meet the code.

The barrier. The residential code requires at least one layer of water-resistive barrier over the studs or sheathing of every exterior wall, continuous behind the siding and lapped so water drains outward [6]. House wrap, building paper and fluid-applied barriers all meet the requirement when installed to their listing.

Flashing. Flashing is required at windows and doors, at penetrations, where porches and decks attach, and at the other points water can enter the wall [6]. Where the lower edge of a sloped roof meets a sidewall, kickout flashing is required to throw the water clear of the wall rather than down behind the siding [12]. Missing kickouts are one of the most common causes of hidden rot found during a Columbus tear-off.

Manufacturer instructions. Siding products are installed to their manufacturer's instructions — clearances, fastening and joint treatment — and both code compliance and the product warranty depend on it.

Historic districts

Exterior changes in the city's historic districts are reviewed before work begins. In German Village, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required for any exterior change, and siding is among the categories city staff can approve without a full commission hearing [13]. German Village is one of several historic districts and architectural review areas whose commissions review exterior alterations, each with its own guidelines [14]. A December 2025 City Council change exempted only the city's own work in public rights-of-way from the certificate requirement; private property owners still need one for exterior changes [15].

Asbestos and lead

Asbestos-cement siding. Rigid asbestos-cement shingles remain on some older Columbus houses. Suspect siding should be tested before any tear-off. If it contains asbestos, removal is a job for a licensed asbestos hazard abatement contractor, not a siding crew or a homeowner: Ohio EPA licenses those contractors and certifies the specialists who supervise the work, and federal guidance is to leave undamaged material alone and have removal done by trained professionals [16][17]. The abatement is scheduled and completed before the siding contractor starts.

Lead paint. On homes built before 1978, anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces must be certified in lead-safe work practices, and exterior work disturbing more than 20 square feet of paint is covered [18]. Removing painted wood siding, trim or an old painted deck falls under the rule.

What this means for your budget

Permits, drawings and inspections are a small share of a deck or siding budget, but skipping them is expensive: unpermitted decks surface during home sales and insurance claims, and a failed footing or framing inspection costs far more to fix after the deck is finished. The code-driven items — footings to 32 inches, ledger bolts and flashing, guards and handrails, the barrier and flashing behind siding — are part of the price of doing the work correctly, and a bid that leaves them out is not comparable to one that includes them. Budget, too, for any testing and abatement on an older house before the siding work starts.

The typical Columbus ranges in the deck and siding cost guides include this code-required work; a bid that leaves it out is not comparable. For timing a project around permits and the weather, read Planning and Seasonality.