Hello from Seattle

[Westside]

I have been researching oven's for a while now, getting more serious about starting. Living in the city I wanted to make sure I'm okay to even building an oven in my backyard. I've sent an e-mail off to Seattle's DPD and their response was pretty "wishy-washy" - looking for any feedback on locals who have crossed this bridge and are willing to provide any tips/suggestions/etc...

Thanks to all who have posted such great information, I'm grateful and will in turn attempt to create a detailed log of my journey (when I finally get started!).

Cheers!

[david s]

Tell them it's an outdoor barbeque.

[SableSprings]

David's right on target...building permit officials and other city administrators just don't get the WFO concept. Outdoor BBQ area they understand--especially when you specify no plumbing, no electricity, and no occupancy. Off the top of my head I can think of two WFO builders in the Seattle area -- Deejayoh and JRPizza. They both have great, well documented builds on this site. I suspect they both will post here as soon as they notice Seattle in your thread title. Looking forward to your WFO journey.

If Deejayoh or JRPizza don't get back to you, go up to the top menu--right side, and choose Member List. When you pick "D", go out to page 69 of the users names starting with "D" and Deejayoh is near the top. There's a send private message option to the right side of the screen. Do the same for JRPizza, pick "J" and go out to page 189 to find Deejayoh.

[RandyJ]

When I was getting ready to build mine I forwarded a copy of the plans to the building inspector. That answered all his questions. Good luck

Randy

[JRPizza]

I live up in unincorporated Snohomish county, so didn't have to deal with any city officials. That said, I had trouble getting "firm" answers from the county which sounds like what you are going through. I decided to treat the WFO like an outdoor BBQ, which did not need a permit. We built a structure that also did not need a permit as in our county as it was under 200 ft^2 with no more than 2 walls. We just needed to make sure we were meeting code for everything we did, as the regs state you still need to meet code for un-permitted structures. Like Mike says you should tie in with Deejayoh, as I am sure Seattle has more requirements than we do up here in "the sticks".

[Westside]

Thanks for the info and quick responses! I will need to firm up my plans and ensure I reiterate the fact that I'm not going to be running electrical or gas lines and opening up a commercial establishment! Much appreciated.

[deejayoh]

I live in Seattle city limits. I looked for guidance in the code about pizza ovens, and found none. Best I could find was an enclosed fireplace. I can't remember all the ins and outs, but at the end of the day I decided I didn't need a permit. Just make sure you're 15 feet from other buildings, 10 feet from lot line - something like that. As I said, been a while. I have never gotten any input from anyone that there is an issue. As long as your neighbors are cool with/aware of it - I wouldn't worry. The inspectors have so much else to worry about, they don't spend any time on cases on the margin.

[Les]

Our city was pretty much clueless here as well. The best advice was to put it 10 foot from any thing combustible. ( fences / structures ). Permits serve one purpose - to raise your taxes...

[agrasyuk]

dealing with our village engineering dept. is never fun and I'm too not to thrilled about summer month that got wasted on back and forth while I was seeking permit for my project . as mentioned by members already less is more - no need to go into many details. at the end I called my project a "outdoor cooking area" and specified only the masonry support structure as scope of the project (specifically declaring no gas and no electricity as mentioned above). the way I see it pompei oven is a off-the-shelf appliance and as such does not need a separate permit
while certainly an inconvenience , I still think those permits do more good then harm.

good luck on your project