Seeking Rhode Island info
Seeking GBA wisdom on the regulatory landscape of RI. My daughter is new to Providence and is looking to buy a small fixer-upper or build on one of those tiny infill lots, and I want to help as much as possible. I’m a contractor of thirty years but…. in rural Ohio.
Ideally there’s a RI resident here that I can correspond with off-forum, but also really helpful would be pointing me to concise online resources that might answer the basic questions of zoning/building code/contractors’ licenses. Any builders/designers in RI that specialize in green/small/infill? And then, there are also the grey areas of nuance that only come from working in a place for a long time.
Thanks for any help! [email protected]
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I've lived in Rhode Island but haven't worked there. Here's the thing about New England that's different from the rest of the country: everything is done at the town level. So a tiny town that doesn't have a stoplight will have its own building inspector. It will also have its own zoning code. (And its own tax assessor, police department, fire department and school board). In small towns the inspector will be a contract employee who might only work a few hours a week.
Hi Ohio Andy,
Mike Guertin works not too far outside of Providence: http://www.mikeguertin.com
Steve DeMetrick also builds in RI: http://www.demetrickhousewrights.com
Both are GBA and FHB contributors, and excellent builders.
Good luck with your daughter's project...
Brian