Guide
Permits for foundation repair in Wichita
In Wichita and the unincorporated parts of Sedgwick County, one office handles both building permits and contractor licences: the Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department, known as MABCD.
What the code says
The Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Building and Trade Code requires a permit before anyone constructs, alters or repairs a building. MABCD's page for homeowners puts it simply: replacing finishes that were already there, such as paint, flooring or cabinets, needs no permit, while new construction and changes do.
Work on a footing, a foundation wall or the posts and beams under a floor is repair to the structure. Ask MABCD at 316-660-1840 what your particular job needs, including whether it wants drawings or an engineer's letter. The office is at 271 W. 3rd St. N., Suite 101, just south of City Hall.
Who applies
The same code says a contractor must hold an MABCD licence to do work that needs a permit, and that no permit is issued to a contractor without one. In practice the repair company applies for the permit and books the inspections.
Ask to see the permit before work starts. If a company suggests skipping it, treat that as a warning. Structural work done without a permit can surface as a problem when you sell.
Owners may work on a house they own and live in, but MABCD says they may then carry the same responsibilities as a licensed contractor, and the permit is still required.
Outside Wichita's city limits
Each city below runs its own permit desk. Start there, not at MABCD.
Maize, Goddard, Valley Center
MABCD carries out inspections for these and several other small cities, but the permit starts at the city's own office. Valley Center also asks contractors for its own licence.
Derby
The city has its own Building Inspections and Codes office and licenses contractors itself.
Haysville
Permits come from Public Works at 401 S. Jane. The city requires one for any repair to a building.
Andover
The city says all footing and foundation repair, apart from minor work such as tuck-pointing block, needs a licensed contractor, a permit, city inspections and engineered plans.
Newton
Permits and contractor licences are handled by the city's engineering office at City Hall.
After the work
Keep the permit record, the final inspection sign-off, the engineer's letter if there was one and the warranty in one folder. A future buyer will ask for them.
Permit questions
How do I check that a permit was taken out?
Ask the contractor for the permit number, then call MABCD at 316-660-1840 with the address. For a house in another city, call that city's building office.
Ready to have it looked at?
Talk to a foundation repair company near Wichita
Call and describe what you are seeing. You will speak with an independent local company that can arrange to inspect the house and give you its findings and its price.
Foundation repair for houses
Basement walls, settling, cracks, crawl spaces and sloping floors in Wichita and nearby towns.
Call (316) 555-0119Calls may be recorded. See the referral disclosure and privacy policy.