In Doral a permit is a countdown, and an inspection winds it

The Doral differenceSection 02 of 15

A permit is not a document. It is a countdown.

Most owners think of a building permit as a piece of paper you obtain and then hold. Doral publishes it as something closer to a lease: it runs for a fixed period, and only one specific event renews it.

The City states that permits "expire and become null and void if work is not started and an inspection is approved within 180 days from the issuance date of the permit", and that once work has commenced "the permit will expire when work is suspended or abandoned for a period of 6 months, unless an approved inspection is obtained". Read those two sentences together and the rule is simple and unforgiving: an APPROVED INSPECTION is the only thing that resets the clock. Not paying a fee, not ordering materials, not having a crew on site. On a project that pauses for a kitchen delivery, a family holiday or a change of mind, that is the difference between a live permit and a dead one.

First deadline180 DAYS

From issuance, to work started AND an inspection approved. The City states a permit that misses it is null and void.

ThenEVERY 6 MONTHS

After work commences, the permit expires if work is suspended or abandoned for six months unless an approved inspection is obtained in that window.

Unpermitted workDOUBLE FEES

The City states work done without a permit "is subject to double permit fees and may have to be partially or completely demolished".

What we do hereSection 03 of 15

The work Doral owners ask us for.

Elbaz Construction is a licensed general contractor working across Miami-Dade. In Doral the pattern is a city of relatively young housing — much of it built from the 1990s onward — where the work is rarely structural rescue and usually a considered upgrade inside an existing footprint.

01Kitchen remodelingInside the existing footprint, or opened into the living space.

The commonest Doral project and the one where the inspection calendar matters most, because electrical, plumbing and mechanical each have to be signed off before anything closes up.

02Bathroom renovationA single bathroom, or every bathroom in a townhouse.

Small rooms, several trades, and a waterproofing inspection that has to happen before a single tile goes on.

03Whole-home renovationEvery room, run as one programme rather than five projects.

One permit record, one sequence of inspections, and one accountable contractor rather than a queue of trades arriving in the wrong order.

04Room additionsWhere the house needs more of itself.

An addition changes lot coverage and setbacks before it changes anything else, so it starts as a zoning question and becomes a construction one later.

05Impact windows and doorsGlazing specified for the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone.

Miami-Dade is HVHZ. Every unit carries a product approval and an anchorage detail, and both are reviewed rather than assumed.

06Flooring throughoutOne material carried through, or a deliberate change at each threshold.

Level, substrate and threshold decisions are made once, at the beginning, and they are visible for the life of the floor.

07Townhouse and condo interiorsWork inside a building that has an association.

Two approvals rather than one: the association’s and the City’s, and the association’s usually comes first.

08Outdoor livingCovered terraces, summer kitchens and pool decks.

Structures outside the house are permitted construction with footings and electrical work, not landscaping.

09Permit rescueA property with an expired or open permit already against it.

Common here precisely because of the 180-day rule. It is workable, and it is far cheaper addressed before a new application than during one.

Completed workSection 04 of 15

Finished rooms, photographed as they were handed over.

South Florida projects by Elbaz Construction

Both sets are Elbaz Construction projects in South Florida. Neither is represented as being in Doral, and neither is presented as the same property as the other.

White shaker kitchen looking toward the range, with the quartz island in the foreground — 01The kitchen from the living side, island in the foreground

The same kitchen from the dining end, pendants over the island and two upholstered bar stools — 02The same room from the dining end, pendants over the island

Sink run set under a window blind, with the gas range and integrated dishwasher alongside — 03The sink run under the window, range and dishwasher alongside

Base cabinetry with brushed bar handles beside a black range and its overhead microwave — 04Base cabinetry and brushed handles beside the range

Project recordSection 05 of 15

What these two projects show.

One island, decided once

The waterfall end and the overhang that carries the stools are set out before the worktop is templated. Move either afterwards and the whole slab is re-cut.

Services arrive in the middle of the floor

An island with a sink and a hob has waste, water and power reaching it under the slab. That is first-fix work with its own inspection, done long before anything looks like a kitchen.

The window wall sets the light

Where the sink run sits under glazing, the finish reads differently at every hour. It is why worktop and cabinet colours are chosen in the room rather than from a sample board on a desk.

The last ten per cent is the visible part

Handles, tap, stools and pendants all arrive at the end. Until they do, a finished kitchen looks unfinished — and then it does not.

Undermount stainless sink and gooseneck tap set into the quartz worktop — 05The undermount sink and gooseneck tap, set into quartz

ScopeKitchen replaced inside the existing footprint

CabinetryWhite shaker, handleless uppers, brushed bar handles below

WorktopQuartz, waterfall end to the island

AppliancesGas range, integrated dishwasher, overhead microwave

Second setCompact bathroom, separate South Florida property

Wet areaMarble-look large-format wall tile, fan-shaped mosaic floor

DrainageLinear drain, waterproofing inspected before tiling

FittingsMatt black brassware, sliding glass screen, backlit mirror cabinet

Why it matters hereSection 06 of 15

Doral rewards a project that is planned against the calendar, because the City has published what the calendar does.

The things that go wrong on Doral projects are rarely craft problems. They are sequencing problems, and almost all of them trace back to the same published rules.

01The clock, first

An approved inspection is the only reset

A project planned so that an inspection lands inside every window never meets the 180-day rule or the six-month rule at all.

02Sub-permits close separately

Each one needs its own final

The City states that where there is a master permit and multiple sub-permits, each must have an approved final inspection to be considered closed.

03Four o’clock

The daily cut-off is published

Inspections must be requested by 4pm and are performed the following business day, so readiness is a decision made the afternoon before.

04The HVHZ is not optional

Approvals travel with the product

Miami-Dade glazing and doors carry approvals for the zone. A late substitution is a revision, not a swap.

05Unpermitted work compounds

Double fees, and possibly demolition

The City publishes both consequences. Finding inherited unpermitted work before a new application is far cheaper than during one.

06One contractor, one record

The permit history is the asset

A closed record is what a future buyer’s search finds, and what an association or an insurer asks for.

Everything above is Doral-specific or Miami-Dade-specific. The wind zone, the water table and the wet season apply across South Florida and are planned for on every project we run.

Shower controls, hand shower and a round shaving mirror against marble-look wall tile — 06Shower controls and hand shower against marble-look tile

Completed workSection 07 of 15

The same standard, room by room.

The second set is a different property and a different room. It is here because a bathroom is where the invisible half of a remodel is easiest to explain: almost everything that gets inspected disappears behind tile.

Recessed shower niche lined with fan-shaped mosaic and framed in marble-look tile

The lit niche, framed into the large-format wall tile

Linear drain set into the mosaic shower floor where it meets the wall tile

The linear drain where the mosaic floor meets the wall

Fan-shaped mosaic floor meeting the marble-look wall tile in the corner of the shower

Fan-shaped mosaic turning the corner of the shower floor

Walk-in shower behind a sliding glass screen on a black track, with a rain head and hand shower

The walk-in shower behind its sliding glass screen

Timber vanity with a white basin, matt black tap and a backlit mirror cabinet above

The vanity, matt black tap and backlit mirror cabinet

The window side of the kitchen in one view: sink, tap, range and the run of wall cabinets — 12The window side in one view: sink, tap and range

Layout strategyKitchen kept inside its footprint, one island, nothing else placed in the floor

ServicesWaste, water and power routed to the island before the slab closed

LightSink run kept under the window; cove lighting under the uppers

Bathroom detailNiche and linear drain set out to the tile coursing, decided before closing up

ProvenanceTwo separate South Florida projects, honestly captioned

SpecificationSection 08 of 15

What gets specified differently here.

Not an exhaustive list — the six decisions where this county and this climate change the answer.

Windows and doors

Approved for the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone

Miami-Dade sits inside the HVHZ, so every glazed unit carries a product approval and is installed to a specified anchorage detail.Keep tracks and weeps clear; check seals and anchors before each season.

Waterproofing

The layer that is inspected and then buried

In a wet room the membrane is signed off before tiling starts. Putting it right afterwards means removing a finished room.Check sealant and movement joints annually; act on the first sign of a leak.

Worktops

Templated once, from what is actually built

Quartz and stone are cut to a template taken on site after the cabinets are set. Nothing about that step can be brought forward.Reseal natural stone as specified; quartz needs none.

Electrical

First fix, not finishing

Circuits, appliance supplies and concealed lighting are all first-fix scope with their own inspection, long before anyone sees an effect.Label the panel properly at handover; test protective devices annually.

Substrates

What tile and timber are actually stuck to

A floor or a wall is only as good as what is under it. Levelling and board choice are invisible work that decides whether the finish lasts.Watch for movement at thresholds and where new work meets old.

Ventilation

Mechanical work with its own sign-off

Extraction from a kitchen or a bathroom is mechanical scope, and in a townhouse the route out is often the constraint that shapes the layout.Clean filters and check terminals annually.

The photographs on this page are Elbaz Construction projects in South Florida. None is represented as having been taken in Doral.

How we run itSection 09 of 15

Nine stages, in order.

Address and history

What the work is, and what is already on record against the property. On a Doral remodel the second question matters as much as the first, because an inherited open permit surfaces the moment a new application touches the same system.

Survey and conditions

What is actually there: structure, services, levels and anything a previous owner left behind. Assumptions are cheap until an inspector disagrees with one.

Drawings, resolved

A set built to the City’s requirements, with drawing files named to Miami-Dade County’s naming conventions, which Doral states it follows.

Products and approvals

Glazing, doors and anything else with an approval number selected with its documentation attached — in the HVHZ that paperwork is part of the review.

Submittal through CSS

The application is lodged through the City’s CSS portal, complete rather than nearly complete. The City’s stated goal is ten business days, and it calls it a goal.

Review and corrections

Comments answered as a set. A partial response starts another cycle on a property whose clock is already running.

The calendar, written down

Before a tool is lifted, the programme names when each inspection will be called, so no window in the 180-day or six-month rule is ever left empty.

Inspections, by four o’clock

Requested by 4pm for the following business day, and called only when the work will genuinely pass.

Closing every permit

Master and sub-permits each taken to an approved final, because the City states each must have one to be considered closed.

City of DoralSection 10 of 15

The City’s own rules, as it publishes them.

Where it happens

The Building Department is on the 2nd Floor of the Government Center at 8401 NW 53 Terrace. Applications, inspection requests and permit status all run through the City’s CSS portal, which requires an account.

The 180-day rule

"Permits expire and become null and void if work is not started and an inspection is approved within 180 days from the issuance date of the permit." Both halves have to happen: work started, and an inspection approved.

The six-month rule

"After such work has commenced, the permit will expire when work is suspended or abandoned for a period of 6 months, unless an approved inspection is obtained." An approved inspection is the reset.

Requesting an inspection

"Inspections must be requested by 4pm." They are "performed the following business day", and the City invites you to "call between 7:00am and 8:00am to speak with your inspector and get an idea of his/her route".

Every permit needs a final

"All permits of all trade types will require a Final Inspection in order to complete the permitting process." Where there is a master permit and sub-permits, "each master and sub-permit must have an approved final inspection in order to be considered closed".

Working without a permit

Work done without one "is subject to double permit fees and may have to be partially or completely demolished", and the City notes that "the transfer of property could be delayed when non-permitted work is discovered".

Owner-builder

The City allows it "if you are competent to perform the work and if you meet the owner/builder exemption", via an Owner/Builder Affidavit — and warns that "if you are allowed the exemption, you take all the responsibilities and liabilities as a contractor".

Processing time

The City states that processing "depends mainly on the amount of work in the system at the time of application but department goals aim for 10 business days or as required by state statute". That is a stated goal, not a commitment, and this page repeats it as one.

Starting early, and drawings

In an emergency such as an air-conditioning or water-heater replacement, with the Building Official’s approval, an Early Start Permit Application may allow work up to the first required inspection. The City also follows Miami-Dade County’s naming conventions for drawing files.

Every statement above is the City of Doral’s published position as read on 19 August 2026 at cityofdoral.com. Municipal procedure changes; confirm the current requirement with the Building Department before relying on any of it. No fee is quoted here — the City publishes a fee schedule and a fee estimator, and both are the City’s to state.

The routeSection 11 of 15

From an address to a closed permit record.

Five steps. The first and the last are the ones owners underestimate, and on a Doral property they are the two that decide whether the clock is ever a problem.

Check the record

What the City already holds against the address, including anything open or expired from a previous owner. This is a search, and it costs nothing but time.

Decide the scope

Whether the work stays inside the existing footprint, and which trades it touches. That list becomes the inspection calendar.

Build the set

Drawings assembled to the City’s requirements, with files named to the Miami-Dade conventions Doral follows, and product approvals attached.

Apply through CSS

The application, the documents and the fees run through the City’s portal. Permit status and inspection requests live in the same account afterwards.

Run the clock down deliberately

Every inspection requested by 4pm the day before, every window in the 180-day and six-month rules filled, and every master and sub-permit taken to an approved final.

Owner’s guideSection 12 of 15

What actually moves a Doral project.

We do not publish prices, and we do not publish the City’s fees or timelines as if they were ours to promise. What follows is where the number and the calendar actually move.

What moves the number

Whether services move

Keeping a sink, a hob or a soil stack where it is costs far less than relocating it, because relocation is work in the floor.

How much is structural

Removing a wall means engineering before it means construction, and engineering is a cost and a lead time at the same time.

What the demolition finds

On any property the real scope is settled when the finishes come off, not when the estimate is written.

Product approvals

HVHZ glazing and doors are specified with their documentation. Substituting late is a revision rather than a swap.

Inherited permit problems

An expired or open permit from a previous owner has to be resolved. It is workable and it is not free.

Level of finish

The difference between a good kitchen and an exceptional one is mostly in the joinery, the stone and the fittings.

Access and protection

Working around an occupied home is slower than working in an empty one, and protection and reinstatement are real line items.

Reinstatement

Making everything good afterwards is invisible in the finished photograph and it is genuinely part of the job.

What moves the calendar

How complete the submittal is

A package reviewed once moves; a package reviewed three times does not.

Whether the clock has slack

A project planned so an inspection lands in every window never argues with the 180-day or six-month rules.

The four o’clock cut-off

An inspection requested at 3:59 is tomorrow. One requested at 4:01 is the day after, and on a multi-trade job that compounds.

Lead times on stone and glazing

Templating happens after the cabinets are set, and the wait after that is not something a contractor can compress.

How many sub-permits there are

Each one needs its own approved final before anything is considered closed.

Weather

Anything opening the envelope in the wet season is planned around it rather than surprised by it.

Bring to the first call

The property address.
What kind of building it is — single-family, townhouse or condo.
Whether an association governs it.
What you want to do, in plain words.
Whether anything is moving: a wall, a sink, a soil stack.
Any drawings, survey or permit paperwork you already hold.

Before you callSection 13 of 15

What a first conversation covers.

Twenty minutes on the phone, or at the property, answers most of it. We will look up what the City holds against the address while we talk, tell you plainly what the record shows, and be clear about which questions only the Building Department can answer.

The property address and what kind of building it is.
Whether the work stays inside the existing footprint.
Whether an association is involved.
What the City’s record already shows against the property.

The finished kitchen seen from the hallway, with the refrigerator, island and stools — 13The completed kitchen, seen from the hallway

Questions, answered.

Doral questions

How long is a building permit valid in Doral?

The City states that permits "expire and become null and void if work is not started and an inspection is approved within 180 days from the issuance date of the permit". After work has commenced, a permit expires if work is suspended or abandoned for six months "unless an approved inspection is obtained". An approved inspection is what resets it.

What actually keeps a permit alive?

An approved inspection, and nothing else. Not paying, not ordering materials, not having a crew on site. That is the single most useful thing to know about running a project here, and it is why our programme names when each inspection will be called before any work starts.

What happens if my permit expires?

It becomes null and void, and the City is explicit that an expired permit affects the property. Renewing or re-permitting is possible — the City publishes a Renewal of Expired Permits route — and it is a conversation to have with the Building Department rather than a form to guess at.

When do I have to request an inspection?

"Inspections must be requested by 4pm", and they are "performed the following business day". The City also invites you to call between 7:00am and 8:00am to speak with your inspector about the day’s route.

My project has a master permit and several sub-permits. When is it closed?

When every one of them has an approved final. The City states that "each master and sub-permit must have an approved final inspection in order to be considered closed", which is the step most often left half-done.

What happens if work was done without a permit?

The City states such work "is subject to double permit fees and may have to be partially or completely demolished", and that "the transfer of property could be delayed when non-permitted work is discovered". It is workable, and it is much better found before a new application than during one.

Can I pull the permit myself as the owner?

The City allows it where you meet the owner/builder exemption and complete the Owner/Builder Affidavit, and warns that you then "take all the responsibilities and liabilities as a contractor". Its own experience, published on the same page, is that owner-builders manage on small jobs more often than on large ones.

How long does a permit application take?

The City says processing "depends mainly on the amount of work in the system" and that "department goals aim for 10 business days or as required by state statute". That is a goal the City has stated, not a promise anyone can make on its behalf.

Do I need a Certificate of Occupancy?

The City states that generally new construction, commercial alterations and changes of occupancy require one, and that "if you are a homeowner doing repair work on your home you do not need a CO". For your specific scope the Building Department is the authority.

Do you handle the permit and the inspections?

Yes. We assemble the submittal, file it through CSS, answer the review, book every inspection by the cut-off and take every master and sub-permit to an approved final. What we will not do is promise a review duration that is the City’s to decide.

Why Elbaz.

Licensed general contractor

Licence CBC1265280 — licensed, bonded and insured, so several permitted scopes on one property run under a single contract.

We write the inspection calendar first

Before a tool is lifted, the programme says when each inspection will be called. That is what stops the 180-day and six-month rules from ever becoming a problem.

We check the record before we design

An inherited open or expired permit surfaces the moment a new application touches the same system. Better found in week one.

We call an inspection when it will pass

A failed call on a next-business-day system costs more than the day it takes.

We close every sub-permit

The City is explicit that each one needs its own approved final. A project is not finished when it looks finished.

Honest about what is not ours to answer

Fees, review durations and whether a specific address has an open permit belong to the Building Department. We will tell you exactly who to ask and we will ask with you.

Financing available

Financing options are available — ask and we will explain what applies to your project.

Closed records at handover

A closed permit record and the documents to prove it, which is what a future buyer’s search will find.

Proof & ReadingSection 14 of 15

What South Florida homeowners say.

Reproduced verbatim from our Google Business Profile. Nothing here has been edited, merged or rewritten.

Redid my whole bathroom and kitchen. Great service - Great quality - very quick - very professional !! Highly recommended!

Adir DavidovGoogle review

They are amazing! Very professional. Met my exact requests with so much patience and knowledge. They renovated my whole house and the whole process was such a breeze. I highly recommend them!

Lee MoraliGoogle review

We hired them to renovate our investment property and they provided exceptional quality service for an affordable price!

Shir PartushGoogle review

Amazing experience with the entire company! They did a great job in my house for some work that needed to be completed, and I am extremely happy with the result. Super professional & great service. I highly recommend Elbaz Construction.

Mia ZafraniGoogle review

After I've been Looking for a good company to renovate my house , I found those guys! These people are super professional super honest super Fast !! Don't hesitate to Rent their service! They are number one!!

carmit cohenGoogle review

I highly recommend them for home improvement. They renovated my master bathroom and a few upgrades for other guest bathrooms. They are very professional, courteous and transparent. They are great at communicating and finding ways to streamline the work. Sean has impeccable project management and customer relationship management skills. Very pleased with the work!

Omri BGoogle review

Home remodeling in Doralruns on a clock,and an inspection winds it.

Tell us the address and the scope.

Thanks — that came through.

A permit is not a document. It is a countdown.

The work Doral owners ask us for.

Finished rooms, photographed as they were handed over.

What these two projects show.

One island, decided once

Services arrive in the middle of the floor

The window wall sets the light

The last ten per cent is the visible part

Doral rewards a project that is planned against the calendar, because the City has published what the calendar does.

An approved inspection is the only reset

Each one needs its own final

The daily cut-off is published

Approvals travel with the product

Double fees, and possibly demolition

The permit history is the asset

The same standard, room by room.

What gets specified differently here.

Nine stages, in order.

Address and history

Survey and conditions

Drawings, resolved

Products and approvals

Submittal through CSS

Review and corrections

The calendar, written down

Inspections, by four o’clock

Closing every permit

The City’s own rules, as it publishes them.

From an address to a closed permit record.

Check the record

Decide the scope

Build the set

Apply through CSS

Run the clock down deliberately

What actually moves a Doral project.

What moves the number

What moves the calendar

Bring to the first call

What a first conversation covers.

Questions, answered.

Why Elbaz.

Licensed general contractor

We write the inspection calendar first

We check the record before we design

We call an inspection when it will pass

We close every sub-permit

Honest about what is not ours to answer

Financing available

Closed records at handover

What South Florida homeowners say.

Further reading.

Service Areas

Send the address.

What happens next

Thanks — that came through.

Home remodeling in Doral
runs on a clock,
and an inspection winds it.