Completed work
Stairs, levels
and the space between.
Completed Elbaz Construction projects across South Florida where level change, circulation and separation are the visible part of the job - two-level guest units, a guest cottage and finished bathrooms. Different properties; each caption says which.
All photographs are of real Elbaz Construction work in South Florida. None was taken in Wilton Manors and none is presented as a City-permitted project.
Building here
Four functions,
one division.
On most projects fire arrives late. A building permit is applied for, reviewed and sometimes issued, and then a separate authority looks at alarm, separation, egress and occupancy - by which point the design is drawn, the budget is agreed and a change is expensive. It is one of the most common reasons a residential project has a bad month.
Wilton Manors does not work that way. Its Construction Services Division is responsible for administration of the Florida Building Code, fire inspections, issuance of building permits and job-site inspections. Four functions, one division. The practical consequence is that the fire question can be raised at the same time as the code question - and the City goes further, publishing that a pre-application meeting with the plans review team can be scheduled.
- One division, four responsibilities
Code administration, fire inspections, permit issuance and job-site inspections all sit together.
- A pre-application meeting is offered
The City publishes that one can be scheduled with the plans review team. That is an unusual offer and worth using.
- The 8th Edition, since 1 January 2024
The City publishes that any permit submitted on or after that date must be designed under the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code.
Constraint and consequence
What one division changes,
and what it asks
of your design.
None of the below is a statement about your address. It is what the City publishes about how it is organised, and what each item does to the order in which decisions are worth making.
Raise fire while the plan is soft
The whole value of a combined division is that the fire question can be asked before the layout is fixed. Asking it late gets the same answer at a much higher price.
Take the pre-application meeting
The City publishes that a meeting with the plans review team can be scheduled. An hour there is worth more than a round of written comments.
Occupancy is a permitting event
The City states a Certificate of Occupancy is required prior to occupation of any building or part for which a permit is issued, and for changes of occupancy. Changing what a space is for is its own project.
Design to the current edition
Permits submitted on or after 1 January 2024 must be designed under the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code. Old drawings for the same house are a starting point, not a submittal.
Inspections are requested online
The City accepts applications and inspection requests online, so the administrative side does not require a counter visit.
Same inspector culture, both hats
When the division that reviewed the drawings is also the division inspecting the job, consistency between what was approved and what is expected on site is higher. That is worth designing to rather than around.
functions the City places in a single Construction Services Division: code administration, fire inspections, permit issuance and job-site inspections
| Element | A separate fire marshal | Wilton Manors |
|---|---|---|
| When fire is considered | After building review, often separately | Alongside it, in the same division |
| Who inspects the finished work | Two authorities, two visits | The division that issued the permit |
| If the two disagree | A revision, and a second queue | A conversation, before submittal |
| Pre-application advice | Rarely offered | Published as available with the plans review team |
| What the owner has to coordinate | Two sets of comments | One division, one set |
| Where the risk sits | Late, after the budget is fixed | Early, while the layout can still move |
Both routes end with a compliant building. The difference is when the fire answer arrives, and therefore how much it costs to act on it.
Stills from the two completed units on this page. They illustrate the stages; they are not photographs of the stage named beside them.
How we run it
Eight stages,
fire in the first half.
The sequence we follow on a Wilton Manors property. It puts the questions that usually arrive late into the part of the project where they are still cheap to answer.
- 01
Property and permit history
What the address is, what is already permitted on it, and whether anything is still open. On an older Wilton Manors house this is also where a previous owner’s unpermitted work first shows itself.
- 02
Survey and brief
What you want, what the building will allow and what the site can take - including where walls, levels and openings actually are rather than where a drawing says they were.
- 03
Ask the fire question early
Separation, egress, alarm and any change of use are raised while the plan is still soft. In a city where one division holds both hats there is no reason to wait, and every reason not to.
- 04
Use the pre-application meeting
The City publishes that a meeting with the plans review team can be scheduled. We book it, take the questions we actually have, and change the drawing afterwards rather than defending it later.
- 05
Draw to the 8th Edition
Documents developed against the 2023 Florida Building Code the City requires for permits submitted on or after 1 January 2024, signed and sealed where the scope requires.
- 06
Apply online, as one package
Applications go in through the City’s online route, complete rather than staged, with comments answered by revising and resubmitting.
- 07
Construction, inspected by the same division
Built to the approved documents, with inspections requested online. Because the reviewing division also inspects, what was approved and what is expected on site tend to agree.
- 08
Certificate and closeout
The City requires a Certificate of Occupancy prior to occupation of any building or part for which a permit is issued, and for changes of occupancy. The permit is closed out rather than left open.
Approvals
What the division handles,
and what it expects.
The Construction Services Division is the whole story here. The City publishes it as responsible for administration of the Florida Building Code, fire inspections, issuance of building permits and job-site inspections - and it accepts applications and inspection requests online, with a plans review team you can meet before applying.
That concentration is a genuine advantage and it comes with an expectation. A division that will look at your project from four directions is a division worth bringing a coherent project to. The pre-application meeting is the mechanism the City has provided for exactly that, and it is free advice from the people who will decide.
Simplified sketch, for explanation only. It is not a permit drawing and not a plan of either project shown on this page.
From first call to closeout
- Florida Building Code administration
Held by the Construction Services Division, which publishes that permits submitted on or after 1 January 2024 must be designed under the 8th Edition (2023) code.
- Fire inspections
In the same division rather than with a separate marshal - which is what makes the early conversation possible.
- Permit issuance
Also the division’s, so the office that reviewed the drawings is the office that issues.
- Job-site inspections
Requested online, and carried out by the same division. Consistency between approval and expectation is higher as a result.
- Pre-application meetings
Published as schedulable with the plans review team on (954) 390-2180. An unusual offer and the cheapest hour in the project.
- Certificate of Occupancy
Required prior to occupation of any building or part for which a permit is issued, and for changes of occupancy.
- Change of occupancy
Named specifically. Turning a garage into a room, or a room into something someone sleeps in, is a permitting event and not a decorating one.
- Online applications
Applications and inspection requests are both accepted online, so most of the administrative load does not need a counter.
The cheapest hour in the project
A city that publishes an offer of a pre-application meeting is telling you where it would rather spend its time. Taking that meeting with real questions is worth more than any amount of careful drafting afterwards.
None of the above is a statement about your property. The City of Wilton Manors Construction Services Division determines what any specific address and scope requires, and requirements change. We confirm what your project actually needs before anything is filed, and we do not publish fees, review durations or any assurance of approval, because the City publishes none. We also do not quote figures from the City’s Building Permit and Inspection Utilization Report; it exists, and we have not opened it.
Cost and time
What moves the number,
and what moves the date.
No figures here. When one division judges a project from four directions, the variable that matters is how coherent the project is - not how many square feet it has.
What moves the cost
- Whether the layout survives the fire question
Asked early it shapes the design for nothing. Asked late it redraws work that has already been priced.
- Any change of occupancy
The City names it explicitly as requiring a Certificate of Occupancy. It is a different category of project and it should be priced as one.
- Level change and circulation
Stairs, guarding and headroom carry code requirements that are cheap in a drawing and expensive in framing.
- The edition your drawings were prepared under
Permits submitted on or after 1 January 2024 must be designed to the 8th Edition. Older documentation needs bringing up, and that is real work.
- Structural alteration
Openings, spans and load paths need engineering, and engineering needs to be in the drawing before it can be in the submittal.
- What the survey finds
On an older house what a previous owner did is discovered rather than declared, and it has to be resolved rather than covered.
What moves the schedule
- Getting the pre-application meeting booked
A scheduling task, and the highest-value one available at the start of a project here.
- Bringing drawings to the current edition
Part of the drawing programme rather than a step after it.
- Plan review
Comments answered by revising and resubmitting. A coherent first submittal is the only part of this anyone controls.
- Product and material lead times
Ordering after approval is a date; ordering before it is a risk.
- Inspections
Requested online and sequenced through construction by the same division that issued the permit.
- Certificate of Occupancy
Required before occupation. It is the end of the programme, and it is planned for rather than waited on.
Owner’s guide
Six things worth knowing
before you draw anything.
Not rules - the City writes those, and its division applies them. These are the things that most often change how a Wilton Manors project is planned.
Book the pre-application meeting
The City publishes that you can. It is the single most underused thing on offer in any municipality we build in, and here it is advertised.
Ask the fire question in week one
Egress, separation and alarm are cheap to design around and expensive to retrofit. One division holds both hats, so there is no reason to hold back.
Check which edition your drawings assume
Permits submitted on or after 1 January 2024 must be designed under the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code.
Occupancy is not a formality
A Certificate of Occupancy is required prior to occupation, and for changes of occupancy. If what a room is for is changing, say so early.
Do the administration online
Applications and inspection requests are both accepted that way, so the counter is for conversations rather than for forms.
Bring one coherent project
A division reviewing from four directions rewards a design that has already reconciled itself. Staged, partial submittals get four sets of questions.
What it is like
Living with a project
judged from four directions.
The honest version of the experience, including the parts that ask more of the design than a split review would.
- The early meetings are real meetings
We take the pre-application conversation seriously and we bring the questions we genuinely do not know the answer to, rather than a presentation.
- Fire comes up before finishes
It shapes layout, and layout shapes everything downstream. Talking about it in month one is not pessimism, it is sequencing.
- Decisions arrive in batches
We will ask for selections together, because they go into one package and one package is what gets reviewed.
- One point of contact
The same person from the first visit to the walkthrough. Design, permitting and construction sit in one company, so a reviewer’s comment does not wait on a hand-off between two firms.
- The site itself is ordinary
Protection, containment, deliveries, dust and noise are managed as on any job, and any association hours are respected without being asked.
- Closeout is not optional
Certificates are obtained and permits are closed out. An open permit stays with the property and reappears when it is sold, when it is someone else’s leverage.
Questions
Ask the
awkward ones.
Six categories. Pick one and the answers change.
The City publishes its Construction Services Division as responsible for administration of the Florida Building Code, fire inspections, issuance of building permits and job-site inspections. In practice it means the fire questions - egress, separation, alarm, occupancy - can be raised in the same conversation as the code questions, rather than arriving afterwards.
It makes it earlier, which is usually more valuable. The requirements are the same requirements; what changes is whether you learn about them while the layout can still move.
The City publishes that a pre-application meeting with the plans review team can be scheduled, on (954) 390-2180. We book it on projects where the answer to a layout question would change the design.
The same division. Applications and inspection requests are accepted online, and the office that reviewed the drawings is the office that inspects the job.
The City publishes that the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code took effect on 1 January 2024, and that any permit submitted on or after that date must be designed under the 8th Edition. Drawings prepared to an earlier edition need bringing up before they are filed.
The City states one is required prior to occupation of any building or part for which a permit is issued, and for changes of occupancy. That second clause catches more residential projects than people expect.
It is a determination for the City rather than for us, and it is worth raising early. Converting a garage, or turning a space into somewhere someone sleeps, is the kind of change that makes the question live.
Assume the question is live and confirm it with the division. What is unusual about Wilton Manors is not which work needs a permit, but that the same office will look at it from four directions.
The City accepts applications and inspection requests online. The counter is more useful for the pre-application conversation than for paperwork.
We do not publish a number, because the City does not. What we can tell you is that a coherent, complete first submittal - ideally one that has already been discussed at a pre-application meeting - is the part that actually decides it.
It has a route, and here it is worth remembering that a change touching egress, separation or occupancy touches the fire side of the same division. We will tell you what a change costs in process as well as in money.
It exists, under the state statute that requires it, and we have not opened it - so we do not quote figures from it. We would rather say that than repeat numbers we have not read.
Because the same square footage can carry very different amounts of code and fire work depending on levels, circulation and use. A rate would be a guess. You get an itemised figure in writing after a survey, and it says what happens if something is found once work starts.
Not inherently. What is expensive anywhere is discovering a fire or occupancy requirement after the design is fixed - and this City’s structure makes that easier to avoid than most.
Yes - across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, 104 municipalities. The filing routes genuinely differ between them, which is the reason we check rather than assume.
Why Elbaz
What we will actually
put our name to.
- Licensed, bonded and insured
Elbaz Construction is a licensed Florida general contractor, CBC1265280. Permits are pulled in the company’s name.
- We take the pre-application meeting
The City offers it. Turning up with real questions before the drawing is fixed is worth more than any amount of careful drafting afterwards.
- We raise fire before finishes
Because it shapes layout, and layout shapes the budget. Late is the expensive time to find out.
- Design and construction in one contract
The people who draw it are the people who build it, so a reviewer’s comment comes back to the team that can answer it.
- We say what we do not know
Whether a scope is a change of occupancy is the City’s determination. We confirm it rather than assure you about it.
- Permits closed out
Every permit we pull is closed out at the end of the job rather than left open against the property.
No awards, no rankings and no numbers we cannot show you. Everything above is either public record or visible in the work on this page.
Reviews
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 B
Genuine Google reviews of Elbaz Construction, shown as written. None of these reviewers is identified as a Wilton Manors client and none is presented as one - they are shown because they are real, not because of where they are.
Redid my whole bathroom and kitchen. Great service - Great quality - very quick - very professional !! Highly recommended!
Adir Davidov
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 Morali
We hired them to renovate our investment property and they provided exceptional quality service for an affordable price!
Shir Partush
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 Zafrani
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 cohen
Service Areas
Proudly serving homeowners across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach
- Aventura
- Bal Harbour
- Bay Harbor Islands
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104 municipalities across three counties — and we hold the licence to build in all of them. Not sure about your address? Ask us.
Keep reading
Related guides
- Renovation vs Remodel
Where repair ends and remodelling begins, and why that line often decides whether occupancy becomes part of the conversation.
- How Much Does It Cost to Remodel a House?
What actually moves a renovation number, and why a layout question answered in month one costs nothing and in month six costs a great deal.
- How Much Will My Home Be Worth After a Remodel?
The relationship between what you spend, what you change and what it is worth after.
- A Guide to Choosing a General Contractor
What to ask, what to check and what a licence number actually tells you.
Related services
- Broward County
- Planning & Permitting
- HOA & Historic District Approval
- Residential Permit Expediting
- Zoning & Variance Assistance
- Full-Service Home Renovation
- Kitchen Remodeling
- Bathroom Remodeling
- Roofing
- Windows & Doors
- Design-Build New Homes
- Home Remodeling in Fort Lauderdale
- Home Remodeling in Oakland Park
- Home Remodeling in Lauderdale Lakes
Start here
Tell us about the property
The address, roughly when the building was built, what you want to change, and whether the use of any space is changing. That last one is what makes the occupancy question live.
We check what is already permitted on the property, then survey it - and where the layout raises a fire or occupancy question, we take it to the City’s plans review team before the drawing hardens.
A promised review date, a fee quoted from a table, or an assurance that a change of use will be approved. The City publishes none of those and neither will we.
Thanks — that came through.
Your details are with the Elbaz Construction team and we will come back to you, usually the same or next working day. If it is urgent, call (754) 236-0675.
Ask the hard question
while the plan is soft.
Wilton Manors has put fire and building in one division and offers a meeting before you apply. Both are advantages, and both are only available early. Start with a survey and a conversation about what your layout actually asks for.
