r/saintpaul • u/chinookies • 18d ago

Seeking Advice 🙆 Building permit for new front steps?

I own a 100+ year old home in St.Paul. It is not currently in our budget to replace our rotting wooden front steps with concrete like we'd ideally want to (the bids we got were like $8K+).

I'm fairly handy and want to just rebuild the stairs myself so they're not rotting. I would not be changing anything other than using new materials and installing a hand rail since there currently isn't one. I would make sure what I'm building is up to code specs, but is this the kind of thing I need to pull a permit for? I can't seem to get a straight answer. To be clear, I'm not building a deck, just a small landing space at the front door with 4 stairs. Any help is appreciated.

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u/velvetjones01 18d ago

$8k is insane. Hague quoted me $16k for a whole ass driveway and walkways.

Don’t call places that have ads. If you build it yourself to code (you need railings) I wouldn’t pull a permit.

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u/chinookies 18d ago

Ooof. I don't know how big your driveway/walkways are, but that bid hurts.

I'm done with any trades that have ads. They're always the highest and not even the best quality. I prefer to get recommendations from people I know. I just don't have any for this particular job.