Florence damaged my home. Now what?

Once Hurricane Florence passes, homeowners may be dealing with the next steps of assessing and fixing damage incurred from the storm.

Any residents in the city or county of Sumter who experienced damage to any structure is asked to call the Sumter County Building Department.

Steve Campbell, director of the Building Department, said there are several permitting systems that affect recovery efforts, including business licenses, building permits and contractors' licenses.

"Depending on the work you need to do, there may be a need for one or more permits," Campbell said.

A general guide for Sumter when accessing how and when to get a building permit for work on your property, includes:

- Cleanup and do minor repair yourself without a business license, building permit or contractors' license including getting rid of water from carpets and floors; removing wet drywall; replacing wallpaper, tile, flooring and carpeting.

- If you hire someone or a company to do cleanup or minor repair work, including what is listed above, the contractor needs a business license but not a building permit or a contractor's license.

- Nonstructural repair work you do yourself on a house, including installing new shingles or other roofing materials, replacing windows, siding or sheetrock, necessitates a building permit but not a business license.

- If you hire someone to do nonstructural repair work such as what is listed above necessitates the contractor having a business license and a building permit.

- Any other work, including major repairs, structural work and repairs on building that are not homes, requires all three permits.

"Some general advice when dealing with damage is to always take pictures of the damage before you start your cleanup or repair. Shop around for contractors. Always check your contractor's credentials. Ask for quotes, and take extra precaution when money is requested upfront," Campbell said.

Campbell said to call the Building Department to check on contractors and "definitely before any work begins to repair or rebuild. Additionally, you can report any suspicious activity to our office."

For questions or concerns, contact the Sumter City/County Building Inspections Department at (803) 774-1617, go online to http://sumtersc.gov/building-permits.aspx, or visit the office at 12 W. Liberty St.