Contact Us

Permit Management & Design-Build Services in St. Pete & Tampa Bay

Design-build and permits, one contract

Ethicore draws your project, coordinates the engineering, and takes the permit application through plan review with the city or county, including every round of comments and resubmittals. The same team then builds it, schedules each inspection, and closes out the permit, so design and construction sit under one contract with one point of contact.

Check what needs a permit
Waterfront Florida home with a clay tile roof, palm trees, and a boat dock, 98% client satisfaction
Five-star review from Marina J.: “Working with Ethicore on our full remodel was seamless from start to finish.” 40+ years of experience
1300+ projects completed and counting
Waterfront Florida home with a clay tile roof, palm trees, and a boat dock, 98% client satisfactionFive-star review from Marina J.: “Working with Ethicore on our full remodel was seamless from start to finish.” 40+ years of experience1300+ projects completed and counting

Design-build, explained

The same people draw it, permit it, and build it

Drawings and engineering come first

We start by measuring the house and gathering what already exists: the survey, the permit history, and any condo or HOA rules that apply to the work. Our designers draw the plans, and where walls, beams, windows, or the roof change, an engineer prepares and seals the structural details, including the wind-load and flood-zone information Florida reviewers expect. You choose finishes and fixtures while the drawings are completed, and each selection is priced into the contract. If your association has to approve the work, we prepare that package as well.

Printed floor plans of a kitchen and bathroom with dimensions and appliance locations
Hands filling in a printed project worksheet beside a tape measure, scale ruler, and laptop

Plan review, then inspections at each stage

We submit the application to the city or county and track it through plan review. When reviewers send comments, our designers and engineer revise the drawings and resubmit, so you never have to translate code notes yourself. Once the permit is issued, it is posted on site and the crews build to the approved plans. Inspectors visit at the stages the permit calls for, such as footings, framing, the plumbing, electrical, and mechanical rough-ins, and insulation. We schedule each one, meet the inspector, and correct anything flagged before it gets covered up.

Floor plan nailed to a wall stud inside a framed house under construction

Final inspections and a closed permit

After the finishes are in, we book the final inspection for each trade and walk the work with the inspector. A permit is only finished when the city or county closes it, so we follow it until the record shows final approval, and on condo projects we close out with the association too. At handover you get the approved drawings, the inspection record, and your product, finish, and warranty paperwork, which you will want when you insure, refinance, or sell the house.

Finished powder room with a brass mirror, marble console sink, and patterned tile

Design-build vs. separate firms

One team from drawings to closed permit

What changes when the same people draw, permit, and build your project.

One design-build contract

  • Plans drawn with construction and pricing in mind
  • Every selection priced before demolition starts
  • Reviewer comments answered by the designers and engineer who drew the plans
  • The team that drew the plans answers the inspector on site
  • One contract and one point of contact until the permit closes

Separate designer and contractor

  • Drawings handed to a builder who has to price and interpret them
  • Questions bounce between two firms while the job waits
  • Inspector questions routed back to a designer who isn’t on site
  • Two contracts, and two firms to call when something changes
  • Pricing waits until a builder interprets the finished drawings

An open permit follows the house

Work done without a permit, or a permit that was never closed, tends to surface at a bad time: during a sale, an insurance inspection, or a refinance, when fixing it can mean opening finished walls. Complete drawings also get through plan review with fewer rounds of comments, and a builder who drew the plans can answer an inspector on the spot. Design and construction are quoted together, scoped to your drawings and finish selections, so you see the full cost before work begins.

Set up a site visit
Black vanity with LED toe-kick lighting beside a glass shower
Brass tub spout and valve on gray herringbone tile
Close-up of dark wood cabinetry with slim black pulls

FAQ

Questions about permits and design-build

More on permits, timelines, pricing, and aftercare is on our full FAQ page.

It varies by city or county and by how complete the drawings are. Complete drawings, including the structural, wind-load, and flood-zone details Florida reviewers expect, tend to get through with fewer rounds of comments. Because plan review is one of the steps that affects a schedule most, we build it into your project schedule during planning and track the application until the permit is issued.

Yes. We gather the association’s rules during planning, alongside the survey and permit history, since some cover work hours, elevator use, or materials such as sound underlayment under new floors. We prepare the approval package with the drawings and specifications, and on condo projects we close out with the association at the end as well as with the city or county.

A permit isn’t finished until the city or county closes it. Work done without a permit, or a permit left open, tends to come up during a sale, refinance, or insurance inspection, and fixing it then can mean opening finished walls. We follow each permit until the record shows final approval, and you keep the approved drawings and inspection record with your house documents.

Design and construction are quoted together, scoped to your drawings and finish selections. You choose finishes and fixtures while the drawings are completed, so each selection is priced into the contract before demolition, and anything not yet chosen is listed as an allowance. The price covers design, materials, labor, and project management, so you see the full cost before work begins.

In a FEMA special flood hazard area, the city or county compares the cost of your remodel to the market value of the house. If the work reaches 50% of that value, the whole house may have to meet current flood rules, which for an older, lower home can mean elevating it. We check where your budget lands early and include the flood-zone information reviewers expect in the drawings.

Keep exploring

Contact us

Let’s Begin Your Design Journey

Whether you’re planning a refined home or a distinctive commercial space, we’d love to hear from you. Share a few details, and we’ll be in touch soon.