Who issues permits in McLean
Fairfax County Department of Land Development Services (LDS) issues building permits for McLean homes. Applications are submitted online through the county's Planning and Land Use System, PLUS. Either the property owner or a licensed contractor can apply.
Official Fairfax County sources
Kitchen work that typically needs a permit
Fairfax County's own guidance lists the following kinds of residential work as needing a permit:
- Interior alterations, which the county says include kitchen renovations, removing an existing wall and building new walls.
- New, repaired or relocated electrical fixtures.
- New, repaired or relocated plumbing fixtures.
- New, repaired or relocated mechanical or gas fixtures, which the county's examples include range hoods.
Kitchen work that typically doesn't
- Kitchen cabinets and/or countertops on their own.
- Direct like-for-like replacement of electrical, plumbing and mechanical items in the same location.
Most full kitchen remodels include at least some permitted work. A cabinet-and-countertop update with fixtures swapped in place may not. Your written scope from Kitchen Kings will say which permits the project needs and who is responsible for pulling them.
Load-bearing walls
Changes to load-bearing walls are interior alterations that need a permit, and the county's plan review looks for structural details. When plans are prepared by a Virginia-registered architect or professional engineer, they must carry that professional's seal and signature. If your McLean kitchen plan opens a wall, expect a structural review to be part of the scope.
Range hoods and makeup air
Professional-style ranges often come with powerful hoods. The 2021 Virginia Residential Code (Section M1503.6) requires makeup air for kitchen exhaust systems capable of exhausting more than 400 cubic feet per minute, with limited exceptions. That can affect your hood choice and the mechanical scope.
HOAs and covenants
Many McLean neighborhoods have a homeowners or civic association, and some have covenants that touch exterior changes. A kitchen remodel is mostly interior, but a new hood vent through an exterior wall, a new window, or a dumpster in the driveway may fall under your association's rules. Check your HOA documents before work starts, and ask early if anything visible from outside is changing. Kitchen Kings can supply the scope details your association asks for.