Window & Door Repair in New Canaan, CT

One part of New Canaan is a Historic District under the Town’s own rules. The Town describes it as an outgrowth of Church Hill, perhaps better known as God’s Acre. It was established on June 27, 1963. Three churches stand there.

The Town’s Historic District Commission looks after it. The commission says it recognizes the importance of allowing property owners the greatest possible freedom of action. It also says its duty is to preserve the buildings and sites in the District. For new construction and additions, it says it judges only how they fit the buildings beside them in scale, mass and material.

If your house is in the District, a change to its outside may call for the commission’s Certificate of Appropriateness. Meetings are normally held on the fourth Thursday of the month, at 4:00 p.m. in the Board Room at Town Hall. There are none in August, November or December. Its page posts the certificate application and the commission’s approved regulations side by side. Read what the regulations say about windows and doors, then phone 203-594-3104 with whatever they leave open.

New Canaan’s Building Department says there are no local building codes specific to the town. The one it applies is Connecticut’s State Building Code. It reviews the plans for a project before it issues a permit, then inspects the work.

Do you need a permit? The department’s posted answer is short. If the work is governed or regulated by the code, a permit is required to erect, change or alter. It recommends a call to the building inspector’s office if you are in doubt. That office is at 77 Main Street, 203-594-3012.

The same page is blunt about skipping that call. It says there is no grandfathering for work done without a required permit. An after-the-fact permit, it adds, goes through the same review and approval process.