General Contractor in Fort Collins

We are a general contractor in Fort Collins for new homes, commercial buildings, tenant improvements and Old Town renovations. Fort Collins is the county seat and largest municipality of Larimer County, home to Colorado State University, with Horsetooth Reservoir to the west and the Cache la Poudre River and Spring Creek running through town at roughly 4,982 feet. The city has adopted building codes since 1924 and has kept adding local requirements since, and that history shapes how we build here.

2024 codes since April 2026

City of Fort Collins Building Services, at 281 N. College Avenue, issues permits and refers fire code questions to Poudre Fire Authority. For permits submitted on or after April 1, 2026, the 2024 International Building, Residential, Energy Conservation, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Plumbing, Swimming Pool and Spa, Existing Building and Property Maintenance Codes apply with local amendments. The 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code, adopted statewide, the 2023 National Electrical Code, effective since August 1, 2023, and the 2017 accessibility standard are also listed.

Tested, not just inspected

Fort Collins' local requirements have accumulated over two decades: passive radon systems since 2005, with the 2003 IRC; building air tightness testing for all new heated buildings since 2012; and fire sprinklers in townhomes and duplexes since 2014. Under the current energy code testing protocols, residential and multifamily projects need air tightness testing and mechanical systems performance reports, and commercial projects need air leakage testing and commissioning.

Two snow load numbers

Fort Collins' structural design criteria use a 35 psf default ground snow load under the residential code. Under the building code, the minimum ground snow load is 50 psf (ultimate) for Risk Categories 1 and 2, with a final roof snow load of at least 43 psf. Frost depth is 30 inches, the Seismic Design Category is B, and wind speed comes from the Front Range Gust Map. Which number governs depends on which code the building is designed under, so we settle that before the structural engineer starts.

Spring Creek and the Poudre

On July 28, 1997, 14.5 inches of rain fell in 31 hours over Fort Collins. In the Spring Creek Flood that followed, five people died in the Johnson Mobile Home Park after debris blocked a railroad underpass. The Cache la Poudre River and Spring Creek both run through the city, so sites near either begin with the current floodplain map. Under every site, the Colorado Geological Survey maps swelling soil and rock across the Front Range corridor, from Fort Collins south, and recommends site-specific testing, and summer hail is frequent along the Front Range.

Old Town and 247 landmarks

Old Town was declared a local historic district in 1979 under Ordinance No. 170, and since 1971 the city has designated 247 individual landmarks. Owners of landmarked properties must go through landmark design review for most exterior projects under Chapter 14 of the Municipal Code. For an addition or exterior renovation on a designated building, that review is the first approval, and our renovation process plans for it.

Our Fort Collins work includes new homes and additions, commercial construction and Old Town renovations, each built to the testing and review requirements the city has added over a century of code adoption.

Fort Collins on the map

Nearby, we also build in Loveland and Windsor. See every Front Range service area, or request a consultation for a Fort Collins project.