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Posted by hawgeye on December 29, 2006, 4:14 pm
"Zohrabyan Hrach" wrote...
>I am in the progress of purchasing a lot in Los Angeles County, right
> on the border line between LA and Kern County. I have over 2 acres to
> work with and i am interested in building one house and selling it.
>
> My question is does anyone have experience with the blueprints and
> plans which are available online for example from houseplans.com
>
> I spoke with a few structural engineers and they all said something
> different. Some said that they will be able to work with the plan but
> will need to redo the entire plan to meet spec. I know they want to
> make a sale or charge as much as they can. The house is only 2500 sq
> ft which is not that big for the area and some of these guys want
> almost 10,000 to just prepare the plans before i can submit to the
> county and wait for the city to respond.
>
> I know that there will be some charges from the engineer and the
> architect but i do not believe that the amount of work they will do on
> the plans will be a great amount. I do respect them for what they do
> and who they are, i do not want them to work for free, i just want them
> to be honest.
>
> What the engineer will need to do to my plans is go over it and have it
> sealed as the city requires that.
>
> Also the plans are available in cad files so the architect or engineer
> can get the job done with much ease.
>
> please advise and all your time and help is appreciated.
First thing I would do is make sure who and what needs to be stamped in
order to get permits and proceed with building. Does the land fall under
the jurisdiction of a city or is it in an unincorporated county. For
single-family residential units, most municipalities don't require that the
drawings be stamped as long as everything meets code, setbacks, etc. While
others only require that only certain drawings be stamped by a Registered
Architect or Engineer.
The problem with buying those "mail-order" house plans is that they are
generic. They don't take into account where the structure is going to be
built and all the codes required in that area. If you want to make any
changes/adjustments to the drawings, then it will cost you extra.
Just because the drawings are available in cad, does not mean they are
useful.
In most cases you are much better off having the drawings done to fit your
needs. Look around for a general floor plan that you like, make notes of
any changes you'd like, then take that to an architect/engineer (if the
drawings need to be stamped) or to a knowledgeable architectural designer.
Doing. some homework in advance will save you a lot of money and grief in
the long run.
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