Paultergeist
Active member
Greetings!
Sorry for the long post. I just started writing and it all flowed.....
I may be way over my head on this idea, but here goes:
I am interested in expanding my (attached) existing 16' x 16' garage to the *open* side, where the property will accomodate another 10 feet of space. My rough idea is to keep the current exterior wall, creat a single doorway through it, and have another "shop room" along the side of the exisiting garage. Space-wise, lot-wise, set-backs, etc, such an idea would be in compliance with local codes.
The roof would be the biggest challenge. The existing roof is a "hip" type of roof, and I would want to carry (extend) the existing look over any new addition I might be able to build.
Called (5) architects; only (1) was even willing to come out to my house and observe a small project such as the one I am proposing. Architech wants $1800 + $200 printing costs for a set of plans. That price seems steep to me, but that is not what has me frozen in my tracks. Architech says that he is not sure about extending that hip roof -- might have to open up the roof and extend a beam all the way down the ridge of the garage into the house portion (seems extreme) and that a structural engineer would have to be involved to perform load calculations. So.......as I understand it......first I hire an architech to conjur up a set of plans to the tune of about $2K, THEN I get an engineer involved (another $? cost), and THEN I determine IF this thing can reasonably be built? No way am I going to blow 2K plus just to ask a question.
I would like to try my hand at creating my own set of plans, and subject these plans to the review process. I might learn a lot along the way, and it has to be cheaper. I am envisioning a computer software program which will allow me to work on the design on my computer, then put the print-out on to a thumb-drive which can be brought to Kinko's, etc for printing on big paper.
Any ideas on the software? I want to be budget-sensitive here as well...?
Sorry for the long post. I just started writing and it all flowed.....
I may be way over my head on this idea, but here goes:
I am interested in expanding my (attached) existing 16' x 16' garage to the *open* side, where the property will accomodate another 10 feet of space. My rough idea is to keep the current exterior wall, creat a single doorway through it, and have another "shop room" along the side of the exisiting garage. Space-wise, lot-wise, set-backs, etc, such an idea would be in compliance with local codes.
The roof would be the biggest challenge. The existing roof is a "hip" type of roof, and I would want to carry (extend) the existing look over any new addition I might be able to build.
Called (5) architects; only (1) was even willing to come out to my house and observe a small project such as the one I am proposing. Architech wants $1800 + $200 printing costs for a set of plans. That price seems steep to me, but that is not what has me frozen in my tracks. Architech says that he is not sure about extending that hip roof -- might have to open up the roof and extend a beam all the way down the ridge of the garage into the house portion (seems extreme) and that a structural engineer would have to be involved to perform load calculations. So.......as I understand it......first I hire an architech to conjur up a set of plans to the tune of about $2K, THEN I get an engineer involved (another $? cost), and THEN I determine IF this thing can reasonably be built? No way am I going to blow 2K plus just to ask a question.
I would like to try my hand at creating my own set of plans, and subject these plans to the review process. I might learn a lot along the way, and it has to be cheaper. I am envisioning a computer software program which will allow me to work on the design on my computer, then put the print-out on to a thumb-drive which can be brought to Kinko's, etc for printing on big paper.
Any ideas on the software? I want to be budget-sensitive here as well...?
