best way to get construction plans

[TwinCharged RX-7]

Hi all. I'll be building a new garage, currently have a shed that cant fit a car.

I'll be going for a 2 car, 30 x 30 with attic trusses. I plan to have usable space / man cave upstairs.

I'll be needing a zoning variance as the structure is too large and too high for the current residential rules it falls under. My lawyer says it shouldn't be a problem and I see a few others a few blocks away that seem to have gotten approvals as well.

Before I can go to the town, I need drawings, and if approved, I'll need construction drawings.

I tried a few engineering/architecture firms, but they are quoting me $2k just for the first round of drawings. I feel that is just insane. Am I wrong? What have others done and what does this stage of the project usually cost?

Thanks in advance. For context, i live in a residential area on an oversized corner lot in northern NJ. The yard is much higher than the street, so the garage slab will probably be about 3 feet deep, so the lower portion of the wall would be concrete.

 

[The Cobbler]

I had a colleague draw my plans. I gave him a case of beer. I could have done my own as the city doesn't require professional drawings if homeowner is building. they just need all the dimensions etc for their records . The building & engineering dept certainly liked the professional looking drawings tho!

 

[Stuart in MN]

I found this online:

Building garages in New Jersey may be different than other US locations because many building departments require plan certification by NJ engineer or architect. Where calculations are required, it is necessary for the Professional Engineer (P.E) consultant to review, mark-up, stamp and sign (certify) the garage plans and calculations submitted for the building permit application. In some cases it is just a matter of their review and stamp to certify. Fees often are a few hundred dollars. Alternatively,
home owners are often allowed to self-certify, or sign a release with the building dept, thereby assuming liability in their project. Customers often do this on smaller garage projects.

 

[TwinCharged RX-7]

Thanks for the comments.

So I'm guessing I either need to find a friend with cad skills or spend a solid weekend in sketch-up learning how to do it.

 

[James-W]

I made a rough drawing of what I wanted and took it to the lumber yard where I wanted to buy all the materials for my garage, They have a guy there who will take your rough drawing and using a cad program will design the trusses and make a detailed drawing of the building you want to put up. The drawing will have all the specifications you need to hand in to the city and it will be done to code. The best part is that as long as you buy the materials from them there is no charge for them to draw up the plans.