Inspection departments around here let the homeowner submit hand drawings and do the work as long as it meets code. So, if you are going to do the work, don’t hire an architect as they only draw up the plans. Do that yourself. Hire a civil engineer to do the calculations, talk to them, have a conversation about what options are available to do what you want to do.
When I built my workshop, I used generic plans from a kit plan from a local building supply. I took those to the civil engineer and they reviewed the plan, created a concrete foundation plan, and stamped the drawings. I submitted that to the county. It was like $250 for the engineering.
Architects draw the design, engineers do the calculations. The inspection dept wants to see the engineer stamp which essentially means the calculations have been done. An astute architect would work with a engineer or through experience kind of know what you can and can’t do, but architects are more on the design side. An architect could draw something that can’t be feasibly built, but it looks great on paper. The engineer has to work out the stress level in the structural members. Anything can be done, given enough time and money. It an issue of what is reasonable/feasible. The engineer will help with that.
