Plans for Permit

[Jayhem]

I'm curious how those of you who have built your own garages, doing most of the labor yourselves got your building permits?

Did you draw up your own custom garage design and submit it yourself?

Did you consult an engineer?

Did you buy a set of "pre-engineered" plans?

I'm planning to draw up all the plans myself. I'm a Civil Engineer by profession but not in residential design construction. I've been pouring over the local building code (156 pages worth). I can get a permit in my county without a professional engineer to sign off but I will need a PE for my attic trusses or to buy the trusses from an approved truss company who will certify the loads and design.

I've looked at some of the pre-engineered plans and nothing is exactly what I want.

Thoughts?

 

[kbs2244]

You have to visit your local permit office and see what they want.
Every county in the country is different.

Think about something other than trusses for your roof framing.

When I mentioned I was going to use a roof beam (they hadn't asked) the guy a the counter asked what I was going to use for a beam and rafters.
I told an "I" beam and 2x6s (I ended up with 2x8s for better air flow) and he just nodded.
Nothing was written down.

The rough carpentry inspection lasted less than 5 minutes.

 

[kd3pc]

......

Think about something other than trusses for your roof framing.

........

What do you find about trusses...that would rule them out as a roof element????

 

[rburke65]

Yes....go visit your local building / permit department. You are not the first rookie that they have dealt with. They have forms, etc., that tell you the sequence of steps and what ya need. Take money! No.....just stop in and talk to them.

 

[22george]

What they said. I used my neighbors plans of his pole barn as a guide for my pole barn plans that l drew up. The building dept here wasn't picky about the drawing, but l made sure l had all the information they wanted.

 

[Jayhem]

Yes....go visit your local building / permit department. You are not the first rookie that they have dealt with. They have forms, etc., that tell you the sequence of steps and what ya need. Take money! No.....just stop in and talk to them.

The "take money" made my laugh. But, that was my next step. Visit the permit office. I want to have my design pretty close first to make the revisions easier

 

[happy2rv]

My building department required a site plan, building plan, and any engineering drawings. I drew up a site plan and building plan in 3D home architect and took that to the truss manufacturer, an extension of a local lumber yard. They took my drawings and created the engineered truss drawings for the trusses and beam over the garage door opening. Once I had all of that, I submitted their stamped drawings along with my site plan and "blueprint" to get my permit. I can't recall for certain if they even charged anything for the drawings before I ordered everything, but if they did it wasn't much. Honestly they were the best part of the whole build. I had originally planned to frame everything myself, but I didn't have the help available so I went back to them and hired them for the framing. Foundation and concrete were the absolute worst subs to deal with. After that things went pretty smoothly.

 

[Randy in Maine]

My local lumber company drew up the plans for $100 and took that fee off my first lumber purchase. My garage used SIPS that they didn't sell but I then sent that set of plans off to the SIP place to get it all figured out and correctly cut. I presented those plans to the local building inspector and they issued the permit in 2 days.

Money very well spent.

 

[matt_i]

Just do it.

elevation, site plan, foundation plan

The site plan used a mortgage survey and the gobbledeygook "legal description". I had to take a few measurements to add in things like the septic tank and purported location of the drainfield.

The great benefit was that I got to "build" the building on paper, err, computer, first. Its pretty simple with the exception of the 90 degree connector and the internal I-beam header which isn't shown...they are detailed down to the H1Z uplift connectors which you can't see from the screen-shot. Took a couple of winter months messing around with this until I got it right.

I didn't have the truss design in mind, just a generic rafter system and a roof pitch, but that was resolved later by the trussco who provided the design.

The actual drawings were made using Ashlar Vellum Graphite 8.0, its a CAD program. I exported .pdfs and took to FedX/Kinkos and made several D-sized laser prints for a couple dollars per. Those were submitted to township and county, I got a red-stamped set back from the county to serve as the master site plans.

 

[Shootinok]

My jurisdiction was much more concerned about set backs and easements since it was considered a secondary structure and no residence. I drew up my own site plan on a google maps picture close to scale and showed property lines etc.
I did have my trusses engineered as a service the truss company offered, but the county didn't ask for it.

 

[ForceFed70]

I did my own plans. The oldschool way - with a pencil and a ruler. I did pay for truss and beam engineering. It's a requirement in my area and unless you're an engineer yourself you must pay someone.

 

[mikegt4]

When I did my house/garage (early 1990s) I did all my own design work. All strength engineering calculations were included with the design package. I also did my own topographical map because I had access to a transit. It was good enough for them. The only PE stamp that I needed was for the trusses and that came with them. The only problem that I encountered was that I did my design using AutoCad (ver5 or 6 IIRC) which didn't go over well with the old school inspectors who wanted pen and ink drawings. They actually thought that CAD was not as accurate! Wiser heads prevailed and we moved forward.

My biggest problem was communication as the inspectors were only in the office an hour or so a day and the clerical staff seemed clueless and referred everything to the inspector. Of course this was before cell phones so everything was over landline.

 

[raffaelli]

I'm curious how those of you who have built your own garages, doing most of the labor yourselves got your building permits?

Did you draw up your own custom garage design and submit it yourself?

Did you consult an engineer?

Did you buy a set of "pre-engineered" plans?

I'm planning to draw up all the plans myself. I'm a Civil Engineer by profession but not in residential design construction. I've been pouring over the local building code (156 pages worth). I can get a permit in my county without a professional engineer to sign off but I will need a PE for my attic trusses or to buy the trusses from an approved truss company who will certify the loads and design.

I've looked at some of the pre-engineered plans and nothing is exactly what I want.

Thoughts?

Design it yourself. Sign and seal the plans yourself. (assuming you are a PE?) Pay the truss company to provide signed and sealed for the truss.

 

[bczygan]

Many jurisdictions will have a set of drawing standards posted online.

Sheet sizes, required drawings, required scales etc.

Bill

 

[rburke65]

The first permit I had to get was a Down Spout Permit!!!!! WTF? Sanitation Dept. wanted to know what I was going to do with the rain water coming off my roof. Really? I'm on 5 1/2 acres...... I told them the same thing I've been doing with it for the last 4 billion years.....let it fall to the ground! They didn't like that answer. They originally told me I had to dig a dry ell to catch the rain. We were about to start digging when the inspector arrived and I questioned him about it. He looked around at the 5 acres and then told me 'don't worry about it'. Signed off on the permit. Still cost me $185!

 

[n20junkie]

My truss plans were stamped for free, no deposit needed.

I made a nice drawing with sketchup. That was ok for size and height variances as well as the seperate architectural review board, but I needed PE stamped blueprints for the garage that also showed survey and setbacks.

I found an architect that drew everything up from my drawings and survey for $300. All told, I had a few nights work and about $450 for the permits and plans.

 

[JCQuick]

Yeah it really depends on where you are located for me the county required engineered drawings. I found a Truss company near by that not only did truss's but also had a design department cost me $500.00.

My biggest learning lesson was being the owner contractor, It took me 3 trips to get the permit and each trip was several hours of waiting and that is something I do not do well

 

[jetnow1]

Check online for your building dept, many now have everything you need posted online and even have you apply for the permit online. When I built my garage I just had to fill out a form for the building dept that listed what size lumber I was using for my walls, joists and headers., but I had to get signed off by the sanitation dept, the fire dept, the water dept, the town engineer, etc. The most involved was the town engineer who wanted
plans showing how I was handling the roof drainage. It was a legitimate request as the lot was only 50 foot wide and I had a 5 foot setback. I drew up a lot plan showing two
dry wells and argued with him for two weeks, finally got a signoff. Never did draw up
actual plans for the garage, just site plan when I got the zoning variance.

 

[Jayhem]

Design it yourself. Sign and seal the plans yourself. (assuming you are a PE?) Pay the truss company to provide signed and sealed for the truss.

I don't have my PE (yet). My county doesn't require a PE stamp on the plans so long as their reviewer decides that the plans meet all building code. The only thing I need a sign off on is the attic trusses which is certified by the truss company.

I've never pulled a permit myself before but my father has and in this county when you are in Agricultural zoning they are pretty lenient. I have 5 acres and my garage site is 200 feet from my septic and 300 feet from utility easements and roadway. Fingers crossed. I'm meeting with the permit office next week to get a game plan together.

 

[555]

Does your county require every board used in construction to have a county "tax stamp"?
Regards,
John

 

[Jayhem]

Does your county require every board used in construction to have a county "tax stamp"?
Regards,
John

Is that a serious question? I'm 99% sure the answer is no.

 

[James-W]

When I built my garage I had to talk with the city building department and tell them what I wanted to do. A guy came out and I had to show him where I wanted to build it and what size it would be. They had a maximum size of 24X36 and no more than 18ft 6in high from the ground to the peak of the roof.

Then I had to have a detailed drawing of the building to show them. The lumber yard where I bought the material for the garage has an engineer working for them and he drew up (with a computer) a detailed blueprint of the structure for free, as long as you buy the materials from them. Once the city building department saw who drew up the plans, they accepted it without any questions and gave me the permit to put up the building. But I had to follow the blueprint to the letter when I built the garage and there were several inspections along the way. Additionally, I had to get a permit to get a new electrical service as well as a permit to do the wiring inside the building. It wasn't all that difficult and not terribly expensive to get the permits, but I had to wait for the inspector to come out and check everything out before I could continue. All things considered, it went pretty smoothly without any prolonged delays.

 

[raffaelli]

I don't have my PE (yet). My county doesn't require a PE stamp on the plans so long as their reviewer decides that the plans meet all building code. The only thing I need a sign off on is the attic trusses which is certified by the truss company.

I've never pulled a permit myself before but my father has and in this county when you are in Agricultural zoning they are pretty lenient. I have 5 acres and my garage site is 200 feet from my septic and 300 feet from utility easements and roadway. Fingers crossed. I'm meeting with the permit office next week to get a game plan together.

Filing a permit really is not big thing. We do it daily. Spend a few minutes with the people at the counter and let them explain all of the forms and checks you need. the best thing you can do it be prepared with everything filled out when you show up to file.

If you don't plan on running utilities to the building, things should be very easy. You may need to account for the rain water. Once it is on a roof, you generally will need to manage it either into a dry well or into some sort of storm system. Given what kind of property you are on, it may not be a requirement.

Feel free to shoot me a message if you need more help.