Plan presentation

[MikeT]

John, I asked this question in the bigger forum but didn't get much clarification as yet.  I have taken your VC plans and made the following modifications:

1. Added a full basement with one wall serving as a retaining wall with a hill upslope
2. Arranged the floor to include a double stacking spiral stair from the basement to the loft above the main floor.
3. Changed the location of some of the windows and doors to suit what I want to do.
4. Added a deck
5. Added outdoor stairs from my parking area down to the house
6. Two retaining walls up and downslope of the house will allow the house to sit on stable, level land.
7. Forgot the Jotul wood stove
8. And the fire suppression system.

Now my question:
Is there an accepted order for how I present these plans to the building department?  What I mean is: should my first page include the site plan and section views?  Since I now have a full basement, where do I present the various levels and sections?  What is the accepted way of noting where there is more detail, and should the detail be immediately proximate or can it be on another sheet?  Should I have a separate framing plan for the roof and the floor (separate from the plan view on your drawings with lots of that information on one view)?  Do I need to show all the electical wiring patterns?  What about the locations for my sprinkers?  Does the wood stove need a special drawing or will a note suffice?

Any help would be appreciated.

[John Raabe]

If your building department does not have specific guidelines, I would suggest the following:

• Put the site plan first in the set as it gives the big picture and allows people to understand which way you come at the house and which elevations point which compass direction. (Don't forget the north arrow.)
• Next you have a choice, you could either start at the bottom with the basement plan or have the main floor and major cross section. The order isn't too important but these three drawings will give them most of the information on how the place is built. If there are details called out, point to the area and give a letter and page number if on another sheet (such as B/4 = detail B on sheet. 4. If the detail can be beside the drawing you can just point an arrow where it applies.
• If your roof is complex you may need to do a roof framing plan. However, often you can just show the rafters and overhang right on the upper floor plan or in the cross section and won't need to do anything more for a simple gable roof.
• Sprinkler heads I would show with a symbol on the floorplans (you don't need to show the piping layout). Most Bldg. Departments do not require an electrical plan but do want to see the smoke detectors on the floorplans. Also show where the panel box is.
• For the wood stove I would call out the location on the floorplan and supply brand name, show the clearances and any non-combustible surfaces and have a note about installation per manufacturer. Also call out the chimney (masonry or class 1 stainless steel are the two most common). On the elevation show the chimney 2' higher than the peak of the roof and show if it will be boxed in. Show how it goes through the 2nd floor.

That will cover the most common requirements and you won't have to hang your head when you submit that level of detail. If they need more they can ask. No need to figure things out now that you may change later anyway (wiring layouts are never done per plan!)

When you go to pick up the drawings, bring a scale, pencil, pen and white out. You can often satisfy the inspector or plans checker right there at the counter by adding a few notes or a quick sketch detail. Don't get too anal  . This is how professional builders do it. Maybe they'll take them out to the truck and bring them back in in 20 minutes.

In general ask yourself, "can a reasonable person who understands construction figure out what to do from this?" If so, stop.
Too much detail can cause as many problems as too little and it's much more difficult to keep coordinated. Also, you may then have to explain why you changed your mind when you later decide to do something different.  

[glenn kangiser]

Maybe they'll take them out to the truck and bring them back in in 20 minutes.

Will they be bloody after the 20 minutes --Oh ----you were talking about the plans--not the plan checker. :-/

[MikeT]

Thanks, John.
I took what I had to the county yesteday (for a presubmittal review).  They didn't spend  a lot of time but they did like what they saw and I got compliments from the people behind me in line.

I now have to get letters of service availability from the water department and the sewer/septic folks.  I have to get my road access permit finalized (already underway), and I have to have my geo-techs give my plans an okay (that turns out the be the most important thing).

Maybe by June or July I can break ground.

Best,
Mike

[Amanda_931]

Good.  

Geo-techs being like the people who approve septic tanks?  You can pretty well tell what they'll say by digging a hole, pouring water into it--too fast and too slow to empty are both bad.

Or the ones who are concerned with the bearing capacity of your soil?  

 

[MikeT]

The geo-techs being the latter, the ones who look at my proposed plans and say "yes" this is plans conforms to the issues we said you needed to address on the site---location, footing depth, retaining wall requirements, cut and fill slope requirements, etc.  The county passes off on approving these things  and instead defers to the geo-techs who wrote my initial report.  I have to give the county a letter from the geo-techs stating that the plans meet with their approval.  Then the land use gets approved and then I have to satisfy the building folks.  Since I have an engineers stamp and will be following prescriptive path for the rest, I do not anticipate anything more than modifications required as notes when I meet with them.

MT