getting plans wet stamped

[altaoaks]

ok you "been there, done that" builders out there, the million dollar gorrilla in the house evades me.  maybe i am a bit green, but i cannot seem to find an answer to my big ?.  that is...HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO GET THE PLANS WET STAMPED, OR A SEAL FOR THE NAZI COMMANDOS TO ISSUE A BUILDING PERMIT?

now, i am going to the building department next week, but i googled the subject when i couldn't find it in the forum, (it must be addressed in more than passing thoughts somewhere here and i just could not find it.)  i was shocked to see an article which stated that it is  illegal in all 50 states to wet stamp a pre-purchased plan.  that can't be correct.  too many folks have built with country cottage plans for that to be right.

so what is the process in california?  do you need an architect or an engineer?  is there another choice?  is it illegal, or is it ok?  i guess i will know more next week after visiting the placer county building department, but i would like to have a better handle on this before i go there.

[MountainDon]

Why not telephone the office and ask? I did that here years ago and found that home owner/builder plans were fine as were plans purchased from anywhere else. The CID office has a list of all the things that must be included, things they look for/at in the plans. I believe there are some locales, ststes even... maybe Nevada.. that have architect group inspired laws regarding plans. Sometimes the single family residential home is exempt from such rules. But the situation can vary a lot from locale to locale.

[glenn kangiser]

As Don said, ask first.

If you have already been to the tax collec I mean building and safety department and they told you you need the plans wet stamped then you are entering the good ol' boy system where the building department makes sure that at least one or more of their cronies also gets a piece of your pie.

They will want compliance with many issues likely if they won't take them as they are, so I would assume they will want energy calcs - electrical plans,, snow load, foundation check etc.   as long as everyone and the school system gets some of your money.  Once they have fleeced you of enough money that you won't be able to build your project then they will issue the permit for a big fee and of course dependent on you paying the school system protection money.

Short answer - they want you to pay an architect or engineer to review and correct your plans to their requirements.  I also am from Kalifornia.

[rocking23nf]

I hand drew plans in around 20 mins on a piece of paper and it got approved, and im in a strict permit area.

I had to get a development permit from the county, basically allowing me to build withing x number of feet of my property line.
then a building permit and electrical permit.  Since i was building a bedroom addition i didnt need a plumbing/heating permit.

[John Raabe]

Try asking, "What would I need to do to not have to take these to an engineer?"

[davidj]

Just to clarify, "wet stamped" means a licensed engineer (or possibly licensed architect???) has reviewed the plans and, according to their calculations the plans are structrually sound.  This is in addition to all of the other building code requirements.

If your design complies with a set of rules, you can be considered as using "conventional light-frame construction" and don't need an engineers stamp.  You still might need calculations for vertical loads in where regular span tables don't work, but these could be done by someone without an engineers license.  My plans (Plumas County) went through at the end of 2007 and were conventional construction.  

On Jan 1 2008, the 2007 CBC went into effect and the rules on conventional construction were tightened up.  One specific change is that anything over a ground snow load of 50psf now needs engineering - i.e. most places in the mountains. Anything "interesting" in the high-risk earthquake areas also needs to be engineered. Another constraint is that open porches have to be <6ft wide.  If I had applied for my permit a week later I would have had to have my design engineered. In general, I think the reason they want an engineering analysis is for horizontal forces, which I'm assuming require more complicated analysis than vertical forces.

There are some details on conventional construction requirements here, but note these are for CA in general and individual jurisdictions can have tighter standards.

I'm sure standard plans can pass engineering without changes, although they will have to be evaluated individually based on where the structure is located, not in bulk (which may be what you are saying).  I.e. everyone who buys has to pay, not the person selling the plans.