Need Advice

Zohrabyan Hrach · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

I am in the progress of purchasing a lot in Los Angeles County, right
on the border line between LA and Kern County. I have over 2 acres to
work with and i am interested in building one house and selling it.

My question is does anyone have experience with the blueprints and
plans which are available online for example from houseplans.com

I spoke with a few structural engineers and they all said something
different. Some said that they will be able to work with the plan but
will need to redo the entire plan to meet spec. I know they want to
make a sale or charge as much as they can. The house is only 2500 sq
ft which is not that big for the area and some of these guys want
almost 10,000 to just prepare the plans before i can submit to the
county and wait for the city to respond.

I know that there will be some charges from the engineer and the
architect but i do not believe that the amount of work they will do on
the plans will be a great amount. I do respect them for what they do
and who they are, i do not want them to work for free, i just want them

to be honest.

What the engineer will need to do to my plans is go over it and have it

sealed as the city requires that.

Also the plans are available in cad files so the architect or engineer
can get the job done with much ease.

please advise and all your time and help is appreciated.

Hrach

Archived from group: alt>building>engineering

bowgus · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

Zohrabyan Hrach wrote:
> I am in the progress of purchasing a lot in Los Angeles County, right
> on the border line between LA and Kern County. I have over 2 acres to
> work with and i am interested in building one house and selling it.
>
> My question is does anyone have experience with the blueprints and
> plans which are available online for example from houseplans.com
>
>
> I spoke with a few structural engineers and they all said something
> different.

OT and fwiw .. my contractor (ex architect) drew up plans for me from
my sketch and went down to city hall (in his contractor role) for
approval. The contractor consulted an engineer once during the
construction concerning a potential ground (shale) erosion problem (the
engineer advised pour a concrete retaining wall). So ... I don't see
your need for the high priced engineering help.

Bob Morrison · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

In a previous post bowgus wrote...
> OT and fwiw .. my contractor (ex architect) drew up plans for me from
> my sketch and went down to city hall (in his contractor role) for
> approval. The contractor consulted an engineer once during the
> construction concerning a potential ground (shale) erosion problem (the
> engineer advised pour a concrete retaining wall). So ... I don't see
> your need for the high priced engineering help.
>

You must not be in California.

--
Bob Morrison, PE, SE
R L Morrison Engineering Co
Structural & Civil Engineering
Poulsbo WA
bob at rlmorrisonengr dot com

bowgus · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

> You must not be in California.

Not in California, hence the OT and fwiw. So it would seem that
retaining an "engineer" is a requirement when building down there? So
out of curiosity, is a $10,000 fee to come up with a house plan
typical? My little house here of 9600 ft sq cost me $500 for the plans
drawn up from my sketch and which were approved at city hall.

Bob Morrison · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

In a previous post bowgus wrote...
> Not in California, hence the OT and fwiw. So it would seem that
> retaining an "engineer" is a requirement when building down there? So
> out of curiosity, is a $10,000 fee to come up with a house plan
> typical? My little house here of 9600 ft sq cost me $500 for the plans
> drawn up from my sketch and which were approved at city hall.
>

Not sure about costs in CA, but a rough ballpark for my services in WA for
9600 SF would be on the order of $12,000 with adjustments up or down for
building complexity. Of course, we have earthquakes and wind and in some
jurisdictions heavy snow.

For that $12,000 you would get a complete set of engineered calculations
and drawings for framing and foundations. I would put in over 100 hours
for that fee.

--
Bob Morrison, PE, SE
R L Morrison Engineering Co
Structural & Civil Engineering
Poulsbo WA
bob at rlmorrisonengr dot com

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