# Tips requested on doing a house addition **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-requested-on-doing-a-house-addition/807742 "2018-01-29T17:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-requested-on-doing-a-house-addition/807742/41 "2018-02-05T13:17:14Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Remember, [contrasting styles](http://definition.org/worst-home-renovation-fails/3/) add interest. Ha! Love it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-requested-on-doing-a-house-addition/807742/42 "2018-02-05T14:54:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Some contractors might have CAD programs that they use, but few really know how to use them. It’s going to be more common in big commercial firms, but small residential contractors _that do garage additions_? Rare. > > Anyway, you don’t just push a button in a CAD program to spit out structural plans. Engineers are going to have all sorts of boilerplate details that they cut and paste into all their plans, but you still have to draw up the plans, and you have to know what you’re doing to do it right. I work with these guys all the time, and I know I couldn’t do it. You may be facing tougher standards in CA than the rest of the country. A garage addition like this is small potatoes elsewhere. There isn’t much the contractor even needs the software for. The foundation and existing walls need to be strong enough to support the new load or need rebuilding. It won’t take a structural engineer to spec that. The lumber company will supply engineered joists and trusses for the addition that will include the engineering report. They may even be able to make assembled wall panels if the walls need replacing. I’m finishing up a 960 sq. ft. addition. I used nothing but MS Paint to make line drawings, specified 2x6 wall framing, and provided the spec sheets for joists and trusses. No architects, no engineers. It is that easy. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-requested-on-doing-a-house-addition/807742/43 "2018-02-05T15:38:50Z")
I always did my own drawings for building permits … the local plan checkers were always happy to add in all the code requirements … and a lot of that was bullshit, like specifying the maximum thermal conductance of any new windows, in spite non-code windows not being available at retail … never had any rejected and the worst mistake was having to have a window within 4 feet of the building corner, the plan checker just simply added the shear wall specifications and stapled these to the drawing set … strictly paper and pencil, T-squares and triangles, never bothered to learn to use any stinking software … I worked for a guy on a bedroom addition and the foundation plans were sketched on a cocktail napkin and photocopied … even had the name of the bar still on the official copies … funnier than hell … Any span over eight feet wide has to be engineered … so my roof framing plans were just a squiggily line and the note “Engineered Trusses” … when the trusses are delivered, the driver would hand me a couple of sets of drawings for the trusses, one set stapled to the official work site copies and the other the framing inspector would take and staple to the county’s official set … easy peasy … I have 35 years experience building homes … if you’ve seen one post-and-beam floor, you’ve seen them all … cantilever a second floor deck, no problem … the home I live in now has a 14 foot span over the kitchen, so some engineer had to say the 4x16 beams were good enough … it’s just not that hard to draw up these things if you already know exactly what it’s supposed to look like … The worst grief I ever got was when my wife became alarmed about me downloading pictures of naked fairies to include on all the drawings … so I added a few dragons in flight on the elevations … that was an incredible help as the inspectors would take one look at these drawings and smile that big shit-eating smile … and I knew I passed, the fellas would be laughing to hard to notice any mistakes … ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-requested-on-doing-a-house-addition/807742/44 "2018-02-07T19:26:33Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Also verify that the city zoning in your area allows this. > > And ask the architect about making this something that could in the future be made into a separate apartment. Add some kitchen facilities, an outside stairway entrance (probably required to have 2 exits anyway), a lockable door into the rest of the house, etc. Might not cost much to do that now, but it certainly gives you options for the future. Related to that: find out whether there are any laws regarding having a multi-family home on the property. In practicality, this is unlikely to cause issues but if you were to rent the place out, and that was for some reason not permitted, you might unknowingly violate some local zoning laws. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-requested-on-doing-a-house-addition/807742.md?page=2)