The success or failure of your construction project will depend on how well you have communicated your intentions to your construction trades, material suppliers and turnkey vendors BEFORE they begin working on your project. To that end, your plans and engineering are crucial to a positive result.
A well-drawn set of plans with enough copies for all your workers will save you hours of arguments during construction. A well-engineered set of plans will save you days on your schedule and give you a home you can live in for years to come.
A set of plans is actually your ‘graphical’ specification for your construction project. It should represent your ideas and expectations in measurable units. It should keep your workers from making random decisions or assumptions about your new home. Don’t cut corners here.
Your plan should be reviewed by a licensed structural engineer to ensure that it will meet code from a ‘structural’ point of view. This service isn’t cheap but it is relatively cheap ‘insurance’. Structural engineers must be responsible for their work on a professional level. They charge accordingly for the responsibility they take on. In our litigious society, structural engineers are your first line of defense when it comes to your structure.
A structural engineer will review your soil sample test results and your floorplans and determine the best way to build the major structural components of your home: your foundation and your frame. For example, he will design the concrete reinforcement for your foundation – including concrete strength (psi), foundation beam dimensions, rebar thickness and quality, stirrup size and spacing, define the rebar mat or wire mesh and more. For the frame, he will determine the location, orientation, dimensions and spacing of your floor or ceiling joists. He will include and size structural beams and headers. He will determine the proper sizes of structural joist and beam hangers, straps, hold-downs, structural steel, etc. He will review the design of your roof and ensure that it will work as intended and that all loads from the roof are supported from below.
When complete, your plans should include as much information as needed so that workers can deliver the home you expect to receive. Some suggestions are that your plan should include the following: a ‘Plot Plan’ showing the property dimensions and the placement of the house including drainage type, easements, setbacks, etc. Foundation structural plan and engineering, exterior ‘elevations’ (views of the front, rear and sides), floorplans for all levels, indications regarding all doors, windows, cabinet locations, appliance requirements, plumbing issues as determined by your licensed plumbing contractor, including bath fixtures, floor drains, gas outlets, water heater locations, exterior hose bibbs, etc., HVAC issues as determined by your licensed HVAC contractor (possibly provided separately by your HVAC contractor) should indicate thermostat locations, A/C duct chases and equipment sizes and locations, register placement, etc., electrical requirements as determined by your licensed Electrical contractor including electric meter and load center locations, switches, plugs, lighting, fans, etc, floor finishes, ceiling heights, specialty ceiling finishes, a cross-section view of the home, sectional views of confusing aspects of the home, typical details and notes regarding specific requirements. Joist/Beam and Roof Rafter layouts should be included as provided by your engineer. There will certainly be other issues to include that you will have to determine based on your specific needs.
It is tempting to save a buck and leave design and structural decisions up to your talented construction staff. After all, they are craftsmen. But since they may not carry the licenses to make the decisions that they will have to make to build your home, if there is a structural failure, you may have no recourse – but that will, of course, be a question for your attorney.
Items that you should check:
- Soil report has been completed
- Typically soil testing is done by a geotechnical service that you hire. Although you can use the seller’s existing soil test, it is suggested that you have your own done. A minimum of 3 cylinders will be taken at random as determined by the geotechnical service or engineer.
- Soil report has been provided to the foundation engineer
- Coordinate delivery with your geotechnical service and your engineer and ensure the reports are complete.
- Construction ‘working drawings’ are completed and all changes (red-lines) have been approved by the buyer and the construction supervisor.
- NOW is the time to finalize all changes.
- Construction ‘working drawings’ include a detailed plot plan which shows all property boundaries, setback lines and the exact foundation placement dimensions.
- Double-check the plot plan and document any physical barriers that may not be noted on it – such as telephone poles, light poles, storm sewer inlets, sewer clean-outs, manholes, fire hydrants, etc.
- Construction plot plan shows property grade and required foundation elevation ‘datum’ heights
- In general, check for drainage and lot elevation.
- Construction ‘working drawings’ include foundation engineering
- Construction ‘working drawings’ include frame engineering including floor and ceiling joists, beam, and roof engineering
- Construction ‘working drawings’ include at least 10 full sets (or as required by the builder)
- Often, you will need up to 20 sets of plans for bidding and construction. Note that not everyone needs your engineering plans. Also, you won’t get them all back without a lot of work.
- Reduced-scale (1/8″ typ.) drawings are available on 11″x17″ paper for easy copying and distribution
- Reduced-scale drawings are much cheaper to reproduce and manage. Coordinate with your architect or building designer or have them reduced at a copy shop. Of course get permission from your architect or building designer to avoid copyright issues.
- Construction ‘working drawings’ are available as ‘Adobe Acrobat®’ format for email distribution
- This is not a necessity, but can be a convenient and efficient way of distributing plans to workers that don’t need full-size plans
- Plan Log is set up to document anticipated plan distribution
- A plan log will help you get plans back if you are running low on plans.