JWilcox

Thanks Scott. I will check into google earth pro. On the subject of San Diego where do you guys get your truss calcs? I am finding it hard to get any calcs without paying a $250 truss package fee. Since a lot of my jobs are put to bid after I finish the plans I do not have the luxury of a contractors truss yard. The building departments are asking for the calcs before they will even look at my plans so most of the time I am going with conventional framing on roofs now just because it is easier to permit. Although hip roofs I will still use trusses. Interested in hearings others way they deal with this lately.

Hey Scott, Here is the link to the San Diego County Assessor,s office. https://arcc.sdcounty.ca.gov/Pages/parcelmaps.aspx They charge $2.00 per page in TIFF format. I always buy the property characteristics at the same time which is another $1. This gives me info what the County has on record for number of bedrooms and baths and square footage of the house. Which has saved me a few times when the previous owners have added living area without a permit and I catch way before the design phase of the project. And-- I know we still need to meet for lunch. Jan

Sounds good. You still in East County?

Yes-- I agree with you Scott. CA has so many features to make the plans look good. I have had three building officials tell me these are the best looking plans they have seen. The only thing I take credit for is the creativity in my design but they are talking about the 3D views not my design and 3D framing views that make the project so easy to understand--this is the program not me. I remember many years ago I had to build a foam core model of a complex house that I designed because the structural engineer said it could not be built the way I had it. It took me a week to build the model and I proved him wrong. Now that would have taken maybe a few minutes? Jan Wilcox Designs