Need Help Modelling House Exterior

[geirrosset]

Looking for someone to do a house exterior for me. I'm looking for quotes from someone who would accept paypal and who would agree to defer payment until we know whether the drawings are approved (not the project, just the drawings themselves). If the county insists on drawings done by an architect it would be a shame to waste money on drawings we can't use. That being said it would be a shame to have wasted someone's time as well so this should be taken on only if you do not do this for a living and therefore wouldn't suffer economically by us not being able to use the finished drawing. I know this does not look like the most attractive job offer ever. I'm just asking in case someone on here does this as a hobby and would like to try. Images of the house are attached with some relevant measurements. We need line drawings of the three sides of the house showing the dormer.

 

We need to include the drawings when we apply for a permit to expand the dormer on the roof and put in larger windows. We want to double the width (current width on the inside is 1.57m) and put in modern triple glaze windows which are about double the height (current windows are 0.5m tall). The roof line and gutter below the current windows will have to go. The file "Huset6" is a very coarse photoshop job showing the jist of what we want to do.

 

Now that I read this post it's looking more and more like a pipe dream that someone should be willing to take this on. But stranger things have happened.

 

Best regards

Geir Rosset

[geirrosset]

For some reason Firefox crashes every time I try to add more photos. So let's just say that I have three more and if you'd like to take a crack at it I'll email them...

[DRAWZILLA]

Why would someone take on this project and wait for the plan geting approved to get paid--not me. Sounds like its out of your hands

[lbuttery]

I agree that almost no one will volunteer to do this for free

 

unless they are a student and want a crack at a project

 

you should plan on paying a fee for drawings regardless if they are accepted or not

 

acceptance is your problem not the designer's

 

I did my first drawings AND permit set for free

hoping the builder would give us more projects

 

we did get a few more small ones but not the big sub-divisions

that never panned out because the economy collapsed in 2008

 

never again would I do something for free that takes more than 30 minutes

 

Lew

[geirrosset]

I know it's asking much. I was thinking back to my student days when a project that just might make me some money would have been fine, as I was practising and drawing stuff anyway. And there are probably 14 year old kids out there hooked on drawing houses who wouldn't mind having even the potential to make some money. So "almost no one" is exactly who I'm looking for.

 

But I do not agree that acceptance is my problem (of the project being approved yes, but acceptance of the drawings themselves as attachments to the application no). If I go to an architect and ask for these drawings, telling him what they are for, and the county does not accept the drawings, he would have to come up with new drawings (then again it's his/her job to know the technical specs for drawing for this purpose so he/she is not very likely to produce drawings that can't be used). Through this forum though it would be different, as the designer, especially if based overseas, might not know the proper guidelines as to how the drawing should look and what it needs to include. But I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

I'll head down to the city planning office to see if they have the blueprint for our house in their archive (it's from 1936) and if they have them I'll probably just scan those in and modify them in Adobe Illustrator.

 

Geir

[lbuttery]

 If I go to an architect and ask for these drawings, telling him what they are for, and the county does not accept the drawings, he would have to come up with new drawings (then again it's his/her job to know the technical specs for drawing for this purpose so he/she is not very likely to produce drawings that can't be used)

 

Hmmm, maybe yes - maybe no

 

If the architect "screws-up" then yes

 

otherwise, iterations are part of the design process

and the architect or designer would expect to be paid for each iteration

 

Lew

[tommy1]

It sounds like he wants construction docs too and not get paid anything until it's approved. That's not how it works. Maybe a 14 year old would agree to this but a 14 year old wouldn't have the knowledge to get anything through a permit office or likely be able to afford a program like CA. One thing he is right about, he'll probably not find anyone here to agree on these terms.

[Joe_Carrick]

Geir,

 

It appears you are in Norway - Oslo to be precise - so maybe they have your plans on file.  OTOH, perhaps you can talk a 15 year old Chief user to have some Lutafisk.  LOL

 

Seriously, if you don't need it done in Chief - why not go to a local Architect and them do it for you?  I'm sure they wouldn't charge more than the job is worth.

[geirrosset]

I did go to the planning office, and they gave me the 1933 plans for free. I modified them in Photoshop and expanded the size of the dormer and windows. Took me less than 30 minutes in total. Being based on the drawings of the house which were approved when the house was built they should be more than enough. The east and west faces are identical to the original, so no work was really needed on those.

 

Thinking about it, using CA for something like this is like shooting a mouse with a cannon. I only needed to slightly change one face. Doing it in CA one would have to model the entire house (excluding interior and south facing details). However I know at least one user on this forum who could probably have done it in less than 30 minutes considering the detail level required (particularly now that I have the building plans).

[dshall]

I did go to the planning office, and they gave me the 1933 plans for free. I modified them in Photoshop and expanded the size of the dormer and windows. Took me less than 30 minutes in total. Being based on the drawings of the house which were approved when the house was built they should be more than enough. The east and west faces are identical to the original, so no work was really needed on those.

 

Thinking about it, using CA for something like this is like shooting a mouse with a cannon. I only needed to slightly change one face. Doing it in CA one would have to model the entire house (excluding interior and south facing details). However I know at least one user on this forum who could probably have done it in less than 30 minutes considering the detail level required (particularly now that I have the building plans).

I got to tell you,  I think I am moving to Norway.  If I want to add a doorbell outside my front door,  I need 38 sheets of plans,   an engineers signature,  the blessing of President Obama and my wife's approval.  Oh wait,  I also need coastal approval,  fire department approval,  city approval and the blessing of the Zoo Curators at the San Diego Zoo......  did I mention I need  FAA approval?

 

Anyway,  that is why I make the big Pesos.....  I have to jump through a lot of hoopolas.

[mcrump]

If I want to add a doorbell outside my front door,  I need 38 sheets of plans,   an engineers signature,  the blessing of President Obama and my wife's approval.  Oh wait,  I also need coastal approval,  fire department approval,  city approval and the blessing of the Zoo Curators at the San Diego Zoo......  did I mention I need  FAA approval?.

 

Don't forget the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, Eric Holder and the local homeowners association.

[Joe_Carrick]

I'm having some interesting experiences with the remodel/repair of our home after the kitchen fire last December.

 

1.  Plans submitted for restoration/repair to the County of San Diego - over the counter approval (1 hour)

2.  Exempt from the following code requirements which would have been required if there hadn't been a fire and we were just remodeling:

     a.  Title 24 compliance - all 14 Sliding Glass Doors are Single Pane Aluminum Frame

     b.  Fire Sprinkler System (house is 5150 sq.ft.)

     c.  Guardrails don't have to be brought up to current code - Horizontal rails are 7" o.c. and rails are only 36" tall

3.  However, the inspector is requiring code upgrades for "Fire Blocking and Draft Stops" which were not required when the house was built in 1990.

4.  The Inspector said that an existing bath that had mechanical exhaust also had to have heat added - but I've not been able to find such a requirement in the code.

5.  Drywall attached to an interior plywood shear panel needs to be attached with 1-5/8" screws into the studs, not just with 1-1/4" screws.

 

IOW, we have Selective Code Enforcement for a reconstruction which has a total cost of more than $450,000.  Some things are "Grand-Fathered" and some are not.