Design vs. engineering question

[RMorrison]

Gerry,
These are good points. I think in Michael's case, though, sitting down with the plans examiner, may be fruitless, because it appears that like many jurisdictions in the country, they may have very little to no oversight of the construction and have widely ranging engineering requirements. There are parts of the country, of course, where little more than a "napkin sketch" will get you a building permit.

However, just because you don't need the plans and engineering to get a permit, doesn't mean they shouldn't be done. I have had a number of occasions where the examiner caught something I missed, and I'm happy to have a trained pair of eyes looking over my plans. It reduces my liability. The scariest thing I can imagine, both for myself and my clients, would be to have no oversight, and just trust myself and the contractors to "do it right." Yes, it would be enjoyable for the first couple of years, but then as problems started showing up, along with the lawyers, it would get less fun.