CA for future home builder/owner

[David J. Potter]

I have helped numerous persons develop their custom home designs, reviewing them, polishing into a bid set of plans.

The plans I help develop then go to general contractors, sub-contractors for bidding and cost estimation, Structural Engineers and financial institutions for gaining loans as necessary. I usually send the State Licensed Structural Engineer .dwg's of the floor plans and elevations which they then use to do their work of structural calculations and call-outs.

Some Engineers draw, some do not; by that I mean some do their own drawings using mine as a starting basis to design the foundation and other structural details of the home.
It is not unusual for the engineer to then send me marked-up (called "red-lining") copies of my drawings to effect changes, corrections and additional annotations that he or she requires.
Once those edits are then made he or she will stamp (approve) the results and those plans then become the "Permit Set" or construction set of plans.
Over thirty years of doing this, such changes have not affected the design in any aesthetic or major way as to appearance.

It is a dynamic process that involves several State Licensed trades and professions to get a project done successfully.

DJP

[plwitt79]

That is a great response thank you David. That is kinda how i imagined the process going.

I also have a friend who is a PE structural engineer. I plan to have him look over the design (espeically things i think could be an issue) during the design phase. I also plan on him stamping for a small fee of $1.

If I design all aspects of this home myself over the next 5 years included interior design, landscape, electrical, HVAC, and site plan I am 95% certain i will save a ton of money VS hiring someone to do it.

[dshall]

..................I am 95% certain i will save a ton of money VS hiring someone to do it.

Famous last words.

[lbuttery]

I also plan on him stamping for a small fee of $1

Sorry, still illegal and unethical in most states

if stamps are not needed then most states allow the homeowner to sumbit the permit and act as GC

if stamps are required then the work MUST be done by the stamper
OR, under their DIRECT supervision (like David stated about red-lining)

Lew

[Jay M]

I also plan on him stamping for a small fee of $1

Sorry, still illegal and unethical in most states

if stamps are not needed then most states allow the homeowner to sumbit the permit and act as GC

if stamps are required then the work MUST be done by the stamper
OR, under their DIRECT supervision (like David stated about red-lining)

Lew

I imagine it would be illegal to stamp it without reviewing it but do you really think he would stamp it without checking everything? In which case he would just be doing his job (albiet much cheaper)...

[lbuttery]

I imagine it would be illegal to stamp it without reviewing it but do you really think he would stamp it without checking everything? In which case he would just be doing his job (albiet much cheaper)...

Jay:

check the licensing laws

for most states it is illegal to review someone else's work product and then stamp it

it MUST be done by the stamper or under their direct supervision

Lew

[lbuttery]

I checked and a stamp is not required in my area...if i feel that i want a section reviewed i can use a licensed engineer for that.

OK, then you are "golden"....

Lew

[lbuttery]

It will probably take you 5 years to really get to know this program


Joe:

I think CA would beg to differ with this statement

Know it well - yes - basically it is a never ending learning curve

know it enough to produce a reasonable model and a reasonable permit set

"not hardly"....

Lew

[Dave Pitman]

for most states it is illegal to review someone else's work product and then stamp it

it MUST be done by the stamper or under their direct supervision

I think the intent of the law is to make "rubber stamping" illegal. Rubber stamping defined here as stamping for a fee, irregardless of the content.

I find it difficult to think that a legitimate engineer would be taken to court for actually reviewing a drawing drafted by someone not in their office, marking up the drawing with needed revisions and corrections, sending it back to the drafter to draw, then stamping the resultant, reviewed drawing.

If this were to happen, then it would basically be illegal for an engineer to hire drafting help at all. We all know that collaboration technology is not the same as it was 10 years ago.

[alan11]

Hi,

I'm actually doing exactly what you're planning to do, and I started with Home Designer Pro about 2 years ago and then graduated to the professionals version, CA X3, after 6 months and am now using version X5. I did a lot of research before choosing to buy Chief Architect and I have to say it's lived-up to it's calims; it's probably the best package out there. It's rich in features which means it can take some time to learn everything it's got to offer, but there is a raft of help as well including videos on how to do just about everything and the help you can get from this forum, by just asking, is tremendous. I've managed to develop numerous designs for our next home and it's easy to archive base designs and then look at variations. You can produce full plans and drawing sets, but I do agree with one comment in here, that once you've got the design you're happy with, give it to a professional architect and structural engineer to make sure it can by built and stay up. But at least you've done most of the hard work and had the satidafction of knowing you've created the design yourself.

Alan

[Joe Carrick]

If I design all aspects of this home myself over the next 5 years included interior design, landscape, electrical, HVAC, and site plan I am 95% certain i will save a ton of money VS hiring someone to do it.

It will probably take you 5 years to really get to know this program - and then you also need to learn all about construction and design. Professionals - whether Achitect, Engineer or Building Designer - have years of training and experience. Those of us that have been using Chief for a long time are still learning new and better and faster ways to get the job done.

You could also save money by doing your own surgery - but the results would not be the same as what you would get from a real surgeon.

[plwitt79]

Joe...i do have experience with construction and design...and plan to collaborate with freinds and family that have been in the construction industry for years on things I am unsure of.

I also understand that generally as an architect you dont want a homowner or future home builder doing your job...that takes you out of the equation and the need for your services. Personally i would rather spend my time and "fee" for CA to design my home rather than having someone else do it. I dont want to pay an architect to do things that i can accomplish. I can just see my wife not liking the layout and needing 27 revisions before the house finalized. This will also help me save on hiring a interior designer as we can take pictures out of magazines or whatever and duplicate it to see how it would look in our house.

I am also of a generation in which i have been using software and computers my whole life. So when you say it will take me 5 years to get to know the program...i beg to differ. With the amount of training and support available these days im sure i can get a functional base model in 6 months or less.

Lbuttery...as far as your concerns...i totally understand what you are saying...but first i dont understand how that can be illegal? That person is still held responsible as its their stamp on whoevers drawing with their license number. Please explain why a fee of $1 would be a problem? I also stated to David that he was correct and his method of "red lining" is what i would prefer. I checked and a stamp is not required in my area...if i feel that i want a section reviewed i can use a licensed engineer for that.

final comment...i totally agree that not many people would put themselves in a situation to do all this work...but i enjoy a challenge and embrace a challenge...but more than anything the accomplishment when completed will be awesome and something to be proud of.

thanks everyone for the comments.