> And, whatever you do, do not browse this website: www.garagejournal.com
> Specifically the forum section. (you've been warned...)
I agree, do not browse that website above, do not go to
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24585 and see my
garage. When you go to that website, plan a few hours to browse :)
I started out with Google Sketchup as my drawing/drafting project, it
saved me tons of money since I could show my architect EXACTLY what I
wanted and he could use my drawings for a start. When we were finished
he told me that my drawings really saved him a lot of time on what I
wanted and in turn that saved me lots of money. He also liked that I
was able to tell him exactly what I wanted and he did not have to guess
and/or hope that what he was drawing was what I wanted. I had the
trusses in Sketchup, then the roof and even the siding to show my wife
and then the architect.
I went to the city with rough drawings from Sketchup and asked what I
could do and not do, once I knew the rules and which ones I could
"bend", I drew up what I wanted, took it to the city and showed them
again, they gave it a non-official "Yeah, it looks like you could build
that" and then got my architect involved. His fees ended up being
$2,800 and he did all the leg work involved in actually getting the
permits.
It actually was not quite that easy...but it worked.
Now to your comments about putting up 4 walls and finishing it yourself
later, in my town I had to have power brought in, I could not build
without power and basic circuits in. One light in each section, one
plug in each section is the bare minimum.
In my case I needed the structural engineer because I was tying into
the existing garage, so the city wanted to see that engineers stamp :(
but I was happy with it, the architect came in a told me things that I
did not think of, like drainage that would have been insufficient. If
it had not been for tying in with the old garage, I might have been able
to go with Sketchup entirely but I would have made mistakes that my
architect caught.
I had the slab poured, considered doing the walls but for time
reasons, had the walls built BUT I did the siding to save money and of
course will do the interior myself.
mike
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