I am a full-time Architectural Designer/Draftsman, not a Licensed Architect. Here in Arizona, we can provide Residential construction plans for two stories and below. I personally use a structural engineer for all my projects, but others don’t and can get their projects approved through the building departments with building code load and span charts.
I am also a member of the American Institute of Building Design, which seems to give new clients a measure of confidence. It’s a great organization and resource, but it has nothing to do with my competence. Some people need a perceived overwatching authority or to feel comfortable.
Connecticut is rather lax. One and two family, and most use groups up to 5,000 sq. ft. don’t require a license, but the use of the word “Architect” is restricted to people with a license. An unlicensed designer can’t call themselves a “Residential Architect.”
That’s universal for every state in the US. Some states have huge fines for holding yourself out as an architect without a license…$10k-$40k in many states.
I have a lot of respect for you, Licensed Architects. The first thing people read on my website is:
Welcome to Jay Lewis, LLC Although I am not a licensed Architect, I possess extensive hands-on construction experience spanning several decades and am a member of The American Institute of Building Design (AIBD). I rely on this real-life experience to design my projects, which differentiates me from others in my field.
I was lucky to graduate from High School, so I certainly wasn’t a candidate for university.
Whatever the distance requirement is, I believe you will find the measurement is Eave Face to Eave Face. Here in Minnesota it used to be 6ft when I was in business 25 yrs ago. I can’t imagine it is any less today.
Did you have a structural engineer look at this? Dont see and moment frame connections.
i would look into Simpson moment post anchors, and some diagonal post bracing.
otherwise looks fantastic.
The post connections are not specced and in fact the other details weren’t necessary for the variance application set. We’ve used these kind of things in the past.
I know it’s “only” a garage, but if anything happens and everything comes back to you, a lawyer will “only” want your house and your bank account… (kidding…)
I’d agree with Ccastelein and get a structural engineer to at least review these documents and get a letter of review (if they won’t stamp a drawing). I’m a registered architect and for homes I include a structural sheet and draw it according to the engineer’s design so he can sign it.
If nothing else, it VASTLY gets your fee increased and lets you relax.
Say, also - I would never have the wood framing come down to grade (not here in Massachusetts) - I’d recommend having a course of block or a 12" upturned concrete wall to pull the wood off the ground and minimize opportunities for the framing to get moist and rot…
Seems a little “top heavy”. The horizontal line of the overhead door headers are too far below the horizontal line of the eaves, IMHO. Why all the overhead?
Looks pretty good to me. The “Top Heavy” looks like its all necessity. What youve done with the roof to the front helps in my opinion. But an eyebrow across the garage doors might break it up and look nice. If you still modeling it might be worth a try.
