Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes
Hello BP,
We built an addition to a SFH and converted it from a 1-residence to a 2-residence unit. The architectural plans and construction were approved and completed. Now the city is requesting the following:
1) Energy compliance documentation 2) Mechanical (HVAC) Drawings 3) Plumbing Drawings (Hot, cold water waste and vent. gas) 4) Electrical (Complete Drawings)
What kinds of people do we need to hire for these drawings and plans? Is there a one-stop-shop kind of service for this? Or do we need to find separate engineers / consultants for each item? How do people usually go about finding these experts?
After submitting the plans and getting approval from the city, are these tasks built by a contractor, or specialists such as electricians/plumbers/etc.?
Any referrals in the Socal area around the city of Diamond Bar would also be greatly appreciated.
Hopefully this is the last step needed before we rent out our property!
@Scot Fang No need to over complicate this, this is a 2 unit residence.
Energy Compliance and Electrical drawings are routinely done by an architect. Your plumber can sketch out the plumbing diagrams - or ask your architect about this - its not that complicated.
Your architect will likely have an engineer they already work with that can do the HVAC drawings. Ask your architect.
Electrical drawings will probably take the most time/effort to complete.
You need a MEP engineering firm. Alternatively, an engineer or architect could do the whole thing. Ask your architect for references. You need plans and specifications. Consider requesting construction documents.
You may need an engineer registered in California to stamp them.
Are you self performing as the owner for the construction? Or are you planning to hire a licensed contractor? If you hire a licensed contractor the City may be open to approving the pending items via over the counter with simple schematic drawings from a well qualified contractor with extensive experience (with the exception of the energy consultant). But if you plan to self perform you will most likely need to contract an engineer that specializes in each of the disciplines. Start shopping around and do a good job in vetting each of the prospective candidates and select someone local that can provide services of each of the required disciplines. I would interview each candidate, ask for references, ask to see completed projects...ect. Coordination is key and i would recommend keeping the work under one roof if at all possible. The fee may be cheaper but Finding the lowest bid shouldn't be the driving force in your selection.
Many architects can handle the MEP drawings for small commercial / residential projects. Alternatively, If you have skilled contractors, they can often help with the drawings. This starts getting into a design-build type project. This would be the least expensive option if your city allow for it. We've done in a design-build relationship where the contractors submit their drawings to the architect and the architect drafts them up and adds them to the permit set.
Thanks for the info everyone, very helpful! To summarize, it sounds like we have a few options for MEP + Energy:
1) MEP Engineer
2) Architect
3) Skilled Contractor
4) Energy Consultant
We are planning to hire a licensed contractor, not self-perform. As mentioned previously, we've finished building construction that converted a 1-residence SFH to a 2-residence.
Typically, are MEP construction tasks a difficult project for contractors in this type of situation, or are they easy?
@Scot Fang No need to over complicate this, this is a 2 unit residence.
Energy Compliance and Electrical drawings are routinely done by an architect. Your plumber can sketch out the plumbing diagrams - or ask your architect about this - its not that complicated.
Your architect will likely have an engineer they already work with that can do the HVAC drawings. Ask your architect.
Electrical drawings will probably take the most time/effort to complete.
@Scot Fang I just wanted to add to my post above since you are probably wondering how much the above will cost you...
Energy Compliance - This is standard now and should have been part of the initial architectural set you submitted to building dept. This wasn't standard 10 yrs ago, but it is standard now. So your architect should provide this.
Plumbing - Bring your architect a nice lunch and smile and they can help you sort this out
HVAC - you may need to pay a small fee to get an engineer on board (or maybe not - ask your architect)
Electrical - if this wasn't part of your initial contract with architect you will likely have to pay extra for this. It will take man hours to document existing condition and proposed changes if this was not part of the initial scope.
Not sure about LA, but in Chicago you used to need to be a "Registered Energy Professional". That's been discontinued and now you just have to sign a form and ensure that the IECC criteria are met. Perhaps the architect didn't do it because SoCal has a registration requirement for that part?