All Forum Posts by: Joy D.

Thanks, Jeff! I've called before but will call again because now I have better questions to ask.

Hi Henry! Where did you find a drafter?? One of the city's structural engineers actually told me I could hire a drafter if my budget is under 30K and trust and believe it IS! lol The drafters will give you drawings without it being signed or sealed right? And they are often LESS expensive because they are non-licensed architects. But then a few architects scared me and said things like "I've never heard of the city not needing signed and sealed drawings and I've done x-zillion of these".

Do you know what the city considers a structural change? I am putting a bathroom into my garage, i have to even out my split-level floor and fill it, will have a kitchenette and the front sliding garage door will remain from the outside, but inside, there will be an insulated wall.. and they might trench a couple feet outside to run the run the bathroom piping and link it to the front sewer. Is any of that considered structural?

And did your drafter need a survey? The architect is asking for an expensive survey (and NO DOCS are on file for my property with either the city OR the county except my recent roof replacement). It's because my house is older and was annexed by the city.

Did you even need a survey? Do we know the circumstances that may warrant the city needing one? I know Ft. Laud wants a site plan, a floor plan, elevation, and a wall section for intake (but I don't know what that wall section intake thing means). Are more importantly are you also in Ft. laud, and if so, did you have to submit the 4 things I mentioned?

Love that you're armed with the FL statues, and I appreciate that tip about potentially not being able to rent or sell for 12 months... awareness is key.:-) I WISH they would try that nonsense with me because I had contemplated pulling my own roofing permit (and hiring my own roofers) before I found a decent full-serviced roofer. Mind you... I didn't know HOW... I just knew it was an option! lol

I so appreciate all of this because I am a TOTAL rookie here. I am just an ambitious homeowner.

OMG Jeff... THIS is EXACTLY what I was looking for!! Thank you for providing such needed info! For my residential code, the city allows ADUs with no kitchen, but a kitchenette is permitted. I'm totally down with the pulling-an-owner-permit hack!! And thank you for letting me know the ave. cost for an architect and to expect a couple extra grand in permitting fees. Like... yikes!

I was also VERY concerned about the noise factor and your sound-proofing specs are like heaven-sent!!!

And about the HVAC systems, I think I want the mini-split so they can control their own climate. I went to Youtube university for some grain-of-salt intel (lol). Do you think I might need the full suite of plans from the architect (drawings, MEPs, 3D, signatures and seals)? One guy offered schematics (no signatures or seals or MEPs just drawings to secure estimates from prospective contractors), but if I understand correctly, sounds like I need everything as this will go through all permit depts.

I am also going to try to do SOME things myself if I can find a solid enough document or set of video instructions to do so... like maybe laying the tile or framing up the walls? Going to research it.

Again, THANK YOU. I haven't started or spent any $$ yet... I've got architectural bids from several companies and that is where I felt road-blocked due to lack of info and no experience on how to proceed. I greatly appreciate your detailed info and knowledge! I think I'm ready to move forward with the first step in hiring an architect and using their drawings to get estimates from prospective licensed contractors. Oh yeah... anything to watch out for in doing so?

Hi Jeremy and Anthony! Thank you both gor replying. I'm in Ft. Lauderdale and the city does allow this in my area, and there are other home owners in my neighborhood who have converted... you can tell because they've either replaced the garage door with a window or filled the cavity to match the match the front exterior. 

I've also contacted the city to ask general questions and to ask if this is permitted in my neighborhood, what's needed etc. I've researched the city regulations too. But as for house-specific info? I won't know that until I submit a permit with drawings.

What I'm not finding out is how to scale back the full-scale list of things needed by the city... like do i need a full-blown set of drawings, all signed and sealed for a tiny 280 square foot garage conversion? This is what they cannot tell me until I submit.

That's why I camr here, looking for others who have done this. I am putting in a small bathroom, enclosing the area inside where the automatic garage door is... city requires that all conversions in our area raise the floor. I'll also need some walls to section off the bathroom. Nothing extravagant.

Wondering if I can scale back from needing a full-set of architectural drawings which can run from $3800 up to $5,000 (signed and sealed) and get minimal just basic drawings and then let the city dictate which drawings or documents are needed after I submit a drawing? 

Hi there!

I'm contemplating adding a bedroom with a bathroom into my single-car garage space... nothing major, just a simple space conversion. Has ANYBODY gone through the permits process and done this? The costs from securing architectural drawings to getting a survey and mechanical/engineering/plumbing sheets are wild! Does anybody have a hack for THIS? The goal is to generate income from my primary residence.