Advice for the Home Owner

     Remodeling a home is something virtually every home owner will experience at least once in their lifetime. German Engineering Design and Consulting Services, Inc. is proud to provide consulting services to explain the benefits of taking the proper steps to ensure a high quality design that will result in a safe and efficient home that will be enjoyed for many years to come.

Although it can be tempting to find the cheapest course of action to obtain the end result, home owners are not aware of the risks and dangers involved in taking this route.

     By using licensed Engineers, Architects, and Contractors who stand behind their work reduces that risk significantly.  Proper preparation, planning, Engineering and Construction Management will provide home owners with a higher quality product that is on schedule and within budget.  Often times, projects that are done without proper planning ahead of time, tend to go longer than the scheduled time and over budget.  Spending that extra time and money to find the right personnel to properly design and plan construction in the beginning, ends up saving the home owner money overall, because it will decrease the delays caused by poor planning and change orders that often cause projects to go way over the initial budget. 

     From a home owner's perspective, the permitting process may seem like something which will take time and cost the owner money; and some home owners will try and avoid this whenever possible to save time and money.  However, a permit can be a home owner's best friend.  A project done with proper permits has the benefit of several things.  Firstly, getting the proper permits helps control the quality of the work done to their home.  The building and safety department reviews all the plans to make sure that all building codes are met, and that everything designed is considered safe for its future occupants.  Inspections and observations will be performed to the satisfaction of the building and safety department to serve as a quality control for all construction work done.  Once all work is done, a final inspection is performed to review the quality of the all work done before a certificate of occupancy is finished.

     Inspectors often go around looking at construction projects.  They will randomly stop at a construction site and ask to see the plans and permits for the project.  If the inspector is not provided with the proper documentation, the inspector will put a stop to all the work, and freeze the project until one of two things occur.  Either the inspector is provided with proper documentation, which is more expensive to obtain after construction has started; or the inspector will request that everything be brought back to the original condition of the home, which will be based on city records and not necessarily what was there before construction started.  Unless one of these things are accomplished, the city will not issue a certificate of occupancy.  Instead the city will red tag the property, essentially prohibiting anyone from living in the home until everything is brought up to code and deemed safe by Inspectors as well as the building and safety department.  Not to mention, the inspector will issue fines.  

     Proper design, permits, and construction will also be something that can be submitted to the home owner's insurance company so that the newly remodeled house is properly insured.  Insurance companies will not insure any construction done without the proper permits.  In fact, insurance companies may require that all work be reverse engineered to ensure safety and quality.  Otherwise the insurance company may threaten to revoke the insurance policy entirely.  Reverse engineering typically costs more money compared to hiring that same engineer to design the home from the very beginning.

     Also, any construction done without permits will cause problems when it comes time to selling the home.  Often times, unpermitted work will not be honored by appraisal companies.  In fact, unpermitted work which actually devalue a home rather than provide the home an added value.  When the quality of work cannot be proved through permits, it will be a red flag in the eyes of all potential home buyers.  Sellers in this position are often forced to invest additional money before putting up the home for sale in order to accomplish one of two things.  Either bring the design back to the original design based on city records, or try and pull a permit on the work done.  Either way, it will be more expensive compared to doing it right the first time.

     Simply put, the risks are not worth the potential savings.  We encourage all home owners to explore their options and consult with experienced personnel before making the right decision.  It is true that not all work requires a permit.  The general rule of thumb has been the $500 rule.  Anything over $500 will likely require a permit, while anything under $500 may not require a permit.  But in any case, we recommend that home owners check with several Architects, Engineers and Contractors before making the decision for themselves.

     

 

Services Provided

Services Povided Include, but are not limited to, the following:     

 

Structural Design

Structural Calculations

Structural Drafting

Structural Design Review

Seal from California Registered Professional Civil Engineer

Engineering Consulting

Architectural Drafting

3D Rendering and Modeling

Civil Engineering

 

 

 

 

German Engineering Design and Consulting Services, Inc.  

specializes in Engineering Consulting and the Structural Design of Building Structures.