Resources
The technical side, for anyone who wants it.
None of this is needed before you get in touch. It is here because the questions underneath it are the ones that decide what a project costs.
Do I need an engineer?
The two sections of California law that decide it, quoted, and what each one means for a garage conversion, an ADU and an addition.
Read it →The 35-point review process
What the checks are, how they are grouped, where they came from, and what happens when a reviewer raises something the rulebook did not cover.
Read it →Free plan check
Send the set you already have. You get the findings a reviewer is going to raise, each tied to a written rule.
Send your plans →Score your own set in two minutes
Twelve questions about the set you are about to submit, scored against 26 of the 35 checks. It shows your score before it asks for anything.
Start the X-ray →Why ADU plans come back
The nine corrections seen most on Bay Area residential sets, and why four of the top five are not engineering at all.
Read the article →Case study: 15 corrections closed before submittal
A real 15 sheet junior ADU set, with five findings reproduced word for word and the one item still open when the review closed.
Read the case study →Jurisdictions on file
7 Bay Area jurisdictions have their own rule file covering code edition, local amendments and the forms they ask for. 1 of them has been verified against the city itself. The rest is working knowledge and is not presented as more than that. If your city is not one of them, its rules are checked at the start of your project rather than assumed.
Already have drawings?
Upload your plans and find the problems before the city does.
We read your set against 35 written checks and tell you what a reviewer is going to raise, with the code section behind each one. It does not matter who drew it.