A garage conversion needs an engineer. Here is the exact reason.
A garage had a door across most of one wall. Converting it means infilling that opening, or working a bracing system around what is left of it, in a shell that was never built to the code the finished room has to meet.
B&P §6737.1(b)
If any portion of any structure exempted by this section deviates from substantial compliance with conventional framing requirements for woodframe construction … the building official having jurisdiction shall require the preparation of plans, drawings, specifications, or calculations for that portion by, or under the responsible charge of, a licensed engineer, or by, or under the responsible control of, an architect licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.
Shall require. Not may. Once the framing leaves conventional construction the building official has no discretion, and a garage conversion has left it before a line is drawn. On this kind of project the engineer is not an upsell. The engineer is the reason the set can be approved at all.
What the survey has to find
- What the slab actually is, and whether it can take a holddown
- Plate height, which decides whether the finished ceiling makes the code minimum
- The roof framing, its span and its condition
- Where the electrical panel is, and what it can carry
- Drainage and grade at the door, which is where these projects usually fail
Garage Conversions includes
- Junior ADUs, ADUs and habitable rooms
- The garage opening infilled and braced
- Existing slab, plate height and framing proved rather than assumed
- Legalising work that is already there
Example projects
What this looks like as a project.
Junior ADU in an attached garage
A two car garage turned into a permitted junior ADU inside the shell that is already there. No new foundation, no new roof.
View project →
Detached garage to habitable room
A detached garage made into a permitted habitable room with a bathroom, inside the walls that are already standing.
View project →Already have drawings?
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