Question 1

Why do a few inches matter so much on these lots?

Accepted Answer

Because the standard lot is small and the allowable floor area is calculated tightly against it. When the buildable area is capped by formula, an inch of error in the existing building is an inch of lost floor area, or a correction at plan check. We scan the building and confirm the dimensions by hand rather than scaling anything, for exactly that reason.

Question 2

Do you work on basement projects?

Accepted Answer

We produce the drawings for them. The shoring and the soils work come from the project engineer. That is not our scope, but the below-grade design has to sit correctly against the existing house and the neighbours, and that is measured off our scan.

Question 3

What do you capture on a lot this tight?

Accepted Answer

The house inside and out, the ground across the lot, and the adjacent walls and structures that bear on the design. Where a boundary survey is needed we coordinate with the surveyor; our scan is the existing-condition record, not a survey.

Question 4

What is different about a walk street lot?

Accepted Answer

Access, staging and how the building addresses the street rather than a driveway. With no vehicle frontage, construction logistics become a design consideration and the entry elevation carries more weight. Those are worth planning for rather than solving during construction.

Question 5

Do you scan the neighbours as well?

Accepted Answer

We capture what bears on your project: adjacent walls, the height and setback of neighbouring structures, and the grade across the property line. On lots this tight the neighbouring conditions constrain the design directly, and having them measured avoids an argument later.

Drafting and Permit Documents in Manhattan Beach

01Why do a few inches matter so much on these lots?

02Do you work on basement projects?

03What do you capture on a lot this tight?

04What is different about a walk street lot?

05Do you scan the neighbours as well?