Basement Permits?

[nzwasp]

So did all you guys use sketchup to create your basement permit drawings? I am finding it to be very challenging to even get the basics done in this.

[eblend]

mspaint is what i used. Doesnt need to be anything fancy, especially since there won't be any load bearing walls, unless you are re-engineering

[nzwasp]

Do you need to show the measurements of your walls or just the general layout, i got fed up with sketchup and managed to make the entire thing with visio

[eblend]

Yes you do need to show measurements. I just busted out a tape measure, measured all the walls and roughly where I wanted walls to be, and submitted it. As there is nothing structural they just approve it. Only thing you have to worry about is a 32" door for your utilities room (and all the doors along the way to the utility room if I am not mistaken, so you can bring in a new furnace etc), and at least 12" of clearance around the furnace, everything else doesn't really matter

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Yeah, they expect measurements but they're not going to bust out the tape measure during the inspection - they don't need to be super exact. Include door sizes, electrical outlet locations, CO/smoke detector locations, plumbing fixtures, and label the intended purpose of the rooms (bedroom, storage room, utility room, etc) as different rules apply to different rooms. eblend 's mention of the 32" utility room door is a good one as well.

[nzwasp]

Well i submitted it online, it says within 7 days - how long did your guys permits take to approve. Do they then just let me print it off and stick it to the door or do I have to receive a letter?

[Asian_defender]

I used visio. I went down to city hall and it got approved on the spot

[mrsingh]

I did mine in 2014 using MS paint, wrote all the dimensions for the walls and submitted it at city hall. Had it approved before I left.

[macman64]

I used http://floorplanner.com. I submitted in January on a Saturday afternoon and received approvals Monday.

[B.Spilner]

Graph paper and a pen. Old school!!

[nzwasp]

got the approval back this afternoon.

Our property line is 117cm away from window of bedroom although they still approved it with no questions asked so hopefully that means we wont run into a problem with inspection

[zieg]

FYI there's a free program very similar to AutoCAD called DraftSight. Would work very well for stuff like this...

[nzwasp]

A related question. So we are going away for 3 days during our basement Reno. I have cameras on the front and inside my house. I’m guessing there’s not really any real way to prevent theft if one of the contractors decides to break in and take something. I can alarm the house remotely for night time while I’m away from it.

[mrsingh]

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A related question. So we are going away for 3 days during our basement Reno. I have cameras on the front and inside my house. I’m guessing there’s not really any real way to prevent theft if one of the contractors decides to break in and take something. I can alarm the house remotely for night time while I’m away from it.

If it is a huge concern for you, you could ask for your key back and request they do not work for those three days. Keep the alarm on in that time, shouldn't impact your completion date much and I can't see why they would have a huge issue over it.

[nzwasp]

We are just going to get our Nanny to house sit for us and also look after the dog those days.