How to Avoid a City Resubmittal on Your Remodel
By Parham Shariat ·
You finish the design, the engineer signs off, and the plans go to the city. Weeks later they come back with corrections. Now you resubmit, wait again, and pay again for the redesign. Meanwhile your project sits still.
This happens all the time, and most of it can be avoided. It comes down to one habit.
Let the people who will build it read the plans first
Designers and engineers draw what should work. The builder, framer, plumber and electrician know what actually works. They are the ones on the ground, and they see problems that do not show up on paper. Designers and engineers assume things. The trades have to live with those assumptions.
Before anything goes to the city, make sure:
- Your builder agrees with the design. If the builder does not believe it can be built the way it is drawn, you want to hear that now.
- Your framer has seen the plan. Beams, posts, headers and wall changes all have to work in the real space.
- Your plumber has seen the plan. Drain slopes, vent paths and fixture locations can break a layout.
- Your electrician has seen the plan. Panel capacity, circuits, lighting and outlet locations need to meet code and match what you expect.
If any of them disagree, change the plan
This is the key point. If the framer, plumber or electrician sees a problem, fix the plan before you submit. Do not wait to see if the city catches it, and do not hope it will work out on site. A change made on paper is cheap. A change made after a rejection, or after the work has started, is not.
What this can save you
Avoiding a single resubmittal can save anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000 once you count the redesign, the engineer's revisions, the new filing, and the cost of a project that sits idle. The larger number applies when the project involves structural changes or when delays ripple into the schedules of every trade.
A short checklist before you submit
- The designer and engineer have agreed on the final drawings
- The builder has reviewed and approved the plan
- The framer, plumber and electrician have each seen it and had a chance to comment
- Any changes they asked for are on the drawings
- HOA approval, if you need it, is in progress or complete
Where US Floor Design Center fits
We do not send plans to the city until the people who will build them have read them. If someone on the crew sees a problem, the plan changes first. It adds a little time before submittal and takes much more off the back end.
Visit the showroom at 30092 Santa Margarita Parkway, Suite G, in Rancho Santa Margarita, or call 949-589-9226.