Prefab Garage Kits Engineered Plans

General Information
It is impossible for us to stay abreast of all the governing municipalities in this country that regulate building requirements in their respective areas of jurisdiction. While all our prefab garage kits are removable in that just as they are bolted and screwed together, they can be unbolted and unscrewed for disassembly, Absolute Steel makes no guarantees that you will not be required to obtain a building permit before erecting your carport or building.

Compliance with your local building codes is your responsibility.

Many of our customers do not obtain permits even though we always inform our them that anything that is affixed to the ground requires a building permit. At minimum, we suggest that you observe the required property setbacks so you do not erect the structure in violation of where it is allowed to go on your land. Obtaining a building permit after the fact is not much trouble if you properly anchor and assemble it. Relocating the structure is an unnecessary hassle that can easily be avoided with a small amount of due diligence in the beginning.

In some cases, we have sold structures to out-of-state customers who have gone to their local building department and found that submitting our assembly instructions is adequate for permitting purposes.

If you are not obtaining a permit, it’s a good idea to photograph (show the measuring tape to clearly illustrate) the depth of your concrete caissons or footings and floor, whatever is applicable, and to include a photo of the properly placed steel rebar in the footings for a building.

Visit our concrete/foundation information page for advice on what is recommended by engineers for our building and carport / canopy products.

Permitting and/or Design Review Fees
Some customers have experienced municipal fees (both design/plan check and building permit fees) associated with permitting in excess of $800.00 for a just a carport. Others have said the costs were less than $100.00.

Cost of Original Engineered Plans
In the event you do wish to have original engineered plans showing all the appropriate structural calculations, along with the concrete/foundation plan, for your local building department, we have relationships with engineers who are licensed in over forty-eight states and are familiar with the structures available from Absolute Steel. Should you wish to receive three sets of original stamped and sealed plans by an engineer licensed in your state, we can provide you with them. There is a fee of $450.00 for carports and $650.00 for most of our garages / storage buildings for this service. Custom or nonstandard structures are sometimes a bit more.

We are not in the business of selling plans for a profit; this is what we are charged for the “signature” and the engineer having the liability for his/her calculations. We will always do this for you, even if you find you need them after the structure is erected.

Ordering Plans
We have no desire to sell you plans if you can not use them.

Before ordering engineered plans you need to check with your local building department and verify they will allow you can put the building where you intend. Every Building Department or Planning and Zoning Department has certain rules about “accessory structures” which is what our products are usually defined as.

Two very important items to ask about in order to verify you can build the structure are:

1. Property “set back” requirements or distance from your property line in which they will allow something to be built.
2. Distance from Other Structures

Remember: You have no benefit in ordering plans if they will not allow the structure to be built. It would be a waste of your money!

Obtain the engineering Design Loads described below while you’re there.

Assuming you have checked out the above described items and your placement of the building complies with the regulations, you are ready to move forward with ordering your plans. Please fill out the Engineering Request Form online, or print a copy and fax it to us (480-768-1514) along with a hand drawn sketch of the floor plan you have in mind. Remember, you must furnish us with all the Design Loads called for on the Engineering Request Form. We can not order plans without this information.

We will then provide you with a more detailed and “to scale” floor plan along with an invoice which you can review and then arrange payment.

Absolute Steel Does Not Order Your Engineered Plans Unless They Are Paid In Full.

Please Note: If you are only required to provide” shop drawings” or copies of engineered plans (no original signature or seal and perhaps not originally prepared by an engineer licensed in your state) and we have them in our archives, which we often do, we charge you nothing.