Wet Stamps and Height Restrictions

by Russ
(Norco, Ca, USA)

My community allows a maximum peak height of 20 ft. Do you have a chart or calculator that would show me wall height vs. peak height for various sized barns? In the 40 ft x60ft range?

Plans and calculations for trusses that I submit to the local planning commission must be wet-signed, in duplicate. Do you provide wet-signed truss plans and calcs? two copies?

Hi Russ,

Thank you for your question. No, I don't have charts that would show what you are looking for. The best thing to do would be to determine the sidewall height you would like and the width you would like and design a barn for you around that. I will say that a 20' height limit is very restrictive and doesn't leave much room to work with.

It also depends on whether it is more important for you to have a loft or to have a lot of head room in your 1st level. That information is going to effect what type of barn would best suit your needs.

The answer below goes a little beyond the scope of the question, I hope you don't mind me taking the opportunity to address an issue that comes up from time to time.

Now to answer your second question, no. We do not offer wet signed or stamped plans, and we do not work with engineers. Our plans are designed as agricultural barns and are instructional in nature.

If you like our designs and want to take our plans to an engineer, that is just fine, but we will not alter the plans according to an engineers instructions.

It's not that we can't or that we are against engineers it's just that the sheer amount of time it takes to alter the plans in this manner does not make sense financially i.e. we loose to much money.

Your best bet would be to take on of our sets of plans to a local architect, one that is familiar with your local codes and have him draw a new set of plans based on ours. We have no problem with that whatsoever.

Once you buy a set of plans you are free to do with it whatever you wish. We only ask that if you intend to build more than one building off one set of plans that you go ahead and purchase another copy for that.

That is on your honor, we are not going to track you down if you don't.

If we could we would design our barns to conform to every jurisdictions restrictions out there, but obviously that is just not possible or practical. Instead of getting bogged down with designing one particular barn for one particular area we try to make our barns as universal as possible. Does that mean that one of our barn plans will work where you live?

Not always, but at the very least it gives you a design point to start from. Without our designs you might go to an architect and tell them what you want, very likely you will get a more conventional type structure that is built out of lumber from the lumberyard and not rough cut local timber.

You see our plans can be used as a tool to get designers and architects to think a little outside the box and maybe design something that is different from the norm, that has more rustic beauty, is more sustainable, and keeps more money in the local economy.

-BarnGeek