Stucco Wall & Stone Facade

[BeelMX]

I will most likely be ordering house plans from an online source. As-is, the plans in question are for a slab foundation, no stone or brick, and typical exterior siding. I'm hoping to do the building work myself.

Should I have the building designers (at considerable cost to me) draw up plans for the following:

1.) Crawlspace? (Or with the measurements for the slab, could I just put the footer around this perimeter and have my block equal the outside slab dimension.)

2.) A ledge for the stone? (Does this need to be drawn in or can I just add 5 inches outward on the footer? Would this cause an unwanted weight distribution on a 12"/24" footer?)

3.) Stucco exterior walls drawn in? (I will sub out the stucco work, but I'm not sure if there should be drawings done for this.)

Thanks again, forum, for any help!

T Beel

[Rich]

1.) Crawlspace? (Or with the measurements for the slab, could I just put the footer around this perimeter and have my block equal the outside slab dimension.)

2.) A ledge for the stone? (Does this need to be drawn in or can I just add 5 inches outward on the footer? Would this cause an unwanted weight distribution on a 12"/24" footer?)

3.) Stucco exterior walls drawn in? (I will sub out the stucco work, but I'm not sure if there should be drawings done for this.)

A lot of this will depend on your building department and who reviews the drawings. Many times as long as the foundation is all there you'll be ok. So I would say that the crawlspace should be shown... the ledger for the stone could be a 5"x5" "L" angle expansion anchored into the foundation wall and should also be shown.
Stucco exterior walls do not need to be drawn.. unless where you are building has covenant requirements but that could be as easy as asking the question.

[grumpydasmurf]

If no basement, why bother with a crawl space? I'd just do a slab if I couldn't have a basement.

[Rich]

Slab on grades are a pain in the a**. I would much rather have a crawlspace. The house I am working on right now is a structural slab that is essentially sitting on caissons with grade beams between each caisson. And of course there just happens to be quite a bit of plumbing, DWV, and 24" round ductwork that needs to go under the grade beams. If anything ever goes wrong with this stuff it's a chipping hammer, a laborer, and a few days to just get to it. I would much rather have a crawlspace - flip the lid and go fix it.

[grumpydasmurf]

Good point. That's why I am not a GC and stick to specific trades.

[BeelMX]

I think that sounds good. I was also thinking that, down the road, I'd probably prefer to have the drawings for the way the house actually is and not an adaptation.

Once again, thanks forum!

BeelMX