When plans are required in order to issue a permit they shall be fully dimensioned and drawn to scale, and they shall include the size and types of all materials and equipment. Construction drawings should contain at least a floor plan and one building section. A plot plan shall be required whenever a new building is being constructed or when the ‘footprint’ of an existing structure is being enlarged. The floor plan should include all walls, windows and doors and all relevant dimensions. The section plan should show details of how the construction is to be accomplished. It should normally show the type and size of the foundation, floor, wall and roof construction, insulation and the relationship of the structure to the finished grade.

The Douglas County Building Department can not legally provide engineering design services. It is the permit applicants responsibility to provide plans which accurately depict, literally, ‘what you want to build and how you want to build’. We are only allowed to evaluate plans as they are submitted to us for review, and can only advise the applicant of possible options, if we have a set of plans before us. Although every effort is made to determine if a design in structurally compliant with the building code, the ultimate responsibility to assure structural adequacy rests with the building designer. After a set of plans have been approved, changes to those plans can only be implemented after additional approval from the Building Department has been obtained.