Geez you guys are harsh sometimes! :c(

Xavier, How soon before you find out about the variance? Do they drag it out like most government agencies or will you be able to find out right away??? Good Luck to you and I'm crossing my fingers you get it!

My advice, for what it's worth... Go back to the drawing board and build a two story house on that lot. You're stuck with the lot so you might as well eat the money you've spent on the original plans. It looks like if someone took too sharp a turn on that street, instead of rutting up your yard, they would knock off part of a bedroom. I would start with a clean slate... and a smaller footprint.

Well looking at the picture and how it sits, it is possible you might be able to get a variance as you don't really have a backyard like a normal lot. Your sides are sides to other lots that is their sides. Usually the side of a lot has much smaller set-back requirements so I would at least argue that this really is a side and not a back lot line. This is assuming your neighbors on each side would have a house facing the street.

What is the side yard set-back requirements from the parish?

For me that home would be way to close to the road.

I think resale would be difficult.

That looks like a rather large house on an itty bitty lot. Not my cup of tea but some like the no yard look. I agree with the previous posters...either get rid of the porch and make a 2 car garage OR start over with a two-story.

I agree that some posts are little harsh...BUT this guy is asking for almost the impossible. And seems to think he's entitled to take up as much space as possible with his house. The responses don't surprise me that much, given the situation.

It's only a problem for resale if this is the only house in the area that has this issue. If other yards are much bigger and the houses are further back, then I see your point about resale. In my neighborhood, it's not unusual at all to be that close to the street with a new house. And not much of a back yard either, so I can relate.

Still..I agree about possibly changing the plan to one that might fit better. How do you know it isn't already a 2 story? Did she say that above and I missed it??

I hope the OP will get a copy of all the parish building codes before going forward. One thing we haven't spoken about is the possibility that the code has FAR requirements (Floor Area Ratio --determines how large a footprint and how much square footage can be built on a given lot).

It's been interesting to read that some places allow near-zero setbacks, side and rear. Our setback requirements are: Front - 60 feet; Rear - not certain, 30 feet?; side - 25 feet.

FAR: Lots up to 40,000 sq ft multiply lot size X .05 and add 3000. Lots over 40,001 sq ft multiply lot size X .08 and add 1800. Garages and attics are not included in the FAR permitted. There are also various roof height limits.

We may not remove viable trees over 2" in diameter; some variances are allowed if you will replace trees in other areas of the lot; non-native species are not valued. A property near us was held up two years until the owner agreed not to build within 50 feet of a Century oak; that meant leaving 3/4 of an otherwise buildable acre untouched.

A BRB (Buildng Review Board) must pass on exterior design to keep new homes compatible with existing ones. Don't even think about remodeling a house deemed 'Historic'! You won't live long enough to get that out of committee.

After all that, at least there's no HOA to contend with!

************UPDATE**********************

To all the people who said that I was "up the creek," guess what? I will be able to build "this" house on "this" lot!!! I met with the senior planner again yesterday and he said that if I:

1. Put an exterior door on 1 of the bedrooms facing Mandalay West and "call" it my "front door."

and

2. Put my mailbox on the Mandalay West side.

and

3. Change my address by calling the local 911 service.

....then I could build the house the way it is. Now, the "front and rear" of my house is technically the "sides" and vice versa. That's all it took to be able to build!!! Thanks, to everyone who tried to give me advice. I really appreciate your help and guidance!! And to those who said I was "dead in the water" and I would "never" be able to build on this lot as my site plan shows: HA HA!! I'll post some pictures just to rub it in your face a little more.

Glad you could get it worked out. It is basically like I said in my post that you just need to argue that it is like a side yard.

However - I'm sorry you feel like you needed to act like you just did. Kinda stooping to the grade school level. Everybody on here are from different parts of the country and it is very likely in their area that it would never be approved.

Another thing would be the door on the bedroom. I think it would look kind of funny from a re-sale perspective with a door instead of windows, if you ever went to sell. As a buyer I wouldn't like that one. Do you have children? Do you want them as teenagers to have an easy sneak out path or sneak-in path? Could you extend the garage out a little and add the door into the garage? That would also be a benefit to you.

If you did extend out the garage maybe switch the 2 car and 1 car sides and just extend the 1 car side out enough to fit a door on the side and call that your front door.

Lyfia,

I don't like stooping to that level, but I asked in the OP if anyone had experienced this. THAT'S IT!! A few people decided to put their 2 cents in just to make me feel like I messed up by purchasing the lot. As if I paid $42,000 for nothing. I have a wife (who is pregnant with our first child) to support and I don't need a "smarty pants" telling me what I should have done. The whole point is that I did it, now what can I do now to fix it. They wanted me to give up and move on. DOING THAT WAS NOT AN OPTION!

Now, we are lifelong residents here with very stable public jobs and don't EVER plan on selling, so were not worried about resale. This will be our permanent home until the day we die.

As far as my child sneaking in and out: A remedy to that is called (let me see) PARENTING!

We are gonna go with the plans as I have outlined. We are not changing.

well, now you have show just how immature and irresponsible you truly are again. first you fail to see if you can even do what you want, now you act like a brat and laugh at the folks who offered suggestions to help you WITH THE PROBLEM YOU ASKED FOR HELP ON.

remember, YOU are the one who said the zoning would not allow the house on the lot.

i see a partially built house going up for sale by a bank in a year or so.

adding in the entry door is still going to require a redraw of the plans. you will be changing structure and in order for the architect to allow the change he will hav eto redo teh analysis. i have seen folks have to redraw over changing from a large window to a small one, let alone cutting out a section of wall and adding a door.

good luck, you are going to need it.

xavieralumni - yeah it is called parenting, but are you going to stay awake all night or sleep in the same room? You seem to miss how resourceful teenagers can be even much more so with those that have parents that actually do the parenting. This is not to say your kid will be inclined to do so, but for re-sale that would be a negative to many other parents.

Just thought I'd give you and idea for improving the flow of your home as well if you ever wanted to sell it and still work with your parameters. Do you have to have a walk way that leads to the front door (in this case the bedroom?). If so then it will seem even more odd. I do think you need to consider re-sale too as most likely that is where you will loose more money in the end than the cost up front now.

Best of Luck to you!

That response was childish. Lots of people were trying to help you "fix" an almost unfixable problem. An exterior door in a bedroom is a bit odd, but hey... if that's what works for you, go with it.

I really hate to be negative but I don't predict a positive building outcome with a statement like this: "If I were using a real builder, I couldn't afford the house I'm building." I sure hope property taxes aren't bad in Louisiana.

Good luck and happy building!

I think that the OP should also put a door from the bedroom into the garage while he's re-doing the plans. After all, if the teenager is going to sneak out, at least let him DRIVE!

I knew that Houma and area had some weird stuff going on, but calling 911 to change your address takes the cake for me. I guess the post office, the county plat, and all utility maps for service are just there for show. Have fun building and please let us know the next time you run into trouble.

As an aside, the way Terrebonne Bay and Lake Barre are moving inland over the past 30 years, Montegut will be ocean front property by the time the kid can drive. The south side of Houma will be next. They won't have to worry about resale because nobody will want to live there. ;-)

I'm glad this worked out for the OP, however, I agree that his last response was somewhat childish. I sense a bit of arrogance here, that, coupled with ignorance of the complexity of building process, might not bode well for this build. I truly hope that this experience is taken by the OP as a lesson of the necessity to do complete research and careful planning before plunging into the rest of the building process. Otherwise, I predict that he'll end up with a house that takes much longer and costs much more than he expected, along with a newfound respect for what you're paying for when you hire a "real" builder. Good luck, Xavier...but proceed carefully and research and plan thoroughly. Owner/builders can do an excellent job...I've seen it...but if they are overconfident, underestimate the complexity of the process and don't do their homework they can end up with the kind of messes that my husband (a "real" builder) has to clean up.

calling 911 to change your address takes the cake for me

you call the 911 admin office. they are the ones who actually give you an address in areas with E-911 service. you cannot get utilities without the 911 approved address. around here the street number increments for every 50 feet of frontage and you get the number that falls inteh centerline of your lot, IF street numbers were not in place prior to the E911 system taking over the addressing. my house is on a corner lot, addressed as 207 X rd. my neighbor is 237 X rd, since i have a 4 acre lot and he has a 1.5 acre lot. my drive and mail box are actually on the on the other road, but since the front entrance of my house faces the main road that is the address.

Well, I had typed out a response but the halloween goblins must have eaten it. Sorry if it gets double posted.

I had thought a few of the responses the OP gotten to her question were a bit harsh as I said above. To come back with her childish response....she just lost my respect. And I can see from her "know it all" attitude, that she's going to be in for a world of hurt. Both with her build and with her parenting. Good Luck with that!

lindy...I think the OP is a he, not a she (I assume this by his reference to a pregnant wife...another reason to be careful about taking on building a house now, but I won't even go there)...but I agree, that there seems to be a degree of overconfidence here. Hopefully, as I said, this experience with zoning, etc, will be taken as a lesson to proceed more carefully.

I'm glad you're glad. I'd still question building (or living) where there are so few safeguards (building codes)for the community.

I see lyfia first suggested the remedy. Very sharp!

These threads serve an educational purpose as much as advice to specific posters, so no one should feel they are wasting their effort for unappreciative participants who mistake luck for prescience.

Are you all done with the negative responses now??????

I was technically talking to ONLY lyfia!! I had no problem with everyone else's responses. But since people want to put there 2 cents in .....

Cheaprock, I threaten your livelihood. OB's are your worst enemy, so I understand your frustration. And I promise, I don't want your husband laying one finger on anything of mine. Even though he's a so called real builder. If I don't hire your husband, you basically don't eat. You have a hidden agenda and it's obvious from your response.

Lindybarts,

I AM A MAN!!! If you had read my earlier responses, I said my wife was pregnant. Huh, but I'm the ignorant one???

xavier, NICE! I missed the part about your wife...I have to keep scrolling to the right to read all of the posts now. I'm not sure why it's doing that..so sometimes I miss a few things.

Regardless, you have an attitude issue and I doubt you'll get much more help here. AGAIN...good luck with your build and your parenting. You're going to need it.

No hidden agenda here....we're in Michigan, so no interest in your build other than having hoped you could avoid the pitfalls some owner builders experience. Owner builders don't threaten my husband's livlihood at all, by the way. We don't consider them enemies. Many of the smart and sucessful ones know enough to ask an experienced builder for advice and consulting (which is a service he provides...and he's happy to see them succeed). The hotheaded, overconfindent, arrogant owner/builders provide him or other builders work in getting them out of the messes they've got themselves into, or, at the very least, amusement at the fall that usually follows blind pride. I was trying to wish you luck, and encourage you to use this "close call" as something useful you could use going forward as a warning to just proceed carefully. Smart people can, and do, build their own houses without builders all the time. But it's sounding less and less like you're going to be one of them. Given your snotty, combative attitude (which will be quite an "asset" when you try to coordinate all the people it takes to build a house...not!) I hearby withdraw my good wishes. You have some interesting times ahead.

Okay, I'm in. Xavier, anyone that frequents this wonderful forum knows how helpful and generous the people here are-and Lindy, OF ALL PEOPLE, is never less than a sweetheart. You are not a MAN-you are, sadly, just an overgrown, obviously spoiled little boy
Pattie-Mom of 6 great kids- and yes, even my 5 wonderful boys have done their share of sneaking out!

One more thing....my family eats just fine without taking on people like you for clients. Even if we were in the same area, I can guarantee that even if you were looking to hire a builder, your house would be one of the jobs my husband would never agree to do, because dealing with your attitude wouldn't be worth the aggravation. Try to focus less on proving yourself right, and more from learning from what others have to offer. And calm down...patience and a temper that's under control are a key to taking on a project of this size.

This guy smacks of the banned forum member, "mrbtsweet."

Remember, the guy who made a sexual remark regarding "bj_inatlanta" user name?

What did I do to deserve the TALKING TO ONLY me? I was giving you some suggestions for making something work good with your current plans instead of hacking something in to just make it work. You don't have to do it it was just a suggestion, but it doesn't hurt to keep re-sale in mind. You never know what life throws at you. Having recently been house hunting because you never know what life throws at you I saw so many odd things done and houses that sat forever and still are sitting in an area where it is a neutral market, but good houses sell fast.

BTW I never said anything about that you were doing something stupid and couldn't get a variance etc. I gave you the suggestion to use the lot line as a side yard for the purposes of getting approved. Never said anything else and even wished you the best of luck. I did comment on your stooping to a certain level and it was more meant as why do like others did onto you, why not be the better one instead of those.

Someone better change his user name if he EVER wants advice on this very informative forum again!!

Don't know about the member you're referring to, kelly, but this guy reminds me of a member on the forum from a couple of years ago, "pkixer", or something like that. He was going to build a house on a 45 degree hill in San Francisco (earthquake country), asked for advice, then got mad at everyone for providing it. He didn't like to hear that he might want to do some more research and consult some more expert sources. He was, after all, an engineer who had built a garage before, so of course he knew everything. His willingness to take offense at anything and everything, coupled with his hot temper and bizarre (and sometimes threatening and sexually suggestive responses) provided two or three days of first class amusement for the forum until the thread was pulled.

Guys, that's enough. Teach2007, I'm sorry you feel that way. I really valued your info! For that I want to say thanks.

pattie! Thank you so much for defending me! That was sweet!

Kellyeng, I remember that poster well. It wasn't that long ago.

On a side note, anyone having trouble with the way the posts are appearing? I have to scroll to the right for every message now. I know the header said something about a Gardenweb upgrade starting yesterday. Could that be the reason?

Na, it isn't the upgrade. It's because the OP posted his site plan in the thread and it's so wide....so the whole thread sets to that width. (Wouldn't know how to avoid that myself, though.)

The reason you have to scroll is because
the graphic that the OP inserted is too
large for the page, thus we ALL have to
scroll to the right to read posts.
An easy mistake to make...

Ah...gotcha! ;c)

A succesful build wether by owner/builder or by the services of a builder is all about attitude in a big way.I wish you the best xavier, but unless you change the "tude" you are in for a long and bumpy and expensive ride. All have given you great advise,especially the professionalism shown by cheaprock. You should consider yourself lucky to have a place such as these forums for this advise and show some rewspect and appreciation.Instead you choose to be "cocky boy" which will only prove that with that attitude and 85 cents, you can get a colt 45 tall boy down at the nearest picky quick!

No problem, Lindy. I do alot of lurking here (I've learned SO much) and I can honestly say that I have NEVER seen a negative word in any of your postings-you are the Board cheerleader! There comes a point when staying quiet seems like condoning the action. Those reponses were very unwarranted

xavier I'd still like to know why you are saying you are TALKING TO ME when I didn't say anything bad at all and that everybody else's posts were ok.

I don't think putting in an exterior door into a bedroom and calling it your front door is going to solve all of your problems. In fact, I'm sure it's not.

Good luck. You're going to need it.

Wow! Amazing how this thread is going.

As an OB myself, I can tell you, it's very challenging, overwhelming, difficult, frustrating, stressfull - sometimes all at the same time. However, since neither DH nor I have any experience and we both work full time, we hired a builder to manage our build. This has been invaluable to us and we NEVER could have done it without the expert. Just something for you to think about.

These GW members opinions, advise and expertise are another invaluable asset to us. It's definitely not a bridge I would burn!

Good luck!

Ok, let's give the guy a break! A simple, "I'm sorry I acted like a jerk!" would do wonders. Xavier, good luck with your build and your new baby!!

one thing you BETTER do if you are going to put the door onthe BR, get the approval in WRITING before hand. you would be amazed how many times someone is told that something is ok by the permit office, then later the inspector puts the big red stop work order on the door. you want to be able to back up everything they tell you in writing. your word against theirs won't get you squat if an inspector decides it is not correct later.

wouldn't it be a b*$%h if you are 100% finished and they won't issue a CO until you tear it down and start over.

plan on swapping the 2 car and 1 car side of the garage and putting the door there. you may not have to do it, but that may be your only real option if they fail you for the door.

Let's take inventory.

What you *have*:
1. a verbal OK from the senior planning director

What you do NOT have:
1. Stamped house plans that include a door to the bedroom; as one poster pointed out, this might easily require redrawing and recalculating load requirements, etc.
2. written approval of your plans from the actual full planning commission
3. a new address on Mandalay West (what if they insist that your current address is "correct", and decline to change it? it could happen)
4. a completed house (there are a lot more hurdles to overcome)
5. a Certificate Of Occupancy

And let's not overlook the fact that if even one neighbor in your community objects to your site plans, then the planning commission could easily be forced to obide by their own written setback requirments. Your phantom verbal OK (which is not a variance) could go up in smoke.

Seems to me it's waaaaaay too early to declare victory and thumb your nose at all the posters who were trying to help.

I wonder what your plans are for the garage and if d&k may be on the right track with moving the 2-car side over. Obviously you'll want to check with the architect, but if the 1-car door opening was moved and replaced with a conventional entry door, it may solve your problem, especially if you're like most folks and would only use the single car side for "shop" space, keeping cars in the 2-car side. I guess I'm like most folks who would not like an entry door into a bedroom. I also see the driveway as awful inviting for guests to park in, making an entry door on that side of the house that much more useful.

bungeii, our drive is on the side of the house and EVERYONE comes in thru the garage or even the BACK door if the GD is closed. i have had exactly 2 people EVER come to our front door in the 3 years we have lived here. the 1st was a couple of police officers checknig welfare of the previous owner. he had died and his son was writing bad checks on his account. the 2nd was a group of jehovah's witnesses.

to the OP, after thinking about this, if there is an entrance thru the garage why would you even need a formal front door on that side? if required, then i would do as i suggested earlier, but if they will sign off without it then try for that.

i just wonder if the 911 commission will allow your address change. here you are addressed by which way the front of the house faces. NOT by which door you use to enter the house.

davidandkasie - He got mad at me for suggesting that part, but maybe you have better luck ;)

I for some reason don't think he cares what his house really is going to look like with that extra door. Anybody else get the feeling that people visiting the first time are going to come knocking on the bedroom door after parking by the garage.

d&k, my "if d&k may be on the right track" may not read the way it was intended. I'm ~suggesting~ that you ~are~ on the right track, not ~questioning~ that you are.

i understood that, i was actually going with your point about everyone wanting to enter thru the side the drive is on.

lyfia, the OP is going to get mad at anyone that does not automatically say they agree with him 100% and the zoning committee is wrong. i just hope that if we keep giving him some good, REALISTIC ideas, maybe something will penetrate past the attitude! i think the OP is a head strong person, and that CAN be a good thing, but they have to learn that nothing goes as planned in construction and to get as many of your ducks in arow as possible BEFORE it costs you money.

WOW is all I have to say! To say you will live in your home forever....ok?! Life does happen. My husband thought he would be at his great stable job till he was 65...he got laid off from that great job a few years ago. We had to sell our house and move to Oregon. Never in a million years did I think I would be living in Oregon. I am sure you have every intention of staying in this home until the day you die. If only we could lay out our lives just the way we want. BUT, we can not. Plan for the future, with your home and your children.

As far as the whole teenage thing. I use to say things like that....when I did not have a child. LOL! We all think our kids are going to be the perfect angels and that we are going to be the ones to show everyone else how it is done. Good luck with that!!! Parenting.........all I can say to that response is you have a lot to learn and you sure will learn it as you go along. Just like the rest of us parents have.

Good luck with your home, I hope it all works out for you. Congratulations on your new baby. I am sure everyone here was trying to help you out and yes, sometimes you get responses you do not care for. Another part of life........

You know I read through this when it was first posted and again tonight. With out any advice, as I didn't have any experience in this area, but just to see what others had to say. I think there was likely good advice and you seem to have thumbed your nose at everyone. Many of these people have very good suggestions and I hope you will accept thier help and advice.

And the thing that got me to respond was your words
"As far as my child sneaking in and out: A remedy to that is called (let me see) PARENTING!" You really think you know it all. It's likely your world is about to be turned upside down. The thing is you won't realize it. Sure they start out as babies, you can do what you want. Then one day you look and it's 6 years later and you are no more the person you were before kids. Your dreams, goals, everything about your life is totally different then you thought it would be. And to think that your kids won't sneak out because of your good parenting shows complete ignorance in the area of child rearing. It will happen, and likely even more so if they have a front door in thier bedroom. It's time now to decide what you're going to do when it does happen, not be disillusioned into thinking it never will. And it's not just the teenager you have to think about. My 2 year old can unlock and open a door. When your kiddo is just 3 and you forget once to lock the deadbolt or keyed lock on the door and they go strolling outside at 2 a.m. Sure maybe you'll have an alarm but your child could be gone and out onto the road before you had your robe on. Once you actually have kids you'll realize all the things you thought would never happen, things you said you'd never do, they happen, you do them. Never say never. Kids do have a mind of thier own and they do use them.

Sorry for the late post to this fascinating thread.

Perhaps I'm too cynical, but I used to work for a mining company that had extensive interests in LA. My first reaction was that there might be informal ways to solve the problem there that are less common in other parts of the country. I know when I was a kid in NYC, informal dealings with government bureaucracy was a business necessity, and I'm sure they still are in certain parts of LA.

Xavier, let me add my voice to those who've gone past youth and seen how life changes one. Not changing is very bad, evil actually. The second your child is born you will be a changed human being. Have you ever noticed the subtle difference between adults who've had kids and those who haven't? That change is called love.

And if people originally gave you a hard time on this thread, trust me, it was done through love. Construction and real estate are humbling professions. Amazing things can and do go wrong (as an example, the most reliable person I know destroyed a $5,000 toilet last week by dropping it. Things happen.) Professionals are worth what they charge if they do a good job. I'm saving perhaps 200k by being my own gc on my MBR renovation, the same kind of money you're talking about. But I'm under no delusion that it's really saving me money. If I put the same effort in my business, I would probably come out far ahead. It just suits my style to do it this way and allow me to get exactly what I want. No contractor would put up with my style without enormous change order fees. But I still rely on experts for many things, architects, engineers, contractors I know, suppliers, variance lawyers (try getting one in NYC someday). Whoever I work with, it's as a team, in which everyone is entitled to be wrong (and will be) and everyone is free to correct each others mistakes.

I'm bothering to write this because I was frankly impressed with the quality of the advice you were given. Good advice like this is both hard to find and quite expensive. People can spend thousands of dollars on professionals and not get such good advice. That advice was offered to you as a gift, out of love.

Well, you've been lucky. Once. Congratulations. It's always a lot better to be lucky than smart (and usually easier.) Sometimes it happens. The church I go to made mistake after mistake in trying to find a new worship space and ignored the advice of anyone with experience and intelligence. Through dumb luck they landed on their feet after a series of incredible errors, and I must say my respect for the Holy Spirit has been solidified. But don't count on luck. It turns.

The best reason to undertake a project like you are doing is that you learn and change by doing something so difficult and seeing it through to the end. My hope for you has nothing to do with whether you succeed or fail in getting your house built, for I have no idea which outcome is actually better for you. My hope is that as a result of doing something so difficult you change and change your outlook on life and come to realize that "government job" for the rest of your life is not what you were created to do and not what would give you the most satisfying life.

All the best,

Frank