You may want to consider hiring the best framer in your area because the framer is everything on any house, cabin, etc. A good framer should be able to modify trusses on site unless your roof pitches changed dramatically for one reason or another. If you get a good framer, any idiot can work to a square corner and a level floor system. A good framer will know the order in which all this needs to be done as well. I hate to say this but architects sit in offices and as a stair professional who builds radius freestanding stairs from scratch I can tell you that I always do everything on my curves from the framing to having it ready for the painters and floor people when I walk out the door & I bet in 20 years of doing this there have been maybe 3 homes where we didn’t have to amend the stairs, whether it be to meet the code requirements, or they’ve put too many steps in & they’re too narrow to walk on the inside so we have to take some out when we lay them out on the floor. We’ve had to change radius to tighten them up so that the front doors would open and I could go on and on. They sit in offices all day and they have never installed anything that they draw themselves, but they are definitely necessary but any GC who tells you they’re “lost” have no experience collaborating with their subs and obviously don’t know the proper subs to hire when they run into situations that aren’t cut and dry and don’t go exactly along with the blueprints. It would be my suggestion to call around and see who the best framer in your area is and have them come look at it and they’ll tell you what must be done. You may have options and you may not but he’ll know. Once you speak with him he should be able to tell you what GCs in your area are competent enough and know how to handle the changes made. Building is not rocket science. You may have to get the framer to build you some new trusses. I don’t know if this is a kit house or what but regardless any good framer will know exactly what options are available. Moving interior walls can be a huge deal if the walls are load bearing or holding up LVL beams that are the main support of the house so that may be why your current GC is “lost” but at this point it sounds like it is what it is & you’ve got to do whatever is necessary to get the show on the road. It sounds like to me you’re going to have to get a different GC but your current one won’t be happy unless he’s just so frustrated he wants to hand it off but that’s rare. Definitely speak with an attorney first if you go that route unless you’re paying as you go or he’s cost plus, because if there’s a construction loan (at least in AL) the bank will want to have previously worked with your new GC, otherwise they’ll halt construction & take over, which is why I suggest talking to a lawyer, especially if he’s given you a price on the home because when he’s cut loose he’s going to try to get every penny in fees he can for his time in 99% of cases. Basically if you are firing him, get your ducks in a row before he knows it’s coming but that framer will know what has to happen & I suggest you go from there. Best of luck to you. If there’s anything else you’d like to ask me about, dong hesitate to ask. I’ll do my best to answer them for you!! Good luck!!

Ask the architect.

Vines Woodworks, Inc. This is the solution I came up with, but how do I find such a person? Framers here are generally temporary residents from Mexico, according to the locals. This is a draw/ pay as we go situation and I am in no hurry to complete the build. Do you know of anyone you can recommend?

Sophie,

Definitely a learning experience and one I never want to repeat. When a builder tells you he can build anything, then nixs your first three plans but gives you an okay on the final- current one, you want to believe he knows what he's doing. So far, he has been cautious and upfront with any changes or concerns. Maybe I should have gone in another direction at the start, hiring an overpaid city architect to traipse up the ridge in his loafers, but that's not the way this place works. It's more complicated than that. I'm sticking in there, determined to make my mark- placing a very contemporary home on a ridge overlooking a very beautiful place.

Mark,

Done. Asking all four that have worked on the plans. #maybe5isthemagicnumber

The history of the project you describe so far spells "TRAIN WRECK"; "company A", "company B", "Builder does cabins", "Had to hire another architect ", "truss builder says he can't input the plans into his program", "builder confesses he feels lost", "doesn't trust his framing crew", "adjust elevations", "I don't know what to do", "builder tells you he can build anything, then nixs your first three plans", "windows and doors are ordered", and "four [architects] that have worked on the plans".

Stop everything, or you will continue heading in the disastrous direction you are in. Select the best architect (make sure they are LICENSED Architects) of the bunch you worked with (or maybe another one, hopefully local), and determine with them the best path to take at this point in time.

Get engineering and find a smarter truss builder and builder.

Trusses and Jacks can get pretty complicated depending on size and shape of house/roof. A truss company should be able to load your architecture drawings into their Truss design software. Then again, manual truss design needs knowledge of structural engineering and not everyones cup of tea.

My story:

Even though my building architecture software builds framing, it does not automatically build trusses. For our new home I designed/architected, had engineering done by the best company in the region, and even though I provided entire roof framing layout, out of dozens of trusses and jacks, the truss company still got a few wrong and a bunch where engineering went against my truss design recommendations for the front car port, finally had to rebuild new ones (at my expense I might add) which cost me additional $$$$. The truss company used their crane for all placement over several trips and the driver was happy when the last truss/jack was raised on placed onsite; all discarded ones are onsite and I have little use for them except for burning. It is correct to say one needs to, and we had the best framer who knew exactly how to check each truss and jack for size and fitment, identify bad/inaccurate ones and communicate with the truss company through the gc.

Yeah we blew our truss budget, but such is life.

In our case, when my framers came to me and said they couldn't build part of our house as it was drawn, my next call was to the architect. He was able to immediately identify the problem they were having and tell them how to correct it. Turns out they had made a mistake earlier in the process and had to go backwards for several days before moving forward again with the proper procedure. We had a capable framing crew too - they just had a penchant for missing details on the plans.

I recommend that you do the one thing I wish I could have done - pay the architect an additional fee to inspect the framing as it goes up. Our architect wasn't local so I didn't have that choice. Thankfully I knew our plans by heart and was on-site every day to point out discrepancies though - and there were many. But if you are unable or don't trust yourself to do that, please set your mind at ease and shift that burden to a professional. As others have pointed out, framing is basically foundation #2 of your investment - the extra expense is worth it.

More money thrown at a doctored up,who knows who is responsible for what, and fingers pointing everywhere, is going to be graduate school in how to NOT do a build. You will spend way more money fixing problems than starting entirely fresh with people with skills.

Contact Springtime Builders here on Houzz - he's somewhat in your area, I think, and has good experience - he may be able to help with some references.

It's possible that you only need to send your plans off to engineering. While we had a licensed architect and a fully custom build, because we were working with different materials, our architect engaged a trusted local engineer, skilled in modern homes / large expanses, using concrete / steel / glass, etc.. This engineer(-ing firm) and architect work hand in hand often. Engineer was able to help us make adjustments in our steel trusses when we wanted a little more headroom in one area (shallower truss, but same rigidity) and also help cost optimize each solution. He engineered our floor slab. When we had a couple of fabrication screw ups with our concrete panels, he was able to review the proposed fix and ensure we had what we needed / kept panel installer from glossing over structural issues.

...hillbilly?

It is a technical term.

IDK if your problem is that a) the plans are not stamped blueprints, i.e.: not buildable, or b) your GC is out of his depth, or a combination of both a and b.

Casey

What area are you in? It is extremely hard to find a good framer & I’m not knocking architects by any means. I was just telling you that we’ve had to make adjustments to their drawings but I also said building wouldn’t go on without them. I have a lot of respect for them but when they draw 22 steps on a half circle curve the walkline 1’ in has to be 10” so we have to remove steps. Let me know your location & I’ll try to find someone to help you!

If the builder says it can't be built correctly, and the structural engineer at the truss company (they are called "engineered trusses" for a reason) can't make it work, then I suggest you look at the architects as the cause of the problem. Just because they can draw a pretty picture, does not mean it will stay standing without being a money pit.

Talk to the engineer and find out why, instead of soliciting more blind, bias, and baseless advice from pandering architects on Houzz leading you down the wrong path.

Contact another truss company, call them directly and ask what is wrong. Call architect and the builder. Any respectable truss company has an engineer on staff to stamp trusses, talk to him. The Builder i used to work for only few times run into this issue. From crazzy ass design by out of college architect, unsupported dormers, bad clearances, improperly measured foundation... all was pita. I do not understand your builder, instead of actively looking for a solution - he tells you he is stumped? We would have had a solution in less than one day. May be the issue with the high cost to fix...

I agree with Brian. The truss companies that are worth anything have no problem making trusses for anything. If some framing needs to be changed (beam installed whatever) they can tell you what needs to be done and they have engineers that (for a fee) can "fix" it.

Linda, did you ever get this situation resolved? If so, what did you end up having to do?