Wall Removal - Plans, Permits and Budget planning

Initially, the folks at the city suggested that if it is not a load bearing wall, then I can simply sketch a plan and get my permit. So, I've sketched a brief plan and went to the city for a permit application. I was immediately greeted by the structural engineer as my permit involves wall removal, he looked at it and pretty much said "No waaaay!". The city engineer argued that I have a lot of walls running perpendicular to the front elevation, but only a few walls running parallel to the front elevation as there is a lot of glass instead, so removing this particular wall, even though it is not load bearing, would reduce the resistance of the house to lateral shaking in case of an earthquake.

While  I wasn't happy with this outcome, his argument made sense. He suggested if I remove that wall, then I have to close atrium windows with 1/2" plyboard to make up for the removed lateral resistance. Of course, I have no intention to replace my floor to ceiling windows with any kind of wall, so I said I'll think about it, picked up all my papers and left the city department without any trace ;).

I wasn't satisfied with the answer I got, and I've decided to find an independent structural engineer to discuss the problem in hand and potential solutions. One of the Eichler specialist architects I talked to recommended Brian Dotson Consulting Engineer. Brian was cool, and we had lengthy discussions on how we can engineer a solution that would be as safe as keeping the wall from an earthquake resistance point of view, and something that the city would accept.

Brian has  come up with the following solution, ran the calculations and provided the plans for the permit application. Here is the engineering plan:
- Remove the wall between bonus and living rooms, keep the load bearing post.
- Anchor this load bearing post by bolting it down to the foundation.
- Reinforce the wall between garage and bonus room (which is a parallel wall 10' away) to make it a shear wall for added lateral resistance. Reinforcement involves:
            - Bolting it down to the foundation with new thick bolts and washers
            - Adding hold-downs on both ends of the shear wall
            - Covering the wall with 1/2" plywood.
            - Nailing the upper sill plates to the ceiling.

We've decided to pull the trigger despite the increased cost, and our contractor Michael Pellegrino has applied for the permit using Brian's plans. The city did not accept the plan as is and required us to reinforce a section of the wall between atrium entry and kitchen in addition to the reinforcements Brian proposed. Again, the cost went up, but we still wanted to remove the wall, and decided to go for it. Michael got the permit, and we moved on to the actual implementation phase.

Oh by the way, if you are planning to do something like this, reserve 5K for it. With all the engineering, permits and work involved, this one ended up as the most expensive component of our remodel after the new roof.