Contractor advice needed

We just picked up a property in San Diego where construction was already underway—we're planning to finish it up according to the original blueprints.
The attic design calls for a wall height of 101 cm, with the roof peak sitting at 301 cm.
Is it actually legal to bump that wall height up to 120 cm? The peak would stay right where it is at 301 cm. I'm wondering if there's any wiggle room when it comes to building tolerances.
The thing is, once we wrap everything up, we'll need to secure a certificate of occupancy. 😯

neonbison62 said:We just picked up a property in San Diego where construction was already underway—we're planning to finish it up according to the original blueprints.
The attic design calls for a wall height of 101 cm, with the roof peak sitting at 301 cm.
Is it actually legal to bump that wall height up to 120 cm? The peak would stay right where it is at 301 cm. I'm wondering if there's any wiggle room when it comes to building tolerances.
The thing is, once we wrap everything up, we'll need to secure a certificate of occupancy. 😯

Take a look at the local zoning laws and how they specifically define an attic space.
Every municipality handles this differently through their own local ordinances; in some places, an attic might require a 1.0m height, while others allow for 1.45m.
Since you're following a blueprint, check if that top floor is officially classified as living space or just an attic.
Legally, according to the building code, you usually have a 30cm tolerance. You might be able to make that work with a signed statement from your site engineer to ensure the building passes inspection.
Basically, you need to confirm if the top floor is designated as residential square footage in the plans, or if it's just an attic you're hoping to convert into a living area. For it to count as a residence, the plans must show permanent access—like a standard staircase. Otherwise, it's just an attic.

Hannah Williams8 said:Take a look at the local zoning laws and how they specifically define an attic space.
Every municipality handles this differently through their own local ordinances; in some places, an attic might require a 1.0m height, while others allow for 1.45m.
Since you're following a blueprint, check if that top floor is officially classified as living space or just an attic.
Legally, according to the building code, you usually have a 30cm tolerance. You might be able to make that work with a signed statement from your site engineer to ensure the building passes inspection.
Basically, you need to confirm if the top floor is designated as residential square footage in the plans, or if it's just an attic you're hoping to convert into a living area. For it to count as a residence, the plans must show permanent access—like a standard staircase. Otherwise, it's just an attic.

Thanks for the quick reply.
According to the blueprints, the top floor is currently just an open attic space—though we'd eventually convert it into living quarters once everything is finalized—since we have an external concrete staircase.
Right now, the property is classified as a vacation home, given it only consists of a ground floor and an attic.