|
You have now decided the style,
approximate size, number of rooms, type of kitchen, number of stories,
basement or not, type of heating, fireplace design and where to situate
your home on the lot. Building a home without Professional House Plans
should only be attempted by the most experienced professional ( hint:
this person does not exist).
Now you need to find a house plan!
-
You've looked all over the internet.
-
You've bought all the house plan
magazines at the grocery store.
-
You've called your local Architect,
only to find out it will cost $20,000 to design a home.
Why not have a Custom
Home Designed for a fraction of the cost?
This is the single most important
decision when building a home!
Custom House Plans
The good points about having a
Custom House Plan are that they will meet the foundation requirements
for your area, and will have every amenity that your heart wishes So,
when the plan is exactly what you want in every way, only then will you
move on to construction. This is the most rewarding path, a home
designed by you for you. no one else will have a house like yours
anywhere in the nation. you can plan for growth, and or plan for a
families special needs and wants.
If an architect's seal is required
in your area, We will find someone before you buy the plans, to stamp or
review the full drawings. Many states do not allow architects to put
their seal on someone else's plans. If you need to have structural
information only reviewed, you may find an engineer more easily than an
architect to seal the plans. They are accustomed to providing structural
information on someone else's drawings.
Our "House
Plans" page has a collection of home plans that will prove to be
unlike all the drab plans you normally see on a house plan web-site
Stock House Plans
The simplest way is to find and buy
a set of stock house plans from a magazine, a home center, the internet
or some other source. You may have to search many plans to find one that
fits your criteria, but this is a very economical option.
The downside is that they will
seldom have the foundation requirements for your area. So, even if the
plan is not exactly what you want in every way, it will need to be
modified. This is not too difficult, but can end up costing more than
the Custom House Plan would have. Even if the plan does not have a
feature you want, you can have the drawing modified to include what ever
it is you want added.
Plan Requirements
All plans should
conform to one of the national codes such as UBC or CABO or the new ICC.
You may need to alter your plans to conform to your local code. The vast
majority of municipalities have adopted at least one of the national
codes. Find out which one. The national codes can be found at your local
public library, and the local codes should be available there too
Of course, you can draw your own
plans if they will be acceptable to your municipality. Be aware that if
you will be applying for a construction loan, the lender will
undoubtedly require complete documents.
Lenders are reluctant to lend to
people that are acting as their own general contractor. You must impress
them with your ability by putting together a good set of plans. It will
also be helpful if you get your permanent mortgage from the same lender
as the construction loan.
Whichever
option you choose, the documents should include all the data required to
build your home.
draw out your needs on paper yourself, sit down with your family and dream
a little bit, it doesn't have to be a set of construction documents, go
to our Ask the Designer section for some
help, but you should have some ideas.
Another option is to have a Design
Firm prepare plans you already own.
This option should also be fairly economical.
|
