I was wondering if anyone had any experience building off internet sourced house plans. I am beginning to explore options for building a new home but was curious if the plans are acceptable to builders and, if not, what types of enhancements to the plans are required for them to be acceptable?
Thanks in advance for the advice!
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Replies
These internet and magazine "canned plans" are the bane of my existence. I absolutely despise 'em.
They're poorly drawn, full of mistakes, and difficult to build.
These plans are drawn with one thing in mind - Selling blueprints. Once they've got your money they don't care if you build the house at all, how difficult it is, etc.
If you're building in an area that has a building department, they may or may not accept the plans. They may requre that you have them reviewed or re-drawn by a local architect or engineer. So the money you spend on prints could be mostly wasted.
Did I mention that I hate those things ???
Thanks for the reply. Do builders usually pass on the "opportunity" to build with these plans? Do you know of any solid alternatives for house plans? Ultimetly, we may have to go to an architect, but when I was browsing the net several plans caught my eye so I thought I would ask. Some plans ar eon the ubuiltit website. Do you have the aame feelings about UBuild-It? Just curious. Thanks again!
" Do builders usually pass on the "opportunity" to build with these plans? "
I don't know that I've ever heard of that being the case. But I'm not a builder, so I can't say for sure.
"Do you know of any solid alternatives for house plans?"
Not having plans? I'm not really sure what you're asking.
You might be able to get a draftsman to do some rough plans to take to an architect. Or at least take some of the pics off the internet and take them in to give the guy an idea what you want.
"Do you have the aame feelings about UBuild-It?"
Not at all. UBuild-It has been discussed here at length. If you search the archives you'll come up with a couple of really interesting threads on them.
I don't lie, cheat or steal unnecessarily.
I'm on my second owner-builder house with internet plans. Our first was from bungalowpros.com. It was a very simple four-square style that we had locally engineered for Seattle. Everybody who worked on it said the plans were great. We've just begun on our second home. This one is from thebungalowcompany.com. We had it engineered locally also. There are at least half a dozen completed models in the Seattle area, so I'm assuming they've worked all the bugs out. These are both small design firms that specialize in a particular architectural style. I didn't find anything on the mass plan sites that looked appealing.
These are both small design firms that specialize in a particular architectural style. I didn't find anything on the mass plan sites that looked appealing.
Those two statements speak a world about the difference between a "canned" plan and a designed one.
I have no, that's no as in none, good experiences with stock plans (and only a few with my own <g>).
Every area needs some fairly specific requirements for building a house. Here on my part of the Brazos river, a good deep overhang and more north than south windows, is only a start. The insulation "pacakage" for here is not precisely suited for other climes. That's just three fairly major items off the top of my head.
Check the yellow pages for home designer or architectureal plans; you may have a "plan shop" in town, that, at least, draws houses closer to your local desing requirements.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
This site sells excellent plans: http://www.architecturalhouseplans.com/
Alan Mascord Designs sells good buildable plans as well, and Tim Uhler, one of our regular contributors, has framed up a number of houses from their design portfolio. A huge house in my neighborhood is being put up from a Mascord plan.
Robinson Design sells quite good plans, though all are craftsman and bungalow style.
Donald Gardner plans are OK, but you need to figure a lot out for yourself, structurally.
Expect to pay more for good plans. There is a lot of garbage out there for sale.
Gene Davis, Davis Housewrights, Inc., Lake Placid, NY