I have been looking online at house plans and what I am finding seems pricey. My father says when he built a house back in the 70s he paid about $30 for blueprints. What I am finding is going to cost several hundred dollars. Does this seem right? For instance one of the plans I am looking at has it broken down like this:
Reproducible + 1 set $746.00
Construction Set – 9 Sets $613.00
Additional sets, each $25.00
Construction Set – 5 Sets $529.00
Additional sets, each $25.00
Planning Set $99.00
Additional sets, each $25.00
If we plan to do all the work ourselves (minus foundation)what are we going to need? What is usually contained in the planning set? Would that be enough or do we really need to buy the construction sets. Its a little confusing. Isn’t it possible to just buy blue prints? Am I looking in the wrong places perhaps?
Thanks,
John
Edited 3/27/2005 11:57 am ET by John
Replies
I just built a house last year with internet site bought plans and that is the rate for the most part. My advice though would be not to use the plans. If you want to use those sources to get the general style of the house, that would be fine but after you see what you like and don't like. Then I would go to local architects and look at plans out of their portfolio that they sell for much less than a new design since they have already paid for their design work with the original sale.
The plans were used were an absolute PAIN IN THE A$$. From what I've heard since, others are no different. The plans are very poorly designed, I needed to make dozens of framing changes, change dozens of written descriptions for the building permit (even on something as simple as the foundation). Some of the window sizes were not standard sizes, bath room layouts were odd, etc. I would guess that it cost me at least $5k more in framing labor and because of poor design choices the plans made, added about $20k more in additional cost for various other things. Don't worry about less than $1000, worry about the big $$ bad plans will cost you.
I live outside Boston so expenses here are much higher than other parts of the country but my only regret is that I used those plans. By the time some problems came up we had to come up with an effective but not the ideal solution. The house look very good but only because I ripped out all my hair fixing and dealing with a bad set of plans.
Those prices are, unfortunately, reasonable. You're not really buying the paper, but intellectual property. Folks who work in those professions make their money by selling their designs. If you hired an architect to design a basic 2000 square foot house, it would take in the neighborhood of $20,000 in labor to do it. In selling stock plans the architect spreads that cost, in addition to overhead, across multiple buyers.
Stock plans run the gamut from really good to really bad. It is difficult for someone not in the trade to judge upfront what the quality is likely to be. It would be rare to purchase a set of stock plans that was free from omissions and be precisely the ideal house for you and your site.
It is a tradeoff. Hiring an architect would be much more expensive, but if you have a good one, you can save some of that cost in a more economically designed house. Again, though, there are good ones and not so good ones.
Prices you quoted are not out of line. Tell us what style you're looking for. I have about 50 plan sellers bookmarked. Might be able to point you in the right direction. Some are less expensive than others.
Kinkos wants $4.00 for each 24x36 page. Often it's cheaper to get multiple sets from the company.
You'll need a copy for the plan check people and an "official" copy to be kept on site. You'll need a copy for yourself to work from. You may need to leave copies with subs you might employ. It's a pain trying to get them back. Sometimes you can copy just one page for most subs...the floorplan for most of them. You can do that on your own at Kinkos.
Usually 5-6 copies will do it. Be prepared to hire someone local to make additions that are required in your area.
ShelleyinNM
Ok thanks for the info. I had a feeling the prices were probably about right, but wanted to confirm before purchasing anything. We are looking for a very basic ranch style home. Probably 4 or 6 corners since we are not seasoned professionals and would be easier to build. The plans we have been considering are located here:http://www.homeplans.com/main.asp?sec=homeplans&action=plandirect&hspos=hsnet&hsgv=1&sessionid={B43980BC-1E6C-48A4-973A-544FC8409D35}&view=main&planid=7371Any opinions on this site? If you can find a similiar plan cheaper I would certainly take a look at it.Also, does anyone have experience with blue print design software? A friend of the family is sending some software out for me to test drive. Personally I think it would be easier to purchase the plans, but I'll take a look at the software and see what I think.Thanks again,John
I've never purchased from them, but I know of them. Seem to be about the same as all the others.
Learning the SW is painful. Any of them. Once you "get it" it's not too bad. Better check with your plans check people and see what the minumum paper size is....you might get all balled up getting them what they want.
If you know what you want and it's just a basic ranch, you might explore what a draftsman would charge. You'll probably wind up getting one anyway. Around here plan-to-plan the factories are cheaper. If you do go that route, make sure that they guarantee the permit.
ShelleyinNM
Wish I had all the magazine money & time spent on line searching for The Plan! We just completed working with a designer, who charged 1% of estimated cost which is much less expensive than architects but still a bunch of money. Our theory was it is less expensive to make changes on paper than with hardgoods because of some lack of communication. In other words, taking 2 feet off this room & placing it into another room, overall layout changes like moving bathroom fixtures to better accommodate our lifestyle, windows the size I desire not what was shown. Electrical, plumbing, framing, doors, eaves, roof line etc. are what we chose & no changes planned...at least that is how we will proceed. Actually this is 2nd time we have used this older designer who works alone & highly thought of among the building trade.
A lot of builders have folks who will make changes to the plans they have in order to pass their Planning Commission. Pursue this avenue & chat with friends who have been down this road to find a local person who can advise you in areas you may not have considered from type of fireplace, local codes, load bearing walls, etc.
p.s. Liked the plan you are considering though it was not clear on my screen.
An additional thought from whomever you obtain your plans- Standard Sizes - use standard sizes whenever/wherever possible for your doors & windows in order to keep your costs down. On last house, we chose to increase size of fireplace after the plans drawn which meant we then had to order "special order" 2 pair of metal atrium doors as we did not increase the room size (too late). Doors eventually rusted & had to be replaced (another special order plus price had significant increase)!
p.s. We received a total of 9 complete sets from designer along with a cover sheet to identify who was given a set...such have a way of being misplaced/lost!