I HAVE FOUND A NICE HOUSE PLAN ON THE INTERNET . We do not build like this out in az . It is steep roofed and looks to be conventional faming. the plan guys here say they will have to redraw it for me to pass all the engineering and things the city wants. Any one else tried these plans?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Listeners write in about haunted pipes and building-science tomes, and they ask questions about roof venting and roof leaks.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
This topic comes up once in a while on the forum. generally, builders don't like working off a set of Southern Living plans (or whatever the source was) becasue, as you discovered, they aren't what the customer wants, they don't meet local codes, and there are a lot of things missing off the plans. If you were to contact the seller, they would say that their plans are suitable for any city in the US, and that it is the builders responsibility to handle the details. Well, no and no. The builder can probably answer the questins, but that's not his job. If it was, he would be called the designer-builder, and his fee would be adjusted accordingly.
It is illegal for you to copy those plans without paying for them, and almost no decent architect will just whip out a few details to please the local permit office. You are better off to find a local architect or designer, and have plans drawn up that suit your desires.
Most architects have several stock plans that they will selll for a very reasonable fee, or they will quote you a cost to draw custom plans. Drive through some neighborhoods with houses you like, stop and talk with the builders. They will tell you if the archy is any good who did the plans for that house, and you can go from there. Some builders are capable of drawing plans. call the archy, tell him you saw one of his houises and you want to talk about having plans drawn for your house. Most archys will give you a freebie 30 minute visit to discuss general things like his fee and your wishes.
And welcome to the forum.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
I've ranted here many times about "canned plans", so I won't go off again.
But definitely avoid them like the plague.
There's a lot to be said for not talking so much.
When I was planning my own house a friend gave me a stack of plan books to browse through. I found a design that I really liked so I ordered the plans. By the time the plans came in 3 weeks later I had drawn up a full set with a completely different floor plan. $500 wasted.
I liked the look of the house from the exterior so that was used as the basic theme. If you find a house you like take the plan book to a designer or an architect and have plans drawn up that are in line with your local building codes.
There is a reason it doesn't look like what is built in AZ... it's the climate. Hot, dry, sunny, and only about 10" rainfall a yr. if you are in the south.
I suggest adobe or masonry wall, not frame (better thermal performance in this climate), use overhangs on the south walls, avoid windows to the west and just get a local architect.
There are widely varying levels of quality in plans one can purchase via mail.
I only buy plans done by architects, of houses that were actually built, and when photos of those built houses can be seen by me.
I also only build the houses on sites and in locales that are appropriate for the style and design. And only on a lot with appropriate topo.
Of the ones I have built from purchased plans per the criteria above, I have had no problems whatsoever. All have been built with complex truss roofs, and the truss guys got the jobs right.
I am watching a Donald Gardner plan getting built down the road, that was designed for a backslope lot, when in fact it is being built on an upslope. Big no no in my estimation.
What Ed & David & BH said (including the welcome to BT).
I'd recommend taking to designer-builders about what you want. If at all possible ask locals who have built houses about who they used and whether they liked the result. Check out some neighborhoods under deveolpment. Particularly look for houses that stand out from the "ordinary" ones. See if you can tell why they stand out--you may wnat that quality in yourown house. (It may be they stand out by not standing out, and not being ordinary, either.)
Why go with a DB and not straight to an archy? You're more likely to get a better house from a DB, as that's what they do. Not commercial buildings, or shopping centers, or the like. Many archy offices will treat residential work like stepchildren, mostly as residential work tends to be less profitable than commercial work. That is, unless you find an architect who specializes in residential work--that's a different game.
Ask for references and previous clients to contact. If nothing else get a list of addresses/neighborhoods to look at. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. You definitely do not want to be another thread of "no contractor will return my calls" or "my contractor screwed up" <g>.
Hi and welcome in.
When you say, "the plan guys here say they will have to redraw it for me to pass all the engineering and things the city wants." who are the plan guys you refer to?
The best place to get the true answer for your locale is to ask at the permit office what is required to get a permit. Be specific, mention interenet plans, and let them be specific with you. Miore than likely they have a FAQ sheet ready for you.
The biggest problem with canned plans is that many local jurisdictions require engineering stamps from an engineer or architect licensed to work in that jurisdiction. Thus, plans from another will not be accepted.
Then filks try to get a lcoal guy to stamp the plans they have not drawn, This is illegal, unethical, and downright dangerous, niot to mwentiion that the amt of time required to analyse and review the design of another person can take nearly as long as drawing a new set. so folks often find that the plans they paid five or six bills for takes another thousand or so to get past review and permitting. They end up with a more expensiver set than it might have cost to just start with a local guy.
I do design/build here - in an area where no wetstamps are required, but i still uise an enineer when i need it. I have had customers show me plan books to describe what they want with a question such as yours, sometimnes asking that I build from the little drawing in the plans book without their paying for it. I decline to do that, it would be theft. What I do instead is to ask them what it is about these plans that appeals to them and what does not meet their expectations or what could be improved upon to fit their fancy. i also ask questions about lifestyle and lot topography. By time the interview is finished, they are ready to throw out the little plan book and pay for a plan to fit them and the lot. Most of my work is remodeling so that is more appropriate anyway but still better to customize with the new ones too.
I think if you can find a local designer or archy who can work with you in a similar manner, it will be money well spent.
Some internet plans are of houses that have been built already and are buildable, but it seems more often that they are plans cooked up in practice sessions at an architectural school. ( kind of like getting a haircut at the barber school instead of from a guy whose been snipping hairs for twenty years or so) You would have no way of knowing the difference until you invested bucks and had a builder study the plans you get, whether they are any good or not.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!