"Blueprints" are now black on white plain paper prints that can be written on but not edited.

CAD can be edited but only if you have someone who owns the appropriate computer program and knows how to use it.

Thanks Reno, we would take them to someone with the knowledge and program to use ( I know won't be putting it in my home computer).

We are ready to purchase plans, I'm unsure weather I should pay the company ( its a Frank Betz plan) to do the modifications or not since we plan to buy the cad set. I would think it smarter since buying cad to take it somewhere local to get additional perspective on modifications and pay them since ill be paying either way to modify?

Frank Betz charges thru the wazzo to make changes.

I'd recommend talking to your builder before buying your plan, and asking what they prefer. Do they want the plans modified and engineering sets drawn up locally or would they rather have it done by the place you're buying your plan? And if they want it done locally, who do they recommend, and then what format does that firm want it in?

I can't imagine why any builder would have a preference as to where final drawings and specifications are prepared. A good builder simply wants a set of complete (and understandable) drawings and specifications, with all elements thought out and resolved. The same applies to the jurisdiction who reviews documents for the building permit. All anyone wants is final documents.

As to media, builders and sub-contractors use paper documents on the job site. They don't care how they were prepared or produced--they simply want final documents to use for bidding and construction.

Plan factories often don't prepare complete designs which meet local site conditions and code requirements. They often don't include structural considerations, nor provide for building utilities and systems (how many plan factory designs have you seen with designated locations for HVAC, water heater, water treatment and the like?). Thus, someone somewhere is going to have to make changes and additions to the plans from the plan factory.

Paper plans mean everything will have to be redrawn. CAD files mean more limited modifications may be possible. Paper plans cost less; CAD plans cost more.

Take your pick!

Good luck with your project.

Betz plans meet the 2009 International Residential Code with Georgia amendments and are not stamped by an architect or engineer. They include the drawings typically needed for construction, except for site specific information and heating or cooling requirements however framing plans are available for most, but not all designs.

This means that you might need to add structural framing information to the drawings in order to get a building permit. If you live in a climate with a greater required snow loading than 5 PSF, a higher design wind speed than 90 MPH or a higher seismic category or wind exposure than B, the structural framing and possibly the lateral bracing will need to be redesigned.

Also, heating and cooling as well as energy conservation is not addressed in the documents.

If you want to build what is on the Betz drawings, I recommend buying the CAD files as a basic starting point and hiring an experienced design professional to finish the drawings and specifications for your home. If you plan to make major changes to the design, you might consider buying the smallest number of blackline prints for your designer to use as a reference.

Thank you all!

Reno, great idea, doing that hadnt occured to me at all. Thank you!!

Ask your CAD designer for his/her preference and cost for redrawing the project.