One item I would suggest with any plan, but especially stock plans, is to check the garage dimensions. Very, very often the width (front to back) is insufficient for parking.

I especially notice this with Frank Betz plans. I've seen some of his plans with a 19 foot garage.

There is a Frank Betz plan that was built in my neighborhood with a three car garage. Typically only one car is parked in it, and it's parked at an angle in order to get inside fully. A typical mini van or small SUV doesn't fit inside unless it's angled. Needless to say this was a spec house that the original developer threw up on the cheap. It "looked" nice but has many, many problems.

Thank you rrah. I did catch in the insufficient garage dimensions and have added width and depth. You say many, many problems- any others that you can cite please?

The problems are not related to the design, other than the garage. The problems are the result of a dishonest developer, a very shoddy builder and a con man/owner/developer that owned the house at one point.

The floor plan is fine overall. A few awkward spaces, but it's a plan that is probably 15 years old.

Thank you rrah - I appreciate your time!

We are in the process of building Frank Betz "Kingsland", have made quite a few changes and so far has been a good experience. We are at the trim stage (drywall and hardwoods in). I think it really depends on the builder. There have been a few little things that an architect might have caught but not sure it was worth it.

Which house plan from Frank Betz are you looking at buying?

My husband is a GC and we've built a couple Frank Betz plans... he is able to make the kind of modifications you mentioned on his own, without an architect and even without cad. I think if you've got a good builder those kind of changes really arent anything to need to commission someone to do... IMO :)

We are building from a stock plan (not Frank Betz) and we made changes with our builder also. We just showed him the plans and told him what we wanted done differently and he did it.....but, make sure the changes are specified in the contract.

Not all stock plan publishing companies are the same. Make note of what you are getting in your purchase. Some stock plan companies only sell rights to build a design, and do not give you structural information (structural calcs / sizing of beams etc) needed to construct the home. I would suggest looking at pages that explain what is included in a plan set, like the one linked here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mascord House Plans - What's included

We built Frank Betz Candler Park with a LOT of modifications, especially on the first story--so basically a customized stock plan. We worked with an architect from Frank Betz and thought he did a good job. There were still a few little things that we changed after we started building but we are very happy with how our plan turned out.

We loved how this house looked from the outside though and were able to change up the interior to make it a great choice for our family. Our garage is 22x24 and just fine for two cars although we have a separate detached garage where tools, kids bikes, lawn equipment is stored. We did do two single garage doors rather than one large door.

Good luck!

This post was edited by okpokesfan on Wed, May 21, 14 at 12:45

We are in the process of building the Collinwood. We liked the outside (except the gazebo), but we rearranged things to make larger bathrooms, a smaller master suite and large bonus room. We basically eliminated some bathrooms and then made some modifications in the kitchen/office/mud hall areas. We also enlarged the garage and added an upstairs laundry.

Frank Betz was great to work with - we were assigned an architect. I sent a list and a drawing of the changes we wanted and they sent us a quote. It was cheaper than hiring an architect, but we didn't have a PE, architect and structural engineers at our disposal, so depending on the extent of your changes, you may not need to pay for the modification.

We still ended up making a few changes as it was being framed, which was no problem for our builder. We had a good framer and he said the plans were fine to follow, but some of the measurements went from inside wall to outside wall, some from outside to outside. In one case something didn't add up right, so he was a few inches off which made our foyer 4" narrower. Not a big deal, but we aren't sure if it was his fault or the blueprints.

Our modification fee included a full set of working drawings that consisted of the foundation plan, floor plans with schematic electrical layout, elevations, stair/building sections, cornice and miscellaneous details and a roof overview plan. We paid extra for drawings showing the floor and ceiling joist layout and the roof rafter layout at the request of our builder.

We made EXTENSIVE changes (basically almost gutted the inside and moved walls all around), keeping the outside elevation the same except removing the gazebo. We also specified brick exterior, which affected the blueprints. We had to pay for the plan itself, a fee to reverse the blueprint (roughly $200) and then a modification fee of roughly $2,600, so overall it was about $4,200. Considering the extent of our changes, we thought it was a reasonable price.
Something to note though, the plans are not stamped by an architect so if that is something required by your local permitting office then you will need to get a local architect or engineer to review and stamp the plans for you. It wasn't required it in our area, but we wish we had ours checked by a local architect who knew our soil conditions and we would have done our foundation a little different.

Oh, they also need to know where you are building, because some areas require special hurricane accommodations.

We love the house and had a great experience with Frank Betz. I don't think you will be disappointed. We even called them a few times into the build for clarifications and we wanted to add a window, but weren't sure of the placement and our architect sent us a revised drawing for no additional fee. After we agreed to the modifications, the architect communicated well with us and sent us a draft for review. We went thru three drafts before the final. We would highly recommend them as we had a great experience.

One more thing, due to our extensive changes, the turn around time was 5-8 weeks. Not a problem for us, but worth noting if you are in a hurry.