cool vid. thanks for posting

The house is ready to be renovated now. Too bad the attic is filled with trusses.

As much as the modwestern accents " drew me home," I found myself skipping through a lot of it.
Great old series, pre hgtv days.

I completely understand the appeal of online plans. People get to see the finished plans and know (or think they know) how the floor plan will work and what the home will look like. The price also seems appealing...a fraction of the cost for custom design. However, online plans leave a lot out of what one will need to build in most locations.

• They rarely come with completed structural plans appropriate for the snow and wind loads for the site.
• A foundation plan will usually be required for the specific site.
• A site plan will need to be prepared with driveway, grading and drainage, and possibly landscape plan.
• The plans may need to be adapted for the site grades, local requirements, the clients wishes or budgetary concerns.
• Energy requirements are based on climate zones. Since online plans have to be generic, they leave out important energy requirements.

Online plans may work well for some consumers, but one should be aware of all the additional costs to take the online plans from design to buildable construction documents.

What I take from that is the necessity of a homeowner doing his or her due diligence. If I was guessing, I would say the vast majority of homes built in the United States are either tract homes or homes that a local contractor offers with some modification. In those cases, one would hope all the local issues were addressed by the builder, but again the homeowner isn't off the hook here. As to the national plan sites, they clearly state that while they are designed to meet the requirements of the International Residential Code, they cannot design homes to meet local codes. This, it would seem to me, would be the responsibility of the contractor to make sure all is right when he or she pulls the permits. Just looking at my local area, it mentions that before a building permit is issued plans have to be submitted that show the snow and wind load, the foundation plan, the site plan, and other requirements. Whatever modifications that are required will be the responsibility of the homeowner and the builder, but will still be far under what the homeowner would pay an architect.

That said, I'm not looking to fight the "plans v. architects" battle here. What I'm looking for are stories from those who went this route to see what experiences they had and if they would do it again.

"would be the responsibility of the contractor to make sure all is right when he or she pulls the permits."

Obviously at a cost.

"Whatever modifications that are required will be the responsibility of the homeowner and the builder, but will still be far under what the homeowner would pay an architect."

Again at a cost. Who is to say that this is the less expensive route? Also need to make sure you are legally allowed to have the plan mill plans modified locally. Most are copyrighted for just such a purpose.

What company would sell a plan nationally and not allow a homeowner to make it meet local codes?

Read the disclaimers from the sellers carefully.

In 30 years we've purchased two sets and seen a few others from clients. I consider these "conceptual" unless you're building in the part of Texas that doesn't require permits or licenses.

That's why they are relatively inexpensive. When I had a design staff, I'd budget about a month for a complete set, 2-5 days for a concept similar to these.

There are times when a stock plan meets a client's needs with little or no modification.

A few years ago we had a client whose only desired alteration to the stock plan was to eliminate some frou-frou on the foundation exterior. The building site was relatively flat and the neighborhood didn't have architectural covenants so we didn't need to redraw the elevations. We did recommend they change the size of the Powder Room door, but other than that we pretty much built the plans as originally designed.

Essential Craftsman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCA1cB1zg_M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AUFrOtm6Mk

Amateur designer; professional talker.

BT

"Essential Craftsman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCA1cB1zg_M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AUFrOtm6Mk "

Good stuff!

"Come in to a living room, dominated by views. Big windows , boom, boom BOOM" :)

Ben,

Appreciate your input. Out of curiosity, was the plan you used generally suited to the site in terms of engineering. In other words, did it take a lot of work to make it sit properly on the slab? Also, how does it complement your lot in terms of appearance? Again, thanks for your input.

The site was pretty level so no, it didn't require any significant lot prep/manipulation other than having to push over a lot of trees to make room for the house... The house was designed as a lake house but we loved the layout and find it to be just as suited for our mountain lot.

If you're serious about moving forward with the project I would suggest you start interviewing builders. You'll want to find someone you're comfortable with and has experience with building custom homes in your area. Talk to him/her about what you're wanting to do and maybe show them the plans you're considering so that they can help advise you on selecting the right one.

Again Ben, thanks. I do need to clarify something, however. I'm not asking this because I'm considering going this route. I just wanted to hear first-hand experiences from people who have done it. Like the resale thread, I'm more interested in this as a philosophical question.