F.A.Q.

How Much Does Customizing a Floor Plan Cost?

We're happy to accommodate any changes to any plan you'd like to buy to curate your home to meet your family's needs and environment. 

To learn more about the process visit the plan modifications page.

After that, we do charge for additional rounds of plan edits but we’re sure you’ll appreciate our guaranteed 5 business day turnaround time. Other sites take 4-8 weeks!

I Have Land; But Is It Suitable?

We have a resource page here that goes over the steps you might want to take to evaluate the feasibility of building on your lot.

How can I calculate the Cost To Build these plans?

Need to run some numbers to figure out how much your home will cost? It can be hard to know how much a project will cost by looking at floor plans so we created a free cost-to-build calculator. It’s free for you to use as many times as you want!

So what's the next step in getting accurate costs before I buy a house plan?

1.) Check out homes built and sold in your zip code in the past 12 months using a website like Zillow. You should be able to scroll down and input the required variables into the following formula:

​(Final Sales Price - Land Sales Price) / Total Square Feet = Cost/SF​

2.) Contact local builders and send them a link to the plan you want to get a ballpark cost for. Let them know that they're free to contact us for more information if needed. They should be able to get you a cost that is pretty close to a real bid.

Do I need an Architect?

It depends on the rules in your jurisdiction. Most local building departments do not require a state licensed Architect to stamp your house plans but in some higher building density jurisdictions it is a requirement. Contact your local building department to determine the requirements.

Do I need an Engineer?

We recommend that all plans get engineered to site-specific condtions, but it depends on the rules in your local jurisdiction and the plan itself. Many of our plans will require a few beams to be sized per your local site load conditions (snow, wind, seismic, etc). Generally a local lumber yard can help you get these sized properly.

Many local building departments do not require a state licensed Engineer to stamp your house plans but in some higher building density jurisdictions or jurisdictions located in high load areas (snow, wind, seismic) it is a requirement. Contact your local building department to determine the requirements before purchasing.

What's Your Exchange & Return Policy?

If the plan you purchased exceeds your build budget, we will exchange for a different plan (of equal or lesser value) for free. This option can only be exercised once per customer.

Is Mechanical / Electrical / Plumbing included on the plans?

Some MEP components are included on the plans and some are not. We take the plans as far as possible without designing for a specific site.

Mechanical:

Most of our home plans include pre-designed mechanical rooms suitable for a variety of equipment and climates. We design these mechanical rooms to fit a <5-ton air handler, ERV/HRV, electrical panel and tankless instant hot water heater and manifold. In addition, we go out of our way to ensure that there is an easy pre-coordinated route for supply and return ductwork on our plans. We do not provide detailed ductwork layout or shop drawings.

Electrical:

Most of our house plans include a space for an electric panel (load center). In addition we provide a recommended lighting layout and a layout all light switches and outlets on an electrical plan. We do not provide a detailed wiring diagram.

Plumbing:

We layout and dimension all of the plumbing fixtures to code. This is suitable to secure permits in the vast majority of jurisdictions but your plumber may submit additional calculations or drawings in some instances. We do not provide detailed piping shop drawings.

How long does it take to receive the House Plans after ordering?

For Stock Plans:

It takes 1-2 business days to electronically deliver your plans.

Full-sized hard copies of plans are printed and shipped the next day.

For Modifications: We guarantee that all floor plan modifications will be returned to you within 5 working days. Other sites take 4-8 weeks!

What is the deliverable?

The default deliverable is an electronic PDF file of the construction plans. If selected, the CAD (Computer Aided Drawing) deliverable includes electronic 2D AutoCAD files of each plan sheet.

For custom house designs, the deliverables vary by package, but include 1920x1080 .JPG images for the renderings, and 1920x1080 MP4 videos and a web-hosted 3D tour.

Can I get Printed Sets of Plans?

Yes! We charge $40/set for plans, which can be added to your cart at checkout. Alternatively, you can print the PDF plans yourself through your local large format printing company (FedEx, UPS Store, etc). For your reference and budgeting: it tends to cost about ~$50-60 to print a single full size plan-set at FedEx. Contact your building department to determine how many printed plan-sets you must provide. Sometimes they accept PDF copies or half-sized copies for review.

How many times can I build from each plan?

Our plan pricing is based on a single-use license. Contact us directly to quote multi-build licensing for floor plans.

​Will these plans meet my building code?

It depends on your local jurisdiction. All of our house plans are designed to the International Residential Code (IRC) which the majority of US jurisdictions have adopted some variation of. Your local conditions may require some minor revisions to the plans.

Can I design a custom home from scratch?

Yes! Check out our custom home drafting service here.​