Buying house plans online

[caver]

I've been wading through so many house plan sites it's all a blur. Are there any places TBN members have used they would recommend?
My dad says get some grid paper like he did and draw out what I want. :laughing: That's what he did when he built our last family home in the 70's.
I don't think I have that kind of patience. A co-worker went through a local architect. My plans are an a-frame-ish design with big windows on one end and a walkout basement. I will build myself or pay someone to put the shell up and then take it from there.

 

[cartod]

If you know what you want and are able to build it, then by all means draw it up yourself. Its really not that hard. otherwise, I would look at one or two good architecture firms and go through there plans. Mike Garrell designs some very unique homes, but the plans are a bit pricey. We landed on his design so I may be a bit bias.

House Plans, Home Plans & Custom Home Design, Mansion Floor Plans, | House Plans by Garrell Associates, Inc

 

[jlawso21]

First, don't do it yourself, unless you are both qualified to do it well and have the time and patience it requires to do it right. Also, depending on where you live it will save you a lot of headaches and trouble to meet codes required either by your locality or restrictive covenants by some communities. Having said that if you can do it and have the time and patience I can't imagine anything more rewarding.

I bought my house plans on-line and do not regret it at all. I did make a few changes and called the company I bought them from and their architect did it and sent me the changes. The changes I made cost me almost as much as the original plans I bought. If I had to do it again I think I would leave it original.

One other thing, if you are the type person that ruminates over decisions (I am) then definitely get someone to do them for you; you will never stop second guessing yourself. And the pros have already spent countless hours trying to get the max square footage out of the plan you buy while still making it pleasant to live in.

Either way, good luck

 

[cartod]

I would ad one thing, if you hire a good builder, they can make the changes you want on the fly. My builder has made some very nice changes to our house, and because he gets paid on a percentage of everything he buys there are no change charges. A good builder is worth his weight in gold!

Here we are, 9 months in.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

When I was looking I found a lot of plans online that looked nice but were not practical to build. They looked nice, but they didn't conform to standard lumber dimensions. I ended up buying one set of plans, then I designed my own that ended up not looking anything like the plans I got, but the plans were good for the details. If your not sure, I'd lean towards using an architect, or buying a set of plans with minor changes that can be done in the field.

 

[caver]

First, don't do it yourself, unless you are both qualified to do it well and have the time and patience it requires to do it right. Also, depending on where you live it will save you a lot of headaches and trouble to meet codes required either by your locality or restrictive covenants by some communities.

No codes/restrictions in my area. That was the appeal to buy property over there many years ago.

I've talked to a builder that also owns a lumber yard about a half hour from my place. They have built some nice large cabins they rent to tourists. One of their employees said they draw their own plans up and could work with me. they said I can come over and look at one of their cabins that I drive past on the way to my place. I will probably do that this winter. It can give me an idea of what the craftsmanship is like should I hire them to put up a shell.

Appreciate all the responses so far...Thanks!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I know others have posted their plans on here, and have gotten some really good feedback on the plans.

I like some of the ones on houseplans.com

 

[dakotagun]

House Plan No.139719 House Plans by WestHomePlanners.com
ordered these plans after looking online for months. changed a few things, local builder made the changes so didn't have to have the designer redo the plans. been in it almost a year and love it. thought the plans were very reasonable. good luck.

 

[MossRoad]

I've been wading through so many house plan sites it's all a blur. Are there any places TBN members have used they would recommend?
My dad says get some grid paper like he did and draw out what I want. :laughing: That's what he did when he built our last family home in the 70's.
I don't think I have that kind of patience. A co-worker went through a local architect. My plans are an a-frame-ish design with big windows on one end and a walkout basement. I will build myself or pay someone to put the shell up and then take it from there.

As much as many of us would like to design our own homes, the reality is that most of us suck at designing homes. We forget about the details. Coat closets, two-butt kitchens, three non-functional dining areas VS one functional dining area, high ceilings, poor air circulation, can't get groceries from the car to the kitchen without going through the living room, fancy entrance ways that are never used, big draft through the "great room" each time someone opens a door, etc... I can go on and on. By all means, yes, get some grid paper and draw out a floor plan that interests you. And create a list of "must haves", a list of "would like to haves", and a list of "would have if I had nothing better to spend my money on", too, just for fun. Then scour the on-line resources for plans. Try this one for starters. House of the Week | Featured in newspapers nationwide

 

[caver]

As much as many of us would like to design our own homes, the reality is that most of us suck at designing homes. We forget about the details. [/url]

I agree. I remember this cubby hole in that house my parents built that had to be an oops. It was a cool place to hide as kids. Dad closed it off before they sold the house several years later. The kitchen was the only room on a 4' foundation/crawlspace. That was always the coldest floor in the house and the kitchen sink froze on more than one occasion.
A good designer will do things like keep water line runs as short as possible. Putting a bathroom far away from the water heater at the other end of the house makes for a lot of cold water until it gets warm.