What Do I Get When I Order a House Plan?
A house plan delivers all the necessary information your builder/contractor will need in order to build the home of your dreams (although you may need engineering, stamping, or other requirements – see the “Read This” note at the bottom of the page). All plan sets contain detailed house plans and high-quality working drawings. In this section we will break down what exactly is included in your house plan set.
Usual plan sheet elements
*Not all plan sets include all sheets listed below. See the "What’s Included section" on specific plan pages to get complete information.
Foundation Plan
The foundation plan shows the general design of the foundation. This plan sheet will show a basement, crawl space, or slab. This typically includes the design of the footing, post and beams, and extent of structural slabs, based on what type of foundation is purchased.
Floor Plan(s)
The floor plan sheet features an overhead view of the layout that shows you the location of windows, doors, walls, and rooms.
Roof Plan
Typically highlighting valleys, hips, and ridges, the roof plan sheet shows you the items that make up the roof. This sheet can also reveal the roofing material and slopes of roof surfaces, as well as chimneys and any other adorning elements.
Exterior Elevation
The exterior elevation plan sheet generally displays the materials for roof, walls, and any other components that are part of the design. Elevations are a 2d representation of each side of the home plan design.
Building Section(s)
The building section plan sheet sports a cut-away view through the home plan design that displays the closeness of spaces. It also displays the relationship from the ground to the house and to the roof.
Electrical Plan(s)
Electrical plan sheets display lighting design intent and layout. This plan sheet illustrates the location of lighting fixtures, switches, and outlets.
Construction Notes and Details
The construction notes and details plan sheet may include the foundation, interior walls, exterior walls, stairways, floors, and/or roof details.
Caution! Read This Before Getting Started
Before beginning your building project, check with your local building department about local codes and requirements, as you may need to obtain engineering, stamping, sealing, etc. Usually, the plan set does not include any plumbing, heating or air conditioning drawings due to the vast variety of local codes and climatic conditions. These details and specifications can be accessed from your builder, contractor, and/or local suppliers.
All house plans on Floorplans.com are designed to conform to the building codes from when and where the original house was designed.
Other Important Documents
License
The License Agreement gives you the access only to construct a single home from a purchased plan design.
Plan Media (Digital Files or Printed Copies)
Digital Files
Other important document files can be obtained via email. Digital files can be sent to an office supply store that prints materials or a blueprint store near you when you need printed “sets” for bidding and permitting. This will help you save both time and money when you need an extra copy or even just something as small as a single page.
Printed Copies
We can have your plan’s designer or architect make printed copies and send them to you in the mail. Need more copies? Simply order another set and they will arrive within a few days in the mail.
Digital Media (sent by e-mail)
Recommended Choice
PDF sets not only arrive the fastest, but they also give you the ability to print more copies locally (and inexpensively) when needed.
Print locally as needed
CAD
CAD files, or Computer Aided Design files, are required if you are making lots of changes to a plan set.
Printed Copies (sent in the mail)
Printed Copies (sent in the mail)
5 or 8 Copy Set
Printed copy sets are stamped “do not copy” and legally cannot be copied.
For more prints, order additional copies
Reproducible
These copy sets are printed on paper and allow direct copying. This set includes a limited copyright release to make additional copies when the need arises.
Print locally as needed.
Not quite ready to commit?
Many plans have a Study Set or Single Set option that allows you to obtain bids from contractors if you are not ready to buy a full-priced plan. These sets are stamped “Not for Construction” and the contractor cannot legally build from it. We do credit you 90% of the Study Set or Single Set purchase towards your upgraded plan set once you are ready for your construction documents.
* Unless you buy an “unlimited” plan set or a multi-use license you may only build one home from a set of plans. Please call to verify if you intend to build more than once. Plan licenses are non-transferable and cannot be resold.
** The original designer retains the copyright to plans derived from their plans. You cannot buy a CAD set, change them and sell the changed design to others or build additional homes based on the changed set.
