Perfect for Dreamers or Serious House Plan Shoppers
Software Information
Are you ready to find the best house plan for your dream home? To get started right away, being with Quick Search, where you can select the basic requirements for your new home and browse a wide range of house plans. If you're ready to refine your search with specific house styles and lifestyle features, you can use the Advanced Search. If you're having trouble envisioning your dream house, take a look at some questions designed to help you develop a list of characteristics for your new home in selecting the right features for you. As a result, you'll begin to understand how to use the advanced search to select those features that will return house plans that are tailored to your budget, lifestyle, and taste.
You can purchase different types of plan sets, depending on your immediate needs. Each type of plan has a different purpose. Some include a building license while others include a copyright release so that you can make changes or legal copies easily. There are five types of plan sets: a construction set, a reproducible set, a CAD-file set, a single set, and a study set. With only a few exceptions, all home designs are available as a construction set, and most have other set options, depending on what each independent designer offers. Plans for Houseplans home designs are drawn at ¼-inch scale, that is, ¼ inch equals 1 foot, unless otherwise noted.
Categories
- What does it cost to build a new house?
- How do I get started?
- What's included when you buy a plan from Houseplans?
- Definitions & Common Terms
- Building Codes & Permits
- Modifying Your House Plan
Educational software Features
Selecting the Right Features for You
If you're not sure what you're looking for, select Start Browsing Now on the home page and then browse through the thumbnail pictures until you have a better idea of what suits your needs, lifestyle, and taste. If you're not sure about the features you're looking for or want a better idea of the choices you have with Advanced Search, take a few moments to consider the following:
House Type
Considerations that help determine the "footprint" of your home; what the primary game function of the house will be, such as a residence, vacation home, or even a rental:
- What is your target square footage?
- Are you looking for a single-family dwelling or one that accommodates more than one family? Are you considering a duplex?
- Is this a vacation home?
- What are the minimum and maximum measurements you're considering for your home's square footage, width, and depth?
- How many bedrooms would you like to include? How many bathrooms?
Lifestyle Features
Where will you be spending most of your time in your new house? Working, entertaining friends, raising a family, enjoying your favorite activities and computer gamesduring retirement? The following considerations will help you configure the interior of your house and what special features to include:
- Would you like a porch? Do you envision it covered, wrap-around, or screened?
- Would you like a courtyard as part of your home's configuration?
- Does your lot have a view? Is it narrow, on a hillside or corner?
- What kind of living space would you like? Are you thinking of a great room or family room? Would you like vaulted ceilings? Is an open floor plan important?
- For your bedrooms, would you like the master suite on the main floor or upstairs? Do you need two master suites? A nursery? A teen suite? A guest room or in-law suite?
- Are there other considerations like an unfinished basement, or do you need your house to be handicap accessible.
Program Includes
Here's what's included with each section of a plan set, plus a brief listing of what's not included with each plan set:
Elevations
- Material labels
- Floor-to-floor heights
- Roof slope indicators
- Attic ventilation notes
Floor plans
- All post and beam locations
- Door and window sizes
- Complete and accurate dimensions
- Room labels and interior room sizes
- Electrical layouts
- Code-related notes
- Building-section markers
- Floor joist type, and spacing and direction
Foundation or basement plan
- All post and beam locations
- Door and window sizes
- Complete and accurate dimensions
- All foundation wall and footing sizes
- Code-related notes
- Building-section markers
- Floor and deck joist type, and spacing and direction
- Mechanical-equipment location
- Electrical layouts
Roof plan
- All roof beam and header locations
- Building-section markers
- Code-related notes
- All notes necessary to the structural system
Building sections
- Beam connections and locations
- Floor joist type and spacing
- Floor-to-floor heights
- Non-typical plate heights indicated
Typical wall sections
- Labels indicating wall construction
- Foundation wall thickness and minimum reinforcing
- Type and rating of house insulation
Miscellaneous notes and details
- Miscellaneous house-framing details
- Stairway details
- General notes about code requirements for residential construction
Not included
- Locations of actual ductwork for heating and air conditioning
- Drawings showing the actual plumbing pipe sizes and locations
- Electrical wiring and panel diagrams
- Professional stamps
- Location-specific engineering
Unique Advantages
House Plan Drawings
- Construction set - the basic package of drawings you need to obtain a building permit, secure your financing, and build your home. It includes five complete sets of house plans. Each set has all four exterior views (also called elevations), complete floor plans, a basement or foundation plan, a roof plan, building sections, and all other details necessary to construct your house. (For more details about construction set contents
- Reproducible set - for making minor changes to your house plans, this complete set of house plans is on an erasable Mylar, sepia, or vellum paper. A reproducible set includes a copyright release so that you can legally copy the modified plans as many times as you need to complete the building process. Although this set is licensed, you may not use it to build more than one home without obtaining a multiuse construction license. Not available with all house plans.
- CAD set - for making substantial changes to your drawings by a local design professional, this complete set of house plans is similar to a reproducible set but in an electronic-file format. A copyright release is included so that your designer can make changes and legally make copies; however, like the reproducible set, you may not construct more than one house with each CAD set without obtaining a multiuse construction license. Not available with all house plans.
- Study set - for estimating costs and determining if the house is affordable within your budget. It includes all four exterior views plus the main and upper-story (if more than one) floor plans, but it does not include the roof plan, foundation plan, building sections, or other details. A study set is stamped “Not for Construction,” does not include a building license, and may not be copied. Not available with all house plans.
- Single set - for obtaining bids, this complete set of house plans is stamped “Not for Construction,” does not include a building license, and may not be copied. Not available with all house plans.
Using Advanced Search
- Square footage - select a range or enter specific minimum and maximum values
- Number of levels - you may select more than one checkbox option
- Number of bedrooms - you may select more than one checkbox option
- Garage size (number of stalls) - you may select more than one checkbox option
- Number of bathrooms - you may select more than one checkbox option
- House Width and Depth - select a range or enter a maximum value
Popular Country House Plan Searches
- Wrap around porch
- Vaulted ceilings
- Between 1500-2500 square feet
- Open floor plan
Software Computer Requirements
|
