The High Cost of “Cheap” Plans

The High Price of “Cheap” Plans

By Kathy Gardner

Have you ever been looking for home floor plans online and been tempted to buy that cheap one for approval? Think twice! These plans can be a great starting point, but often will not be usable for permitting. These plans are sometimes called “canned plans”. Canned plans are often useful as a jumping off point for communicating to your architect or draftsman what you are looking for in a home, but may not be worth what they cost

These plans always look really good online or in a magazine ad, but in reality you also need plumbing, electrical and mechanical plans, a site plan, foundation plans, possibly a grading plan, depending on your site.

Residential Home Plans must have all the current codes stated on the site plan as well as illustration that the plans meet those codes. These codes can be different in every jurisdiction, which makes those canned plans impossible to use.  

There are also other factors that pre-drawn plans can’t address. For example:

Are there any Zoning and HOA, Flood requirements, how sloped is the lot? What is the soil classification and bearing pressure? These are just a few of the factors that change from site-to-site.

Finally, you likely need the following from a local company:

Truss calculations, which vary based on roof type, snow load, and soil bearing pressure.

If you have any limiting factors on your site like a steep slope, expansive soils, or otherwise, you’ll need engineering for the permit as well.

What they are great for is talking to a draftsman or architect so they see exactly what you have in mind for a new home. The elevations of the home are very important to getting the look and style you want.

We have experience with property owners who want to build cabins or barndominiums and they are very disappointed when we cannot use the plans as they are when they hand them off for permit expediting. We do have engineers and draftsmen on our team, but we often have to charge more than the expediting fees for those services.