We're looking to build a new home and need help

[Stonecove]

We are looking to build a new home and are looking for sources for new home plans. It seems there's a million sites out there offering floor plans, many of them don't even work and some of them offer the exact same plans. Has anybody had any real success finding an on-site Source for home plans? We're looking to build a 2000 square foot Ranch. If you can point me to some good sources I would appreciate it.
Thanks Stonecove.

 

[LostintheOzone]

I would just hire a local architect and get exactly the floor plan you want.

They will also know the building codes in your area.

 

[wundudnee]

Several years ago we built a new house and had an idea about what we wanted. At that time there was a local lumber yard that would draw plans. They would do about three sets and you could request changes then they would do a final set. They didn't charge if you bought your material from them.

On another house that I did a big remodel on the County Extension office had a architect that would help design your plans.

 

[Whitwabit]

go to your local library and see if they have books on plans .. Friend ordered architectural blue prints for a house he and his wife saw in a book of house prints ..

 

[Farmer17]

I've had my own construction company since 1993 and built many homes and always used a local OKC company called Fillmore Design for my plans then red line the drawings and change them the way I want. For our personal home we looked for a long time at many online places and couldn't find any plans we liked and finally bought some locally. We took a very simple 3 bed, 2-1/2 bath, study, 3 car garage 2250 sf house and stretched it out to 3200 sf. That made all the rooms nice and big and gave my wife a big pantry and laundry room that she wanted. Drawings cost about $650 bucks plus $100 to make red line changes and that included 4 full copies.

 

[Chukar60]

A very big investment and you are going to have to live with it for a long while.
Hire an architect. But, get some input from builders as to who is good in your area.

 

[Rudi]

I helped build many houses in the 70s-80s. The materials now are far inferior to those we used. Don't use green wood, or wafer board, or Chinese drywall. Watch out for cowboys, get many references from any contractors. Good luck.

 

[amazingflapjack]

For a ranch style house of that size, one of the most livable designs continues to be a center entry-split plan house where the bedrooms are at opposite ends of the house master by itself at one end, and with kitchen, great room, etc, and the entry in the middle. They often have an attached garage that comes into the house away from the Master suite-on the other end of the house through a laundry or mud room. This kind of house comes in many styles.

 

[mtgianni]

Get a good builder/general contractor and see if he has what you want.

 

[jag312]

Architectural Designs - Selling quality house plans for over 40 years


Try this place. It has a lot of designs to look at.

 

[Farmer17]

Do you have the lot/land purchased? To build on a lot most people want the longest house that will fit so it will have the most street appeal and seem more spread out inside and not as cramped. If you have an acreage you can build it as long as you want which will make a 2000sf home seem much bigger. If you are going to use an architect or home designer it will help with time and cost if you have a rough floor plan to start out. You can buy the paper from Office Depot that has little squares and figure each square is one foot by one foot and you should be able to then draw what you want and get it pretty close to 2000sf, start out with about a 30 x 65 foot rectangle and proceed from there.

 

[Golddollar]

Before you get too far down the road, contact the settlement agency and get copies of covenants, restrictions and recorded plats regarding this property. Have the settlement company give copies of the recorded easements and rights-of-way to a surveyor to draw them in on a survey. The last thing you want to find is that there is a pipeline based on a valid easement agreement going right through the middle of the lot (I'm not making this up, I've seen it).

All of these things are matters of public record and you are charged with having knowledge of what is on every scrap of paper in the courthouse, even though you have never set foot in the courthouse. The last thing you want is a neighbor, HOA, refiner or utility company telling you to take down what you've spent time and money building because they had prior rights superior to yours.

And did you get or are you getting a boundary survey?

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Regardless of which house plan you choose please don't overlook the need for site evaluation, soil samples, and an engineered foundation plan to build your house on.

Without a solid foundation built on suitable soils with adequate drainage and other factors you could be pouring money down a hole in the ground.

Every building site is different. Soils, drainage issues, and a hundred other factors. The foundation is key to a structure that lasts a lifetime and supports the home properly.

By the way, I have built a dozen houses, for most of which I created the plans for myself. But I never thought of starting a project until a licensed professional engineer signed off on the design specifications.

 

[jag312]

2000 sq.ft. ? How about 2500 sq.ft. My new barn is 1800 sq.ft. You will appreciate the extra space. How many acres are you thinking about?

 

[rwsmith]

Architects....

Many architects usually want top dollar to build a custom house and try to sell you more than you want or need because their livlihood is based on people wanting something unique . There are house design outfits in your area with hundreds of plans on CAD that can be modified to suit you. If you want a top drawer custom house an architect is the way to go, but if you are regular people like me, the cheaper alternative will do. Not saying that some architects won't work from existing plans, but the cost is usually higher. A junior architect would be more in my line.

 

[BRush]

You can go cheap on the design by using free or cheap design plans but not on the engineering. You need to make sure your construction meets your specific soil and micro climate needs. An experienced and researched local general contractor can do this for you.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I see you asked about designing and building your own home. Here's what I know about living in and owning a condo in the inner city . . .

 

[kozmic]

Find a local architect to detail his drawings around your family's wants and needs and local code compliance. Rather than buy a "package set" of drawings that will either mean your family will need to conform to them or will necessitate the need to hire an architect to alter them accordingly anyway. The pre-drawn packages I've seen all lack proper/working details in many areas.
Good luck....remember that building your dream home is meant to be a great life experience!

 

[ladder13]

I'm with the hire an architect crowd, worth every penny. I hired a local guy who listened to what we wanted, walked the lot and designed the perfect house for us on that lot.
My custom builder took the plan and executed it. Not every plan will fit every lot.

kozmic killed it ^^^^^^^

 

[gman51]

I planned on building my house myself or as much as possible myself. I had no experience building a house.
I got a book of house plans from Lowe's. I found one that was just what I wanted. I went to the library for how to books for each job of building a house and I got after it. Never had a mortgage on my house. Each step was started when I had the money for it. 28 years later and the house is still standing. I had around $15,000 invested when I moved in.
I figure today it would cost me at least triple that amount. Besides I am way to old now to build it.