And, nowadays, there are thousands of designs to choose from, so you can almost always find something to fit your needs. Instead, a lot of architects (especially if they are not really an architect, but a home designer) will provide the home design but outsource the engineering to someone who specializes in residential structural issues. What most people don't consider before purchasing an online blueprint, however, is that the blueprints do not come engineered for a specific county or building code. If you choose incorrectly, you can run into unforeseen construction costs that can blow your budget.
My advice to owner builders: if the cost is even close, choose the local architect. On the surface it is, until you consider the engineering impact on the roof, the foundation, any load-bearing walls, and any cosmetic issues. Owner builders will also need to investigate whether the building department is particularly strict, as it may make more sense to hire a local architect. If there is extensive work to be done to the online blueprints, it may be cheaper and better to start fresh with a local architect who is familiar with the county requirements. And one thing that most owner builders fail to understand is that most seemingly simple changes are not nearly as simple as believed. And, if you are building a walk-out basement on a sloped lot, you certainly can't expect a stock online blueprint to account for your particular foundation engineering. Architects, themselves, don't always provide the engineering for the blueprints. The more the architect has worked in that county, the better.
Owner builders who are planning to use a local architect and engineer to design their home will still need to do the same homework with the local building department to know exactly what is needed for submitting the building permit application. When it comes to hiring someone locally, make sure that the architect has designed homes for that specific county in the past. For example, you may want to move a wall just a foot and think that this is a very simple process. Owner builders save a lot of time and heartache by hiring someone who will provide properly engineered blueprints. The only way to know this is to ask your local county building department what code they follow and compare this to what code the plans follow. The best course is to carefully review the floor plans being offered and decide if one will fit your needs exactly as offered. It may seem redundant or overly conservative, but if you are building in a strict county, you will be extremely glad you asked the right questions and hired a professional with specific experience in that county. As far as upfront costs are concerned, online blueprint sources certainly seem to be the cheapest. . Instead, online blueprints will be designed to meet one general building code, which will not necessarily be the building code for your county. Compare this to quotes from local architects. Depending on the requirements of your local building department, you may need considerable additional engineering work. For owner builders especially, you need to make sure you are intimately familiar with your local building department.
The county plan examiner should be able to tell you right up front what level of quality the architect typically provides. If you simply choose the plans that seem cheapest up-front, you just might discover the secret, hidden costs the hard way. When you do talk to the county, take the time to ask about the architect you want to hire. This is how costs can quickly grow when using online plans. The choice of whether to buy stock blueprints from an online source or to have them custom designed by an architect can depend greatly on the area you are building and the local building department's requirements. But, choosing the wrong home plans can quickly destroy those savings. Remember the big picture. Do not be cheap about your plans. Anyone building a custom home, whether by being an owner builder or hiring a builder, will need to consider the overall costs of their new blueprints. This can translate to significant cost savings. When you are discussing this issue with your architect, make sure to ask how many times the engineer has provided work for your particular county. Please be aware that changes to online blueprints can get pretty costly if you are making large changes. Your options for blueprint sources have exploded in the last few years as online sites are becoming more prevalent.When building a new home, whether hiring China Deep Groove Ball Bearing Suppliers a builder or acting as an owner builder, one of your first decisions involves your home plans. Owner builders save anywhere from ten to thirty percent in construction costs by eliminating the expense of a general contractor. If not, be sure to get a quote to make the changes you want. One of the key pieces of information that you will need will be the amount of engineering required to go from an online source that you may be considering to an acceptable set of plans to submit to the county.