General
preparations | Building
lot/property | Home
plans/Specifications | Engineering
| Building permit
| Subcontractors and
bidding |
Lien
Waiver | Contracts
and scheduling | Financing
The blueprints or plans are scaled drawings of the
structure. The most common scale for residential plans
is 1/4"=1'. Plans or prints as they are often
called are drawn by hand or with a CAD program. Contractors
and sub-contractors must know how to read plans.
The Specifications describe things that can't be seen
on the plans such as the description of materials
and engineering calculations. They also specify such
things as the type of equipment used and installed,
and techniques & methods for construction. Here
are a couple of examples of information that is contained
in the specs but not in the blueprints.
EX
1- The plans show the direction the floor trusses
are laid out and that they are set 16" O.C. (on
center). The specifications state that: "Floor
joists are "I" beam joists (type of joist)
TJI (brand) 12/25 (model and size)."
EX
2- The Blueprints call for a Header beam over
the garage door opening. The plans don't specify the
size of the beam. The beam size will depend on factors
such as wind load, snow load, and exterior finish
material. In the engineering calculations, the engineer
has specified a 5 1/8" x 18" Glulam beam.
Purchase a form for your building project.
After you have secured a lot or know the type of lot
you will purchase, it is time to start looking at
home plans. Some people decide on a particular plan
and then find a lot to suit. It is important to match
the plan with the lot configuration. For example,
if your lot is a narrow one, (less than 50' wide)
you will need to look at narrow lot plans. There are
several places you can look to get home plans.
Plan
books: This is an inexpensive option to get
a really nice designed home plan. The plans generally
range between $400-$700. For most applications stock
plans are fine. However, some of the disadvantages
of stock plans are that they may have to be redrawn
to meet local building requirements in your area and
they may require engineering. Also stock plans are
not exclusive.
Home
designer: Home designers have largely overtaken
the residential design market from architects. The
reason is that they are generally less expensive,
and residential design doesn't take the knowledge
and experience that commercial and institutional design
does (Where most architects make their living). If
you have a unique lot configuration and most stock
plans won't work, hiring a home designer is a good
option. Home designers charge by the square
foot for custom designs or a fixed price for their
stock plans. They generally cost less than an architect.
Using a home designer is a cost effective way to get
an semi-exclusive design well-suited to your building
site.
Architect
Architects can give you an exclusive plan that is
more unique than a typical plan from a design or plan
book. However, architects are not cheap. A typical
fee is
of the building cost. As a rule if the house budget
is less than $250,000 architects are not used in residential
construction.
Specifications:
For almost every task in construction there are options.
By choosing a particular option, you are creating
specifications. For example, The plumber will install
water supply pipe as part of his task. Whether he
uses copper, PEX or CPVC pipe depends on the written
specifications. Of course, you could always verbally
tell your subs and suppliers what you want done, but
that is risky as details are forgotten. Put as much
as possible in writing to avoid confusion and disagreements.
Purchase a form for your building project.
The contract with your subcontractors will refer to
the Construction Documents which includes the Plans
and Written Specifications that you create for the
project. Make sure that all the details for each trade
are covered in the plans and specs.
