Home Plans

Home Plans - This is a sample blue print for the Carter Shed.

Home plans are the core documents that communicate what the home owner wants and what the builder needs to build. Without great house plans, a new home construction project can quickly become a sea of confusion, frustration and arguments. Many people think that house plans are just pretty pictures and floor plans, but believe me, they serve a far more important purpose.

Can written plans help resolve building disputes?

Can you remember the last time you were involved in a dispute over anything? Chances are you prevailed if you had some form of tangible written evidence, photograph or object that proved your statements were true. But all too often people argue about spoken words that frequently turn into broken promises, simple misunderstandings, or worse yet - deception. This misery takes place everyday in the residential building arena. Homeowners get into heated disputes with builders and remodelers about any number of issues.

Why do you need good plans?

The sad fact is a vast majority of new home construction disputes can be settled quickly and efficiently with crisp plans and specifications that are developed long before the first spade of soil is turned at the jobsite. There are many reasons why good plans and specifications never get developed. Often the customer is unwilling to pay for the time and effort to produce the documents. Another common reason is the homeowner looks at a set of blueprints and thinks they are sufficient. Without ever seeing a first-class set of prints, I can see why they might feel a deficient set will make do. After all, if they are good enough for the building department then they must be good enough for all involved.

Discover what should be included on your blueprints and the amount of detail required. Click on the image to get a Sample Set of Blueprints from the AsktheBuilder Store. These details samples will show you want needs to be included in your blueprints.

Perhaps a few examples of dispute issues might convince you that you need top drawer plans and specifications for your new home. Imagine if you will a discussion between you and your builder about crown molding. You say you want it in all downstairs rooms. The builder agrees and draws one simple squiggly line on the plans in the cross section and adds "Crown Molding" with an arrow pointing to the line.

Months later while walking through the house as the finish work is being completed, you see a small and simplistic paint-grade crown molding that is barely noticeable up in several rooms. You grumble and wonder why the carpenter didn't install the two piece stained oak crown molding you "thought" you mentioned to the builder.

As you walk into the bathrooms upstairs you shake your head and wonder who in the world put the toilet paper holder on the opposite wall from the toilet. It is barely reachable. Fortunately the carpenter who installed it walks in and you ask about the placement of this fixture. He simply states that is where he always put them. Need I go on?

Should the plans show locations of electrical outlets, switches and the toilet paper holder?

The failure to develop good specifications and plans can also lead to cost overruns and a limited product selection for your finishes. A great set of plans includes numerous interior elevations that show you in two dimensions what a wall will look like when it is finished. These elevations can be as detailed so as to show exact locations of electrical outlets, switches and yes, toilet paper holders. New computer software allows architects and designers to show these in three dimensions as well.

Knowing what you are going to see before it happens can often prevent costly change orders. Many people are unable to visualize what something might look like looking at a simple floorplan. Elevations help solve this problem.

Why are all details needed on the blueprints?

Plans and specifications that do not include the actual selections of all fixtures, cabinets, tops etc. can cause you problems if you try to decide what you want during construction. A builder may ask you to go to the tile store 6 weeks before he needs the tile. But once there you fall in love with a special order tile that take 10 weeks to get. Who will pay for the time delay should you decide to order the special tile?

There are hundreds of scenarios that can be described. But one thing is for sure: Detailed plans with clear and precise specifications that outline each and everything you want will save you if push comes to shove. Time and again when I consult in the forensic construction expert work I perform I find that a great set of plans that were ignored by a builder or sub leads to their capitulation if the dispute is headed for a courtroom.

How would you like me to build your new home? It's probably impossible for me to fit your job into my schedule, but I will gladly share hundreds of my tricks and building secrets with you and your builder. Check out my New House Specifications.

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