House Plans, Blueprints & Architects

How many times have you heard stories where a homeowner became entangled in a dispute with a contractor? Perhaps this has happened to you. Almost invariably the problem can be traced to a poorly written contract (or no contract at all) and/or a poor set of plans (or no plans at all).

Successful projects are based upon precise, well-thought out plans. If it will not work on paper, it will not work in the field. Believe me, I know this for a fact.

The Value of Plans

When I first got into the construction business, I used to try to draw my own plans. My art skills were poor. The plans were crude. I made mistakes. As time went on, I began to appreciate the talents of real, residential architects. Some of these individuals possessed real talent. They had excellent drafting skills compared to mine.

More importantly, they were trained (usually) to follow a disciplined format to plan a project.

Several of my early jobs ended up in disaster. A toilet was too close to a vanity. Kitchen layouts were clumsy. Any number of things were wrong. Fortunately, I learned quickly that time spent planning was time well spent. Yes, it took a little extra time to think things out. But this time was always less than the time and cost spent to correct an incorrectly sized or placed window or door.

Working with Architects

Architects, by nature, are artists. They work with building materials to create things. Other artists work with clay, plaster, or paints. Many architecture schools place a large emphasis on commercial and industrial type training. Not too much time is spent on residential architecture. My architect friends have pondered this dilemma with me on several occasions. They seem to feel that the schools need to prepare them for the real world where the jobs are. A huge majority of architects are hired into the commercial, institutional, and industrial fields when they graduate. Rarely, does a first year architect go directly to a residential environment.

The primary reason for this, I'm told, is that there is little money in the residential field. Homeowners, on the whole, sometimes have trouble dealing with architect fees. Some people turn white when told that planning fees could approach $3,000 - 5,000 for a large room addition or simple, single family house.

If you are planning to build a new home or construct a large room addition, consider using an architect. Now, mind you, not just any architect. You are going to have to hunt around for an architect that does residential planning as a full time profession. There are usually several of these around in major market places. Sometimes commercial architects moonlight on the side and draw residential plans at home and on the weekends for extra income. I know of two individuals here in Cincinnati who have done it for years. Their plans are good values.

Getting the Most Value

If you plan to use an architect, there are ways to minimize costs. Sometimes a large portion of an architect's fee lies in preliminary planning. This is the phase of planning where an architect tries to extract from you what you want.

Imagine how difficult an architect's job really is. They try to read your mind as to your desires. An architect may produce 3 - 4 drawings before he/she hits what really strikes your fancy.

A better approach, I've found, is for you to gather ideas before the planning process starts. Look through magazines and product literature brochures. Select photographs that show exactly what you like.

Cut out separate photos and tape or paste them onto a piece of paper. Write down what you like and or dislike about a photo. Organize these photos in a three ring binder.

If you do this for each room or critical rooms in your house, you will be able to immediately communicate to your architect what you want. This could save hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars in designing fees. Many of my past clients did this with great success.

Read about problems with a room addition (contract price $500,000) when the contractor didn't check the plans.

Column B106

Where Does One Find Great Plans?

Bookstores

In the not too distant past, if you wanted to dream about your new home you would visit a bookstore or a newsstand that sold magazines. Here you would find all sorts of magazines and books that contained house plans of every type, size, style and shape. These magazines and books are indeed still published, but advancements in technology have allowed us to go to the next level. You can also get CD-ROM's with house plans and visit countless websites that also feature plans.

The Real McCoy

When you purchase one of the plans from any of these venues, you get a very good plan, but it may not be perfect. What I mean by perfection is that it may not be a plan that has many, if not all, of the elements that I feel make a superior plan. Where can you get a copy of such a plan? Well, I found a nearly perfect house plan that was drawn by a high quality residential architect in Cincinnati, Ohio. He licensed the plan to me and I am permitted to sell copies. This plan is unbelievable. It shows you exactly what your set of final blueprints should look like. It illustrates to you all of the different tables, details, schedules, elevations, etc. that are necessary to communicate to a builder your wants and desires. You can order a set of these plans to help you incorporate all of the same elements into your plans. If you do this, the chances of misunderstandings with your builder will be minimized.

Fantastic plans also protect you. If the builder or a sub-contractor states that they didn't know about this or that, you can point to the plans and say, "Well, it was right there. I expect you to finish the job as the plans state with no increase in price. It is not my fault that you missed it." Great plans can save you thousands of dollars.

Sources of Detailed Plans and Specifications

Tim's Sample Plans

To order the sample set of blueprints from me, you have two choices:

Go to my On-line Store under sample blueprints or call us at 513-407-8727.

The cost for the plans is just $19.97. I GUARANTEE that they will save you money. How? Because you will be able to make your plans better and you will include items in your plans that otherwise would have led to expensive change orders or cost overruns. It is that simple.

A Great Web Site

Dream Home Source has a searchable database of over 15,000 house plans! It is free! This is an awesome web site. Simply go to:

http://www.dreamhomesource.com/

Plan Books

	600 Most Popular Home Plans This 427 page paperback book by Creative Homeowner Press, is a wonderful book filled with lots of different plans in black and white.
	200 Budget-Smart Home Plans : Affordable Homes from 902 to 2,540 Square Feet (Blue Ribbon Designer Series) Function and style come together in this budget minded book of home plans. Complete construction blueprints available for all 200 plans. 2-color throughout, by Paulette Mulvin.
	Encyclopedia of Home Designs : 500 House Plans from 1,000 to 6,300 Square Feet by Homeplanners LLC. This new edition features the most popular portfolios and brand-new plans from the nation's top designers.
	500 Best Selling Home Plans by Sunset Books Inc Staff, Paperback - 512 pages 1998 edition (September 1997)
	1001 All Time Best Selling Home Plans by Home Planners, Paperback - (March 1, 2000). This book features a variety of styles including: Farmhouses, Country Cottages, Contemporaries, Vacation Cabins, Luxury Estates, Historical Houses, Regional Specialties. 704 pages, 32 pages of full-color photographs and renderings with all other pages featuring two-color highlights for floorplans and designs. This book also features 359 one-story homes and 642 multi-story homes.

Book Buying Tips

If you intend to buy a book containing house plans I highly recommend that you go to the Internet and READ the reviews of the books from people who have bought and used them. This is a fantastic tool that the Internet offers at the major book store websites.

Not to be cynical, but keep in mind that some of the reviews may be written by a friend of the author in an effort to get sales jump started. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened! But all in all, I think you will get an idea of the book quality by reading several of the reviews.

Column B340

Communication breakdowns between homeowners and contractors happen on a minute by minute basis throughout the world each and every day. The tension that results can tear apart marriages and ruin relationships for a very long time. The common ground in the dispute between the parties is always the same: the loss of money! The homeowners almost always think they are getting less value than they bargained for and the contractor is thinking that ANY extra work or materials means less profit. You need to understand the psychology of situations to be able to react well when they happen.

Going Sour

A job can go sour for any number of reasons. If it is your house or room addition job you need to be concerned. Your hard earned money is at stake as well as potential future liabilities if and when you sell your home. What am I talking about? Many, if not all, states have property disclosure laws. If you know of defects in your house you must disclose them to a future purchaser. Accckkk! This means that you cannot allow a contractor to make a mistake. If they do make one, and you know about it, then someone must fix it. Why should you pay twice to have work done? Get the point?

Trust

I estimate that probably less than 10 percent of the builders and sub-contractors out in the work force are absolutely excellent workers that require no supervision. These people take enormous pride in their work and they will correct their own mistakes without any input from you. That is assuming they discover the mistake before you happen to. Even if you find it first, they will never put up an argument and will fix the error in a timely fashion with no whining. So what happens if you are working with someone whom you can't entirely trust? If you have any sensation of mis-trust then you have probably made a mistake by hiring them in the first place. If it is too late, then you must start the documentation process.

The Spoken Word

This is quite possibly the largest mine field in communications. You have a conversation, promises are made and then things don't happen the way one or more of the parties want them to. Had there been a recording of the conversation, at least there could be no argument over what was said. It is hard and often uncomfortable to tape record conversations. There is a powerful alternative.

Sixteen years ago an old banker taught me two tricks in one. I must say they work. You are in a meeting. You would like something done by a certain time. Instead of you saying, "Hey, I want my kitchen job completed in the next 3 weeks." Try this: "Is it possible for you to complete my kitchen job in the next three weeks?" If the contractor says, "Yes", then you are set. If he says, "No" then you might say, "I was hoping to get it done sooner. Is there any way this can happen?" If you finally get the date you want you STOP the conversation and write down these notes on a legal pad in front of you. The pause in the conversation is powerful. Believe me, the contractor SEES you writing this down. He makes a mental note that tells him that you will not forget what he said. If you do this same thing with all of the important points of each verbal meeting you have, your notes will be a life saver. To take it to the next step, you need to summarize the notes in writing after each meeting and send a copy to the builder.

Email

Some folks hate it. Email is a wonderful tool! Why? It is a written record already! TRY to communicate important points via email with the builder. Print them out. Save the written responses in a file should you need them later. Save all of them on a disk as well.

Paper Trail

If you ever have to get into the legal system, an excellent paper trail of events will save you. Letters, photos, emails, etc. are what you need. KEY on building code violations. You will ALWAYS win on these issues! How do you best spot building code violations? You need to buy a copy of the current code. You can get one or find out how to get one by contacting your local building department. They normally cost between $35 and $50. The best $$ you can spend!

Column B340

Nine months ago a neighbor's house suffered from a devastating electrical fire. No one was injured or killed but the house was ravaged by the fire. I helped the neighbor's locate possibly the best builder in town - Amy Christian - to reconstruct the home. Amy is very well organized and spent lots of time going over exactly what she was going to do. Back in the spring Amy outlined the product selections that needed to be made to keep the job on schedule. Everything seemed to be on track.

Ho Hum

The neighbors did their job and picked out materials. Amy began to install them. But once installed, the wife decided to change her mind about certain things. As you might expect this created a flood of expensive change orders and the delays that all too often are part of a change order.

What's more, the homeowners started to select materials that didn't work well with the existing construction. For example, they recently decided to install lots of large sized ceramic floor tile. The thickness of the tile plus the required cement board underlayment created problems at a pair of swinging doors and where the tile butts up against existing hardwood flooring. The long and short of it is that the homeowners drifted from the outline provided by the builder. As you can imagine there is some finger pointing and lots of unnecessary stress.

Servants? I Think Not

Don't take decision making lightly. The builder and all of the sub contractors have other jobs to go to. It is unreasonable for you to think that they are your servants. As such, when you make a product selection, expect to live with it or pay a hefty price to make a change. Certain materials that you like may be custom ordered. It can take months to get some items. If you decide too late or change your mind, the job will undoubtedly grind to a halt. Trust me, as I write this my neighbor's house is vacant and no one is working there today. The wife changed her mind on several items and the builder is waiting for the material to arrive.

Avoiding the Slowdown

You can avoid lots of hassle if you make all of your decisions before you start the job. This is done all the time on commercial work. Certain materials are specified and called for in the original plans. This is one reason why commercial projects often run much more smoothly than residential ones. It is also why they often are completed at a more rapid pace. The architects and building owners don't dilly dally around. They make decisions and move on.

Making a Binder

Organizing your selections is important. I have found that a large sized 3 ring binder works well for this. Create a section or tab for each room. In that section store all of the technical cut sheets for the products that will be in that room. If you are really detail oriented you will have a color chip for each paint that will be used in that room as well as samples of fabrics, carpet, and window shades, etc. These are very important in case the wrong items get delivered to the jobsite. A worker can look at the binder and cross check the item before he starts to install it.

Don't Wait

It is going to take time to build the binder. You will visit many stores and walk out with brochures, samples, etc. It can take weeks and weeks to finally put it all together. The upside? Well, if you do your homework and the builder approves all of your choices, you get to sit back and make leisurely visits to the jobsite to check on the progress.

Column B376