# Drawing your own house plans?



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

I am planning on building my first/dream house looking at doing a 1300 to 1500 sq ft house, I am going to do a lot of the work myself. I am looking at these two houses because they have extra space above the garage, for a extra bedroom or guess room. my question is worth the trouble to draw my own house plans? or just should I buy them? I also plan on turning the garage into a woodworking workshop  All this depends on my efforts in getting a job.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Sounds like a great plan Charles. all I get is error messages on your links. About drawing your own plans . It will depend how picky your building department is and if they will help you. There's a lot more than just drawing the floor plan out. There's excavation,drainage,foundation, plumbing, electrical,heating and air.framing and more.


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## tyskkvinna (Mar 23, 2010)

You need to find out what your local laws are on building houses and blueprints. Some places require certified blueprints - from an architect - and some places do not. If they have to be certified, you'd be better off just buying pre-certified plans (make sure they'll pass for your local codes!). If they don't, then go ahead and play around on your own. And see where you can find the building code for your local government. I know it sucks the romance right out of it.

Also check into the rules for building your home from scratch. The rules are so dramatically different everywhere… no use on speculating what they may be for you.

Btw those links did not work.

One of the things pretty high up on my to-do list in life is to build my own home. My personal taste runs different than what I can find in this area, most of the time, so I want to just make it EXACTLY what I want.

Though if you are looking at plans and want to make a workshop why not make a garage AND a workshop. I sure am fond of parking my car indoors. Three and four car garage plans are not that hard to find.


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Here is some pictures on the plans!


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## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

All I would suggest is that you have a detached workshop and the reason for that is shop odors, dust, noise all are further removed from the house. You can have a breezeway connection but I would not have the roof line connected to further isolate odors and dust. You would not be able to work in your shop if (for example) your future wife gets pregnant and is highly sensitive to paint and varnish finishes. By having a separate building for that, this problem is eliminated. Some woods have a powerful odor and you would not want it permeating the house. Also be sure to wire it for 220 power as well, if you are going to build it, do it right! A good thing to include is maybe a bathroom with showering facilities so you could clean up before going into the house. Good Luck and best wishes!

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL

I saw the addition of the plans after I posted so added to my post. The garage is too small! If for instance you want to park your future full size truck in it, it won't fit, you will need at least a 24 ft depth.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

there are many books of house plans ,
a bookstore is a good place to go for that ,
i built a house for a family ,
they got a set of plans from sunset magazine ,
in the study books , they give you a basic floor plan ,
and an estimated cost to build ,
you can send for study plans for a reasonable cost ,
then if you find one you like , 
the real plans are pre approved for most building depts.
you can find plans for just about any kind of home you like .


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## uffitze (Apr 23, 2010)

Anybody can draw a floor plan … making sure that it is to code, will be accepted by your local building department, and can be read by your builder are the things that you are paying for.

If you think you can navigate all of that on your own, go ahead, otherwise purchase the things (and make sure they are complete plans.)


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Ok, I was thinking that buying would be better. They have drafting software that you can buy these days.


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## spclPatrolGroup (Jun 23, 2010)

Growing up as the son of a contractor and architect, and working with my Dad on my own house plans, I can tell you there are things that you wont think of, that someone with experiance will. Its good to have an idea, but I would suggest you work along with someone who does this for a living. Tell them what you want, have them draft it, then revise, revise, revise, until you have a plan that you like, that also works functionally. Think of your mailman comming to you with woodworking plans for a bookshelf he made himself, full of butt joints, odd dimensions, calling for a combination of purpleheat and wenge, you could make the plans for a bookshelf that had the same look and feel, but much more practical.


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

Tyskkvinna is correct. Check with your local municipal, county or city by-laws.
I use a draftsperson, (I am fortunate my nephew his certification in drafting) they generally have an architect on staff, this allows you to help the design of what you want and they have the knowledge to make it work.
It is cheaper to make the changes on paper ahead of time than it is to get part way into building it and realizing what you thought might work doesn't. Do your homework ! You want to know as much as possible about all aspects of building, For the most part building a home is the same as years ago, BUT Building codes do change.
I do NOT want to burst your bubble. I had a home with a WALK in basement, in my wisdom I used 1/2 basement as a workshop. *THIS IS WAS NOT a GOOD IDEA*. I sealed up all vents and soundproofed ceiling. The dust still floated around , the odors went upstairs. I would recommend a seperate building or a breezeway between house and workshop.
On a lighter note: The space above garage could be used as a space for the "Mother-in-law" or relatives to visit ?


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

I'm in the process of drawing up plans (not just floor plans) for my workshop. I'm doing a heck of a lot of learning, everything from allowable code distances and tolerances of rebar from the edge of concrete forms in the foundation (and how thick the foundation needs to be based on local soil and seismic issues, and the fact that I'm designing for a heavy living roof), to the narrow strips of housewrap that will extend from the furring that holds the siding away from the sheathing to create the drainage plane over the individual pieces of siding, to allowable spacings on the nails that hold the sheathing on given the aforementioned seismic and wind issues particular to my area.

And after all that, I expect to take these plans to a licensed structural engineer or architect and pay several hundred dollars, if not more than a thousand, to have them check me for errors and sign off on the plans so that when I take them to my town's planning department I know I've got it right. And I've done some engineering for some of the roof truss designs I'm considering, but I'll probably also take my roof loads to a truss company and let them do the engineering for that, too, just to make sure I really got it right.

Ragging on the deficiencies of architects is one of my pet hobbies, and I think it's a grand thing to draw up your own plans, but if you value your own time at all it's not going to be a way to save money (unless you're looking at architecture as a profession and can amortize that knowledge over many houses), and it's not a simple process.

If I could buy a set of plans that incorporated the more difficult aspects of what I'm trying to accomplish with my workshop and just alter them, rather than starting from scratch, even if those plans cost me a couple of hundred bucks, I would. In a heartbeat. And that's less than 300 square feet, just four walls, a few windows, two doors, and a roof.

However, it's also totally reasonable to take floor plans (which are very distinct from house plans) to an architect and say "here's what I'm trying to accomplish, here's why, can you help me come up with building plans?"


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

I design and draw all of my projects including house plans. In your case, I suggest you select a house design that you like and order a pre-approved set of plans. The reason is that the learning curve will most likely be too great. This way you will be able to concentrate on the actual building aspect of the project. You will learn the construction part of building as well as come to a much quicker and better understanding of how to read plans. There are so many things to consider when drawing plans. Keep it simple on the first few builds.


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Thanks guys, I've made up my mind that its best buy the plans instead of drawing them.


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## JimF (May 20, 2009)

Many years ago, my dad & I drew up a floor plan with a 6" plastic ruler. He took it to a general contractor who gave that to his drafting/design people. They developed the floor plan sketch into a full set of plans which was then approved and built. If you want a specific layout, you might try something like this. Apparently Dad's layout was good as the contractor asked to use the plans for other homes in areas not near ours.


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## KentS (May 27, 2009)

I have designed and built a few houses, including our personal "dream house" 
I drew the basic plan, then took it to a local draftsman to do the "real" plans. He knows the local codes, so I felt much safer that way.

There are several computer programs to help you also.


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## BigTiny (Jun 29, 2010)

I have one suggestion if you want to play around with home plans (or ANY plans, including woodwork) and that is to log onto Google and download a copy of SketchUp 7. It's FREE and a very easy to learn yet powerful drafting/planning program.
Although originally intended for architectural use, it lends itself to all sorts of design work and it's in 3 D to boot!


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

Our local Staples store has several disks with plans or you can get one to draw your own. Basically, you can draw your own plans but it's up to the licensed contractor to build according to code.


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

I am going to act as the General Contractor and Head Carpenter. Since I have carpentry and cabinetmaking skils.


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## tbone (Apr 24, 2008)

This is just a thought, CJIII, but you might ask this same question over at the HomeRefurbers forum. Click on the little guy with the hammer and hard hat at the top right corner of this page.
They might offer you some good advise.

Oh. I see now that you have already done that.

Good luck to you in your project.


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## CryptKeeper (Apr 28, 2010)

Charles,

I believe I read you're in Montgomery, Al, - I grew up in Mobile, Al and lived there until 2003.

I was my own general contractor on the house I built in 1999. At that time, you could take a hand drawn sketch into the permit office showing the elevation and rough room dimensions with a perk test and that is all you needed.

I recently purchased property back down there with the intention of building a second home that will become our retirement home in the future. I have just started researching this topic and have not talked with the building inspector personally; but, my brother is in the process of building a house and has told me they adopt the National Building code and now require professional plans and in some cases an Engineer's seal.

So, I would start by visiting the building permit office and talking to them directly.


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## CryptKeeper (Apr 28, 2010)

Charles,

If you do decide to buy the plans (especially, from a magazine or the Internet) make sure they meet your local building code. I don't know if this is still an issue but a friend of mine bought plans from a Canadian firm and the house didn't pass inspection.

Homes in the north were usually designed for heavy snow loads and not the hurricane force winds of the gulf coast.

I currently live in Seattle and the homes here would never pass the inspections down there. Most are built with open soffits around the eves of the roof and down there they are required to be closed with vents.

Just something else to consider for before you spend your hard earned cash.


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Tbone, I am a member of HomeRefurbers forum.


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## tooldad (Mar 24, 2008)

I am a shop teacher and I have taught everything from middle school general shop, drafting, high school general shop, high school advanced woodworking, and also residential carpentry. I took a group of students out to a site and built a house each school year. Building a house is a full time job, General contracting a house is a separate full time job.

You will get the short hand when it comes to the sub contractors you will need for mechanical systems of the home. Also you will need at least 1-3 helpers to do the carpentry. The money you save by not hiring a general contractor, is usually lost in the extra money the sub contractors charge you, then they delay you and take regular gen contractors. Also you have to pay a lot more up front due to the no history with the subs.

I was the general contractor in addition to the teacher of the class. I spent many hours getting bids, scheduling, estimating materials.

My suggestion would be to find a general contractor who would allow you to be the trim carpenter. A lot of the time, there are general contractors that are also the framers. He could hire you on, or earn what is called "sweat equity" as you work with his crew.

There are equipment issues you will realize once you need them that you won't have, ladders, scaffold, nail guns, other job specific tools.

I have moved from Kansas city, where I built the houses to St Louis due to my wife's job. After being in STL for 4 years and knowing some people, I still would hire a general that would let me do some of the work, like kitchen and trim, and help with the framing, rather than attempt to do it all myself.

That is just on building the house. The plans are a whole other can of worms.

However it can be rewarding to do everything on your own, but it can be a nightmare. Be prepared for both.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

If you are doing 2 story, keep the washer and dryer on the same floor as the bedrooms!! Everythning else is covered ;-))


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## CryptKeeper (Apr 28, 2010)

I agree with tooldad on the extra cost of being your own general contractor and carpenter. Another issue you are going to run into is financing if you go through a traditional lender - they do not like do-it-yourself'ers. On my house it was a nightmare trying to keep the bank satisfied that we were meeting the time line not to mention dealing with the building inspectors.

However, there is another option; self finance and it is to do as much of the labor as you can yourself. My dad and I built 4 houses together with limited help and for the last 2 we both worked full time jobs.

The second house in the series was my parents house. Their original home was destroyed by a hurricane and they didn't have insurance. FEMA provided a trailer for 18 months and then they had to get out. We literally tore down the original house and recycled everything possible. Here we did everything ($0 paid for any labor) from the foundation forms, rough in plumbing, finishing the concrete all they way to finish trim - note: we didn't pull any permits on this house. However, in 18 months of working weekends and nights we were able to get an 1800 sqf house to a livable state and they only incurred $16,000 in debt.

The third house was the most interesting it was for my sister a single mom with two children. This house is 2500 sqf and took 5 years to finish. For this one we hired out the concrete and drywall finish work, we also had a couple of family BBQ's during the construction. The first BBQ was for the roof. We decked and shingled the house in one day, it was literally an assembly line, we were laying shingles as soon as the first piece of decking went down. We had one group on the ground handing up decking, felt and shingles; one group nailing the decking down; another group rolling felt and nailing shingles down. The second BBQ was to hang the drywall and the third one was a painting party. The big thing here is we built it as my sister had the cash for the materials once the house was completed it was also paid for in FULL. We pulled all permits and fought with the building inspectors (a very long story regarding wind bracing and lumber grading) but everything worked out in the end.

Just something else to consider.


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## fiddlebanshee (May 3, 2010)

We are just finishing up our dreamhouse that we designed and drew ourselves. This was because we couldn't find any plans that we liked and because we had very specific requirements. The walls are 12" thick, all inside walls are insulated, part of the house has quiet rock drywall. All this because we wanted to be able to separate activities and not hear each other (playing musical instruments, woodworking, weaving are all noisy hobbies).

Our house ended up 2000 sq ft (plus or minus) on the ground floor and a full finished basement. I am dreaming of a separate workshop, which we will probably build in the near future. For now I have a space in the basement with no windows-not ideal. The building code in Frederick County, Maryland did not require us to go to an architect, but we did, just to vet that what we had designed would actually work, we had them re-draw the plans to scale and review them. That cost about $2000. They didn't do any other work. The builder took these plans to the county and the permitting process was easy.

We hope to move in by July 15. We can't wait!


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Keep the comments coming.


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## timrowledge (Sep 22, 2008)

I'm about half-way through the build of a timber frame house I designed and drew up in SketchUp Pro. Blog at http://www.rowledge.org/tim/building/building/blog.html and assorted design verbiage/pictures on adjacent pages.


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## flyfisherbob2000 (Mar 22, 2010)

Bell Helmets used to have an ad…...
"If you have a $10.00 head, buy a $10.00 helmet.
I believe that you will get what you pay for, if you invest wisely. Ask yourself, do you have the skills to effectively draw home plans? As an AIBD (American Institute of Building Designers) designer, I went to school, apprenticed and have been still learning every day since. Yes, you might be able to put some lines on a piece of paper, get your local building authoroties to approve them…. but do you truly want to depend on those skills that you have to create a home? We all have certain skills and talents, even develop more skills and talents as we go, but do you want to learn from your mistakes building your own home? This may not be the way you envision of saving money. Sometimes, like the legal profession says…. a person that represents himself has a fool for a client. 
best said by Clint Eastwood, ala Dirty Harry…. "a man's gotta know his limitations" 
Good luck! Be smart.


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## Catspaw (Dec 15, 2007)

My only addition to this would be that if you act as contractor, remember that subs will be on a schedule and you have to consider whether you can be there outside of your full time job. The subs won't want to be waiting for you to get time off so they can do their job.

Also, locals tend to have their ways of doing things that tend to be sort of standard for the area. Regardless of what the plans may say. They are familiar with the local codes….and no store bought plans can cover all codes for all areas.

With that said, there is no reason why you can't modify the plans after buying them (whether you have someone look at them or not).... i.e. as was stated earlier the garage was too small. The subs often times can build it larger. Yes, that can have consequences….but, on a simple plan, it can be a no brainer. Such as adding 16' to the width of the garage for a shop area to the outside end. You wouldn't effect the length of the garage header and it's just more materials.

Oh yes, my supplier (ProBuild) is very good at helping with changes as they have been able to cover engineering aspects when we've changed things (such as spans, loads, etc.) and then we consulted with the building department for approval.


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## daveintexas (Oct 15, 2007)

To the OP, here are a couple of sites with a fantastic amount of knowledge:
http://www.build-yourown-home.com/index.html
http://www.byoh.com/gettingstarted.htm

I have really learned a ton of stuff from them.

I too hope to one day build by dream house, and plan to be the GC on the project.
I searched approx. 12 different web sites with home plans and then incorperated some of the various ideas I found. I am on my 15th drawing, and am getting very close to the plan I like.
Here is my latest plan:









I plan for it to be Meditteranien style at approx 2800 sq ft.

The one think I have found that has been the greatest idea is to take the floor plan and draw the house out using sketch-up in 3D.
Put in all the walls, windows, doors, closets etc.
It gives you a real good feel on how the house will look. 
I then take the 3d house drawing and walk thru it many times, cook stuff in the kitchen, watch tv, all the regular daily activities, and from their I refine my drawings.









Dave


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

Dave your drawing looks great, I wish you the best.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Sure you want the living area without any windows or daylight?


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