Mark Mathis is the president of House Plan Gallery, a residential design firm that specializes in the development of stock house plans and home plans with flexible floor plan layouts and all the most-popular home design features.
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When a family begins the process of building a new home, there are many different aspects that need to be considered including: where to build, what size home to build, what features to include, what items are the most important to have in the home, what costs should be included in the cost estimate, what are the design/build timeframes, who will build the home, and a host of other issues.
After these initial questions have been successfully answered, the next item that must be addressed is that of home plans. There are two basic types of home plans that can be purchased, "custom" or pre-drawn, with each having distinct advantages and disadvantages.
Custom home plans:
Custom home plans are just as the name implies. The home plans are custom developed to meet your specific needs. The plans are normally drawn by a local building design professional in a geographic location close to where the 1.) owners live, or 2.) home will be built. The process is, normally, much more involved and time-consuming since the owner's specific requests will need to be integrated into the overall design of the home. Many times these type "special" requests can present significant challenges to the designer of the home, which as a result, may take additional time to resolve.
Since the home is being custom designed, specifically to meet the needs of that one family, the costs associated with the development of the custom home plans tend to be significantly larger than those for a similar set of stock home plans. However, in some cases, the custom home plans may be the only viable option based on the client's needs, home location, special construction considerations, etc.
Advantages:
- Home Owner can get exactly what they want in home plan
- Special needs can be addressed in the design (i.e. extra large garage for boat, larger than normal master bath, handicapped access, etc.)
Disadvantages:
- Normally more costly than stock home plans
- Normally involves longer, more arduous process to develop
- Normally more time-consuming to develop (i.e. many meetings necessary with designer over several month period)
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Be sure to read Part II of this article at:
Floor Plans and House Plans Articles
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