Don't Buy House Plans Until You Need Them

"Carl, on your cost to build Oregon house did you just buy the plans online or were they designed by a licensed Oregon architect or engineer.
Thanks
Jim"


Hi Jim, I assume you are referring to the house on "Cost to Build a House in Oregon".

That is a house plan from coolhouseplans.com, plan # Plan ID: chp-37255.

No, I didn’t buy the plans and I don’t know who designed the plan. But if you want to know, you could call coolhouseplans.com and I’m sure they could tell you; their number is-1-800-482-0464.

When I do these cost to build exercises for my readers, I just pick an attractive, medium sized house from an on line house plan company.

As you can see from the Oregon cost to build example (exercise), I don’t need the actual plans for a preliminary cost estimate, just the basic shape and design features.

Then I pick a state at random to show my readers how to go through the preliminary cost estimating process to see if a house plan that they might be looking at is close to being within the limits of their budget.

As I always tell my readers, they should keep in mind that the cost to build for my example, or any house plan, can vary considerably depending quality of materials selected, and on actual bids for labor and material.

I also tell my readers on my page Structural Engineers - Home Building that no matter who draws your house plans, have them reviewed by a structural engineer, and on my page Architect Fees to call the building inspection department where they plan to build and ask them what their blue print (home plan) requirements are.

Ask them point blank if an architect's seal is required on the plans. Ask them if an engineer's seal is required.

Hope this answers your question. If not, let me know and I’ll try again.

Thanks for writing and for your interest in http://www.byoh.com/
Carl