Stock house plans sold online or from plan books are basically generic in nature and, at times, may be stripped of some additional “bells and whistles” in order to make them more appealing to a broader audience. Some of those special touches might otherwise have been the very features you were seeking to include in your dream home.
Rather than turn to a custom design service which can cost thousands of dollars, consider ways to adapt the standard stock home plan to more closely reflect your taste and personal needs. Pre-designed blueprints do have the great advantage of providing good quality affordable home construction plans without requiring that you spend a large sum of money before you even start building. Making alternative material choices or minor customized changes to a set of stock house plans are much more cost-effective than starting from scratch with an expensive custom drawn set of plans.
Whether you make the changes to the plan with your builder or have customized modifications done by the firm selling the stock plan, this approach is a smart way to stay within your construction budget. When having custom designed house plans drawn, homeowners will often get carried away with their “wish list” and end up with an expensive set of blueprints for a home that will ultimately be too costly to build.
Personalizing Your Stock House Plans
Changing the materials and design details in the plan along with the builder is the most economical and least drastic way to customize a pre-designed house plan. Simple changes to the style of the exterior trim and type of siding can transform the building façade into a look that is more in tune with your taste.
This same method applies to the style and treatment for windows and doors. Double hung windows with shutters and standard 6-pane grilles depict a more traditional appearance, while casement windows with prairie style grilles are more suitable for contemporary homes. Adding specialty windows such as arches or ellipses is yet another way to incorporate your personal design preference.
Posts, columns and other individual structural support elements located at porches, decks and large overhangs can easily be converted to your design theme of choice. For example, by changing the specifications for a slender, ornate post to a large, rough sawn wood column with a wide stone base at the lower portion, it is possible to transform a Victorian style home into a craftsman style house plan. In addition, the use of simple brackets under overhangs, eaves and beams can dress up any bland façade.
Your personal preference in finishing materials is another convenient way to customize the plan. Light fixtures, bath fixtures, types of flooring and appliances can easily be changed when your builder is establishing the construction estimate.
Getting Custom House Plan Modifications
First of all, if you want the design firm that is selling the house plan to provide customized modifications, it’s best to start with a plan that comes closest to having a floor plan layout that you want. This will keep the changes within reason. Extensive structural reconfiguring of a floor plan can become costly and only confirms the fact that the plan was not right for you in the first place.
Some feasible changes to consider having performed by the original design firm include; converting the type of foundation (below grade basement, walk-out basement, crawl space and slab); relocating front garage doors to the side; and changing the roof style from a hip to a gable (and vice versa). Other possible modifications you may wish to consider include; enlarging the width or depth of the house; adding or enlarging a room; and enlarging a garage to accommodate another vehicle.
Some of the other common and less expensive changes provided by many stock plan design firms involve a simple rearrangement of the bath layout, window and door relocation, and rearrangement of the kitchen layout.
Pre-designed, stock house plans are a great way to get quality construction blueprints at reasonable rates. Customizing them to suit your own personal style and functional needs make them an indispensable means towards achieving an affordable new home.