
Pre-drawn house plans are those that are drawn by architects or home designers and then offered for sale, unlike those that are drawn for an individual, with input from the customer. While this method may be a great idea, there are definite benefits to purchasing pre-drawn house plans. Architects and home designers that do custom home designing also do a lot of their own designs, and it is these plans that are offered for sale They are adept at making plans that utilize available space to the best possible advantage, and at laying out a floor plan to optimize curb appeal.
Custom designing of your home can take months to be completed and is extremely expensive, often up to ten times the cost of predawn or stock house plans. Using custom drawn plans can delay the construction of your home by many weeks There are dozens of home styles and literally thousands of plans to choose from, so you can be sure to find the home of your dreams.
If you find a house plan that you love, but want to make minor changes, most companies can have their designers do that for you, at an additional fee. It is also possible to have your plans reversed, for instance, if your breakfast nook faces west but the view from the north side of your lot is more attractive, you can reverse it. Many of the sites selling house plans will allow you to see a reversed view, of houses you might want to build.
Another service provided by the companies that design and sell house plans, is one that allows you to estimate the cost for building a particular house in your area of the country. The South is the least expensive area to build in and the West has the highest cost .The national average is somewhere in between.
There are dozens of house plan styles for you to browse and hundreds in each category, from A-Frame to Victorian, , from small to large, you can find the right home for your family. There are magazines, books and web sites galore that you can search
Beach houses, are small one story homes, raised above the ground, and usually have an open floor plan, with a lot of windows, to get a good view of the yard.. A low end Beach house with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, kitchen and Great room would cost, about $74,000.00 to build, according to the national average, and about $15,000.00 more in the west and $8000.00 less in the south. These little houses make great vacation retreats and are also suitable as a starter home or retirement home for empty nesters.
Bungalows are 1 to 1and ½ story homes, They often incorporate features of the Craftsman style house, such as natural building materials, exposed rafter ends and gables. They also sometimes borrow features from the Country or Victorian look.A two bedroom, one bath bungalow in the mid-range can be built for between $70,000.00 and 95.000.00, depending on what part of the country you live in. A low-end two bedroom one bath can be built for $52,000 to 70,000. These cute homes are great for newlyweds or retirees
Large front porches, dormers and a roofline that lies parallel to the road are the main distinguishing features of Country homes. Farm house and French Country plans can also be included in this category. Open floor plans are not common to this type of house. A small country home, 576 square feet, with one bath and two bedrooms, can be built for under $60,000.00 can be erected on your site for under $60,000.00. A three bedroom, 1 and ½ baths, will average about $84,000.00 to erect on your site. .
Craftsman style homes are characterized by the use of natural materials like wood or stone for exterior walls, and rock foundations that slope out towards the ground. They may also include dormers, exposed beams, and overhanging eaves. A two bedroom one bath house in the craftsman style will cost between $52,000.00 and $62,000.00 to build a two bedroom, two bath, home with a 2 car garage will run about $96.000.00.
Another popular house plan style is the French Country home. They are similar to Country style in that they feature front porches, dormers and roof- lines that run parallel to the road. A two bedroom, two bathroom house with volume vaulted ceilings, walk in closets, walk in pantry covered rear porch and two car garage can be built for aproximately$112.000.00 to $133.000.00 depending on where you live.
Log homes make the perfect vacation home since they evoke feelings of comfort and peace. These homes come in various styles and sizes. Wood logs are the main construction material,. A one story, two bedroom, one bath, log home, with a covered front porch, will cost about $90,000.00 to build.
Victorian style houses are generally two stories, with steep roof pitches, dormers, octagonal turrets and of course the trademark gingerbread trim. A two story, three bedroom, three baths home of this style, with an open floor plan, and unfinished basement, can be built on your lot for around $100,000.00.
Luxury homes are huge house with at least 3000.sq. ft of living space, they are characterized by large master bedroom suites.1 walk in closets, and extra rooms which can be used as a library, music room, media center or home office to name a few. A three bedroom, two and ½ bath, luxury home with a two car garage with storage space, breakfast nook, and covered front porch .will cost you between $ 180,000.00 and 240,000.
There are dozens of other house plan style categories, such as A-Frames, Mission, Contemporary, Southwest, and Tudor to name just a few. A web search for house plans yields a mind blowing number of searchable sites. Most of these allow you to search for house plans, by style, number of bedrooms, baths, with or without a garage, or by sq. ft. of living space.
Keep in mind that the estimate price to build, doesn't include the price of the plans, any changes you make to the plans or building permit fees. Despite these fees, Building your new home from pre-drawn plans will be cheaper and probably faster than having your home plans custom drawn.
About the Author
Martin Smith is a successful freelance writer providing advice for home buyers and consumers on purchasing a variety of unique house plans which includes cottage plans, beach house plans, and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information
AP - Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage.
AP - Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs — even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.
AP - Senate Democrats beat a hasty retreat Wednesday from their rejection of Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama's successor, yielding to pressure from Obama himself and from senators irked that the standoff was draining attention and putting them in a bad light. Burris said with a smile he expected to join them "very shortly."
AP - Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures as the heavy snowfall that has buried parts of the state began to rapidly melt. More than 30,000 people were told to leave their homes in a flood-endangered valley southeast of Tacoma, as authorities warned of heavy flooding.
AP - Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club.
AP - The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.
AP - Eric Mangini is the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, a week after being fired by the New York Jets. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mangini will be introduced Thursday at a news conference at the team's headquarters in Berea.
Reuters - Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip on Thursday and tanks pounded Palestinian guerrillas on the ground as U.S. backing for a proposed truce raised expectations of an end to the offensive.
Reuters - The U.S. budget deficit will swell to a record $1.186 trillion in fiscal 2009, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday, the result of an economic recession that has cut tax receipts and caused massive government bailouts of banks and automakers.
Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday to swear in Roland Burris, appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
Reuters - United Auto Workers bargaining teams are arriving this week in Detroit as the union gears up for negotiations with General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, which are mandated to cut labor costs under a $17.4 billion federal bailout.
Reuters - The case of Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al Qaeda "sleeper" agent and held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, will be an early test for President-elect Barack Obama.
Reuters - An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning has made 388 people sick across 42 states, sending 18 percent of them to the hospital, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday.
Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff should be jailed for violating a court order by mailing $1 million worth of diamonds, watches and other jewelry to friends and family, U.S. prosecutors told a court on Wednesday.
AFP - Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.
AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday laid down terms for a resumption of Russian gas shipments via Ukraine to Europe as tens of thousands of Europeans suffered heating cuts amid freezing weather.
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