Your Home Building Guide

Planning to build your own home is an endeavor that takes time and preparation, but The House Designers is here to make sure you're well prepared and ready to start the construction process to build your beautiful home.

Along with the helpful information in this guide, our home plan specialists are happy to provide you with custom plan searches, help with modifying any of our house plans, determining if your jurisdiction has specific building codes that might require extra structural details on your house plan, or anything else you may need assistance with. We're here to help you find the right house plan that meets your needs, budget and building lot. You can reach us by live chat, email or by calling 866-214-2242.

Setting a Building Budget for
Your Home and Lot

One of the most important steps in building your new home is establishing a building budget. You can use our free budget worksheets to get started and build a basic budget outline. All of our house plans also offer a cost to build tool for a nominal fee that provides an accurate estimate of construction costs based on the specific location that you're building. The cost estimator includes the costs of construction materials, labor, and other related calculations. Just look for "Cost Estimator" on any plan page to get a cost to build estimate.

Your Lot and House Plan,
Which Comes First?

Purchasing your lot first makes it easier to adjust your house plans to fit the landscape. We're happy to provide custom house plan suggestions that fit your lot. Simply let us know your lot specifications and our house plan specialists will provide home plan options for you to consider. Some customers fall in love with a house plan first and then find a suitable lot or modify the plan to fit the lot. Either way works—which is easier depends on your geography and lot specifications.

Choosing a Plan Package

House plans can be purchased in different formats to suit different needs. Not sure what you should buy? Get acquainted with the plan package options that are available before purchasing your plan. Most people these days prefer a PDF set over printed sets because they can receive them digitally, immediately or very soon after purchasing. This allows you to start getting permits and bids as quickly as possible! PDF blueprints require a license agreement and can be printed at a local printshop to give to your builder, subcontractors, etc. If you select printed sets, you'll receive your blueprints in the mail and they cannot be copied due to copyright law—that's why they're sold in multiples. Finally, a CAD is preferred when you'll be making modifications to a design, as it provides a professional with the plan in a digital file they can easily edit.

How to Modify a House Plan

Modifying a house plan is easy and we're here to help with design advice and free estimates on how much it will cost to change any of our plans. You can also take your blueprints to a local designer, architect or engineer, which is required in certain areas that require additional structural detail to address things like hurricanes and earthquakes. We have nearly 8000 plans, so more than likely we have a plan that is exactly or very close to what you're looking for, but if you do decide to make major modifications to one of our plans, a CAD package is recommended as it's more efficient for a design professional to manipulate and make changes. If you need help with a custom plan search to find a plan that needs no or minimal changes, we're happy to provide that!

Selecting Your Foundation

The foundation of your new house is usually determined by your land, including regional factors (soil composition, climate, water table, etc.) and its own unique topography. There are some general rules of thumb—basements are needed in cold climates, slabs are preferred in hot climates, etc.—but a local builder is always your best resource. They'll know what works best in your area and can have your lot surveyed if there are any particular concerns.

Finding the Right Builder

We have lots of great articles on finding the right builder, but the main point is to find one that you know from a referral that does good work and stands behind their craftsmanship. A good way to find referrals is from a builder's referral list of recent customers where you might even be able to do a ride-by to see the exterior of the home and call the client for feedback, local real estate agents, recommendations from town building officials, or even better, a referral from someone you know who built a home and was happy with the outcome. Take a look at these articles for some great advice on finding a reputable general contractor to build your new home: 5 Questions to Ask Potential Builders and How to Get Bids from General Contractors.

Selecting Construction Materials and Home Products

Building your own home means you’re in charge of everything from finding the perfect home plan to selecting the products and finishes that make it your own. Planning early is key to staying on budget and being happy with the final result. Our Digital Home Building Organizer includes worksheets that make it easy to get organized and set a budget. We also have a 3-ring binder organizer that's free with every plan purchase. If you need additional product information, visit our Product Ideas section to see a library of articles on all things home!

A great way to start looking for products is by visiting home stores like The Home Depot and Lowe's. A good way to save money is to find local product-specific shops like cabinet, tile, and stone stores that often have sales. A lot of customers find great products on sale online simply by searching for the specific item they’re trying to find. Just be mindful of shipping and delivery times to make sure you have what your builder needs when it’s needed.

Understanding the New Home
Building Construction Process

Before you break ground on your exciting new home building project, take a look at our Step-By-Step Building Guide, an article to help you understand the construction process. This outlines the different construction phases, so you'll be prepared each step of the way!

Real Customers Who Built Their Homes from Online House Plans

It's helpful to see others who have successfully completed new home building construction projects and are happy with their results. Take a look at Chelci and Brian's New Home Tour video and Amy & David's article to see real customers just like yourself who built their beautiful new homes. You'll find great decorating ideas and see how easy it was to make plan modifications. To view more customer stories, click here. To see hundreds of consumer and builder reviews from clients who built homes from our plans, click here and be confident that you, too, can build the new home of your dreams!

Purchasing Your House Plans
Online from a Trusted Source

At The House Designers we use security encryption software that protects your information. Be confident that all personal information including your name, address, and credit card information are protected. You can also rest easy knowing all of the house plans on our site come from licensed professionals, are highly detailed to ensure building success, and are guaranteed to conform to the International Residential Code (IRC).

We hope this guide was helpful! For additional help, advice, or questions, connect with us via live chat, email or call us at 866-214-2242. We're ready to assist you in any way that you need!

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