Blueprints

Blueprints are available for most of our house plans. They are intended for a knowledgeable builder and do not include comprehensive detailing of the entire house. They are similar to the standards of other house plan companies, but are not as detailed as if you contracted with a licensed architect for full service. Our standard blueprint order includes 6 sets.

Our plans generally contain the following information, but see each house plan description for the drawings that come with each particular plan:

• Schematic Site Plan (cover sheet showing you how to orient the house)
• Slab on Grade Plan or
  Crawl Space Plan or
  Daylight Basement
• First and Second Floor Plans
• Exterior Elevations
• Building Section(s)
• Kitchen Elevations
• Typical Wall Detail
• Schematic Electrical
• Schematic Framing Plans
• Garage (detached or attached)
• General Specifications including Custom Energy Recommendations and Permission to build the house one-time
  (inquire about special prices for building it more than once)

If your bulder plans on making any changes to the plans, please order the Erasable Vellums or CAD files instead of Blueprints since our blueprints do NOT come with permission to modify the design. A copyright release to copy our design either by tracing or redrawing is NOT included with blueprint orders. If for whatever reason, your architect or designer intends to copy our work, or your builder plans to modify the design, then you will need to order the Erasable Vellums or CAD files that both come with a copyright release.

Custom Energy Specifications

Our blueprint orders have custom energy specifications which describe how to adapt the home to your location by adapting the insulation values, windows, thermal mass, overhang lengths, and sometimes framing to accommodate necessary insulation. No matter where you live in the U.S. or Canada, we will adapt the home to your climate as best as possible based on any limitations of the particular house plan! The drawings may not be the same as the Construction Review Set as we are continuously updating and modifying our plans.

When you place an order, please advise us of the location in which you plan to build (city, state or province and the county) and if you will have to orient the south side of the home other than due true (not magnetic) south and, if so, approximately how many degrees east or west of south your south wall will need to face. If you are not sure, and if you have the land to allow for slight rotation, let us recommend orientation after we do the custom energy recommendations. Often we recommend a slightly east orientation to minimize afternoon overheating.

Mirror Reverse

All of our plans that have construction drawings are optionally available mirror reversed.

Misc. Notes

We check and update our plans with each blueprint, vellum, or CAD file order (we've been told we are the only ones in the house plan industry that does this), but NOT with the Construction Review Set so later drawings you receive may differ somewhat, but will be equal to or better in quality and content from the Construction Review Set.

After you place your order for blueprints, CAD files, or Erasable Vellums, please feel free to send us a list of concerns that you would like for us to address in your custom energy recommendations. If they require little extra consulting and review (time), we may address them with no additional charge.

Our pre-designed plans were created for one particular client with unique requests based on their family, location, construction methods, climate, and budget although they were all concerned about passive solar to some degree. Pay attention to your own needs and listen to your local builder, architect, structural engineer, energy professionals, etc. when you begin with our plans as they may recommend a change that is in your best interest. The Custom Energy Recommendations provided by Sun Plans will recommend energy-related elements best suited to your location for a particular plan. If you are not comfortable with the limits of adapting a pre-designed plan, then consider custom design by Sun Plans or others.

The Erasable Vellums and CAD files can be modified by your local architect, designer, engineer, or builder, but please check with them first. The CAD files are recommended for areas with high snow loads, earthquakes, unstable soils, or high winds since a structural engineer will most likely need to add to our drawings. (It is impossible to design a home that meets the extremes of all these conditions or at least it would then be over designed and therefore cost a lot to build.)

Customer Support - buying a pre-designed plan does not come with the same level of customer support as does Custom Design or Custom Changes to one of our plans. Please scroll to the bottom of our FAQ page to see the general level of customer support provided.

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All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced or redistributed
without prior written permission. Please contact us for permission to
use or modify our designs and information. Thanks!