House Plans, Books and Blueprint Sources

Where Does One Find Great Plans?

Bookstores

In the not too distant past, if you wanted to dream about your new home you would visit a bookstore or a newsstand that sold magazines. Here you would find all sorts of magazines and books that contained house plans of every type, size, style and shape. These magazines and books are indeed still published, but advancements in technology have allowed us to go to the next level. You can also get CD-ROM's with house plans and visit countless websites that also feature plans.

The Real McCoy

When you purchase one of the plans from any of these venues, you get a very good plan, but it may not be perfect. What I mean by perfection is that it may not be a plan that has many, if not all, of the elements that I feel make a superior plan. Where can you get a copy of such a plan? Well, I found a nearly perfect house plan that was drawn by a high quality residential architect in Cincinnati, Ohio. He licensed the plan to me and I am permitted to sell copies. This plan is unbelievable. It shows you exactly what your set of final blueprints should look like. It illustrates to you all of the different tables, details, schedules, elevations, etc. that are necessary to communicate to a builder your wants and desires. You can order a set of these plans to help you incorporate all of the same elements into your plans. If you do this, the chances of misunderstandings with your builder will be minimized.

Fantastic plans also protect you. If the builder or a sub-contractor states that they didn't know about this or that, you can point to the plans and say, "Well, it was right there. I expect you to finish the job as the plans state with no increase in price. It is not my fault that you missed it." Great plans can save you thousands of dollars.

Sources of Detailed Plans and Specifications

Tim's Sample Plans

To order the sample set of blueprints from me, you have two choices:

Go to my On-line Store under sample blueprints or call us at 513-407-8727.

The cost for the plans is just $19.97. I GUARANTEE that they will save you money. How? Because you will be able to make your plans better and you will include items in your plans that otherwise would have led to expensive change orders or cost overruns. It is that simple.

A Great Web Site

Dream Home Source has a searchable database of over 15,000 house plans! It is free! This is an awesome web site. Simply go to:

http://www.dreamhomesource.com/

Plan Books

	600 Most Popular Home Plans This 427 page paperback book by Creative Homeowner Press, is a wonderful book filled with lots of different plans in black and white.
	200 Budget-Smart Home Plans : Affordable Homes from 902 to 2,540 Square Feet (Blue Ribbon Designer Series) Function and style come together in this budget minded book of home plans. Complete construction blueprints available for all 200 plans. 2-color throughout, by Paulette Mulvin.
	Encyclopedia of Home Designs : 500 House Plans from 1,000 to 6,300 Square Feet by Homeplanners LLC. This new edition features the most popular portfolios and brand-new plans from the nation's top designers.
	500 Best Selling Home Plans by Sunset Books Inc Staff, Paperback - 512 pages 1998 edition (September 1997)
	1001 All Time Best Selling Home Plans by Home Planners, Paperback - (March 1, 2000). This book features a variety of styles including: Farmhouses, Country Cottages, Contemporaries, Vacation Cabins, Luxury Estates, Historical Houses, Regional Specialties. 704 pages, 32 pages of full-color photographs and renderings with all other pages featuring two-color highlights for floorplans and designs. This book also features 359 one-story homes and 642 multi-story homes.

Book Buying Tips

If you intend to buy a book containing house plans I highly recommend that you go to the Internet and READ the reviews of the books from people who have bought and used them. This is a fantastic tool that the Internet offers at the major book store websites.

Not to be cynical, but keep in mind that some of the reviews may be written by a friend of the author in an effort to get sales jump started. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened! But all in all, I think you will get an idea of the book quality by reading several of the reviews.

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