Frequently Asked Questions

A free floor plan is a drawing of rooms. A construction set is what a builder and a permit office work from: dimensions, notes, elevations, sections and schedules. Building a house is the most expensive thing most people ever do, and the house will stand for decades. The money spent on a full set is small next to what it costs to work things out on site.

Yes. Quotes are free. Submit a Modification Request

Minor changes are drawn in house: the overall dimensions of the house, heated area changes under 200 square feet, ridge height or roof pitch, window grids, adding or removing windows and doors, small interior changes that do not need a redesign, siding or roof material, foundation type, an attached garage, storage or bonus rooms on the ground floor, covered porches and decks.

Major changes go to a partner design firm. They cost more and take longer, with more back and forth along the way.

Yes, once you have bought the plan, with one condition. The files are exported from Chief Architect, so you or your designer need Chief Architect X17 or Home Designer Pro 2023 or newer. The files do not open in other programs, so check what software your designer uses before you order.

The .plan and .layout files are good for changing the floor plan or the exterior and for walking the house in 3D. Home Designer Pro handles minor changes and the 3D model, but not every modification.

Every permit office is different, but plan on adding to our set: structural engineering drawings, framing plans, a site plan, HVAC and plumbing plans, and anything else your permit, zoning or HOA office asks for.

Yes. Send us the lot dimensions and the setbacks and we can tell you whether the footprint works. We can also export the ground floor and footprint for your surveyor or landscape architect, who may want it in CAD to plot on the site plan; ask us for rates. Check with your zoning office and HOA for setbacks and variances first.

We can export 3DS, SketchUp, Collada, STL and DWG files.

Yes. CAD (.dwg) files are sold for your engineer or surveyor to use on the design as drawn. We do not work in AutoCAD, so a .dwg export brought into another CAD or BIM program can be slow to edit, even for small changes. Some designers are used to these imports, and we are happy to send a sample .dwg before you buy so yours can test it.

From a local engineer, architect or truss manufacturer working from our construction set. Ask them whether they want the CAD files or whether the PDF will do.

A PDF is often enough, especially for a garage plan or a smaller house. Many engineers and surveyors ask for a CAD (.dwg) file because it makes their own drawings quicker to scale and produce, which can lower their fee. Ask yours before you buy.

No. Stamp requirements are set by the city or county where you build, and some require a stamp from an architect or engineer licensed in that state or county. We do not provide stamps, but we may be able to put you in touch with an engineer in your area.

Plan on it. Every set should be reviewed by a licensed engineer for the loads on your property: soil, grade, flood zone, wind and seismic zone can all change the foundation and the structure. Plans elevated on piers or pilings need supplemental structural drawings from an engineer, and most permit offices want those stamped.

No. If your HOA or permit office requires it, we can mark HVAC units and stands on the exterior elevations. Work the heating, cooling and water systems out with your general contractor and a local HVAC company before you build: a traditional ducted system suits some houses, a ductless or mini-split system suits others.

Most of our plans are elevated, built on piers or pilings for coastal lots where floods and hurricanes are part of the design. They usually have a drive-under garage, a full flight of stairs to the living floor and often an elevator. They also suit sloping lots in hill country, where the ground floor can be built into the grade as a walkout with enclosed bonus rooms, much like a basement. Most elevated plans can be converted to slab, crawlspace or another foundation, and an attached garage can replace the drive-under; ask for a quote.

Every plan here was drawn by one designer, and when you buy direct you are dealing with the person who drew it, for questions and for changes. Buying direct is also the lowest price for the plan, and it supports the designer rather than a marketplace.

The plans are drawn to the 2021 IRC. Your county may have amendments or ask for supplemental information to show compliance. Because the plans are built across the U.S. and Canada, the general code items are on every set unless a plan notes otherwise: door and hallway widths, plumbing fixture clearances, electrical outlets, minimum room sizes and headroom.

No. Each plan is sold with a single-build license for one house. If you want to build the same plan again, ask about multi-build license rates and the release form.

Yes. Every plan is 5% cheaper bought direct from us than through a third-party marketplace, and if you find the same plan and format for less anywhere else, tell us and we will match it.

A study set is a reduced, not-to-scale version of a plan's floor plans and exterior elevations. It costs $75, and the full $75 is credited toward the construction set for the same design for 12 months. It exists so you can judge a design and get a real budget range from local builders before you commit to the full plan.

Directly from us, here on intertwinehouseplans.com. Study sets are not available anywhere else, including the larger plan marketplaces where some of our designs are also listed. Buying here means you are dealing with the designer directly, and it is the only place the $75 credit toward your full plan applies.

Fully dimensioned floor plans, all four exterior elevations, door and window schedules, and a full specification sheet: heated area by floor, porches, garage, footprint, ridge height, bed and bath count, ceiling heights, foundation type, framing, and roof pitch. Enough to judge whether the house works for how you live, and enough for a builder to give you a real budget range.

No. A study set is reduced and not drawn to scale, and it carries no license to build, reproduce, or redistribute the design. Every sheet is marked NOT LICENSED and NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION, and no permit office will accept it. Foundation plans, framing, sections, structural details and electrical are only included in the licensed construction set.

Yes. The full $75 comes off the construction set price for the same design, any time within 12 months of your study set purchase. The credit is specific to that plan and doesn't transfer to a different design.

Because it costs more, not less. The study set gives you a layout and an appearance, not the engineering. Redrawing it means paying a designer to reconstruct, from scratch, the foundation, framing, roof structure, sections and assemblies we already provide, coordinated, in the construction set. You would also own their design and their liability, not ours. The PDF set for every plan we sell starts under $2,000; nobody redraws a house for less than that.