Where to buy stock building plans that are actually good?
Does anyone know of a website where one can purchase stock drawing packages with well designed construction details or does this not exist?
I need to design a detached garage and I can’t wrap my mind around how I’m going to do this. I was thinking we could avoid a custom design because we didn’t enjoy the experience with the house, but everything I see online is for traditional construction as if building science does not exist and also does not look very modern. I know a little bit because I’ve become honestly obsessed with this field in the last couple of years, but I don’t know nearly enough to be in charge of determining construction details for the whole structure. So while I could buy plans and then change all the materials and methods, this seems incredibly stupid since I don’t know enough. I wish our builder could handle it because they do such good work, but I got the impression a garage is not really worth their time and they are also super in demand. Or they are just very bad at sales and I misunderstood.
We want to spend $100-$150k CAD in a high cost area including ALL costs. ALL materials, labour, design fees, engineering, other expenses. I don’t know how to emphasize this enough. It blew my mind that working with an architect she had absolutely no understanding of costs in relation to what we wanted. When it comes to the garage, I’m not repeating that experience so I think we should aim for the lower end and if we end up near the upper limit it’s fine. Because it seems so tricky to design according to budget, I do understand it’s very challenging, a stock plan seems much safer.
There are sources like this, I just wish there was an alternative version which essentially offered what I am looking for: https://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plans/search?sort=trending&term=&tla_min=&tla_max=&be_min=&be_max=&ba_min=&ba_max=&pt%5B%5D=garage&g_sqft_min=600&g_sqft_max=1200&u_c_min=&u_c_max=&w_min=&w_max=&d_min=&d_max=&h_min=&h_max=
We want an oversized 2 car garage, simple and modern style, with proper air sealing, water management and insulation so we can use the space as a shop/hobby area and ultimately a good structure with longevity. We want it to somewhat match or at least make sense beside the house which is black vertical steel with a steep gabled roof. Is the only way to achieve this custom design? Seems like there is a market gap for stock plans that are actually good! We paid 6 figures to work with an architect for the house and it’s hard to see the ROI in our particular case, most people can’t afford custom design so in short I’m wondering if there is a middle ground between bad stock plans and super expensive custom design?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
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As far as I know there isn't such a stock plan service available. It's exactly the gap I am hoping to fill. I am in the process now of creating detail packages that can be adapted to the various climate zones, so that the plans I produce do not have to be customized by zone.
In describing here on GBA what I was trying to do, I got nothing but grief and discouragement from other subscribers. I ignored it, of course, and am continuing in my work. But it was a bit of a disappointment.
I'm sorry that I don't yet have a website and plans available. Otherwise I would be happy to help you.
Interesting! Do you have a link to your post where you described it in more detail?
Depending how it is set up, I can see how it would be extremely challenging but I think there is a pretty clear market for home plans. The high-performance and green building niche(s) may be small, yes, but often that is an advantage as there is a very clear and precise target market. You’re not selling to everyone in the world, you’re selling to people with certain standards and specific goals like __ R value or __ air tightness.
I’ve heard good things about https://www.passivedesign.ca/ but they don’t have what I am looking for, I might contact them anyway.
Izzza,
There is a case to be made that the idea of generic plans that are not very regional are antithetical to the ideas propagated here on GBA - and certainly to the concepts of The Pretty Good House. There are three distinct problems with them:
1. The basic architectural form of a house should reflect its climate. If you looked through three coffee table books on say Desert Style, Houses of the Pacific Northwest, and Cabins in Coastal Maine, the houses in each would be very different. Partly that's due to local culture, but partly those styles evolved to reflect the demands of their climates. Things like the size or lack of overhangs, the way sunlight is mediated, the presence of covered outdoor areas, how they shed snow, whether entries need protection, etc. A house from one area doesn't really work well in many others.
2. Modifying building assemblies to suit different climate zones by simply adding or subtracting insulation misses that the basic assemblies that work in one place may not work well in another. For example: Un-vented roofs in zones 1, 2 and 3 with vapour-diffusion ports are a good option. They don't work elsewhere. Flat roofs with parapets make more sense in Arizona than in Vancouver.
3. Different jurisdictions in the same climate zones, or facing the same hazards like high winds or earthquakes, have come up with very different requirements for code compliance. So some areas of California require that the sheathing on the two sides of a gable roof be structurally connected - precluding (or complicating) a vented ridge. That isn't true in coastal BC. If generic plans deal with things like that by applying the stricter standard so they meet code everywhere, that may limit options that otherwise would be available. Take roof venting. US codes require a 1" channel, Canadian ones mandate a 2" gap. Adhering to the Canadian requirement precludes using a sarking membrane over the rafters with 2"x4" strapping above.
That isn't to say it doesn't make sense to find an already existing design you like, but I don't see a path to building that doesn't require some modifications for where it will be going - and that can be much more local that just climate zones.
My suggestion would be to find a local drafts person and bring him:
- ai generated or found on internet look of garage exterior
- basic floor plan hand drawn
-details from this site detail library of:
•foundation section
•wall section
•truss to wall
• window/door section
Then you could always get feedback on you wall, floor, ceiling design and floor plan from this site. Let the drafter compile into sheet set and get it engineered.
I bet it will be same price as many online plan sets
Have you considered a design/build firm? They tend to be a little more tuned in to costs at the design stage.
Where are you located? I am doing a similar project, and went with a design firm that is familiar with high performance building. I wanted an insulated raft slab, which required an engineer's stamp on it, so I didn't have much choice. But I was relatively happy with the experience overall.