What is included in a set of Residential House Plans?

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 Index

• Cover Sheet
• Floor Plans
• Elevations
• Foundation Plan
• Floor Joist Diagrams
• Building Section
• Roof Plan
• Additional Details
• Electrical Schematic
• Plot Plan

Cover Sheet

A general overview of your plans is offered on the Cover Sheet. This sheet is often used to describe the basic content of the full set of drawings without revealing sensitive information, such as detailed dimensions. This overview includes:

• Project Title
• Floor Plan Preview
• Front Elevation Preview
• Square Footage Calculations
• Sheet Index
• Client's Name

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Floor Plans

Throughout the revision process, the most attention is given to providing an efficient floor plan relevant to our client's personal needs. Our floor plans are drawn perfectly to scale, providing detailed and accurate information for the construction of your new home. By printing the 1/4" = 1'-0" scaled floor plan on large format paper, you are able to measure distances with precision and easily review the spaces in your new home before it is built. Depending on whether your new home is a single level or multi-level, there may be more than one floor plan. Each floor plan is typically on a separate sheet. Detailed information included on each floor plan includes:

• Room Tags (room title & dimensions)
• Locations of Toilets, Sinks, Showers, Tubs, etc.
• Kitchen Cabinet Layout
• Window sizes
• Door Sizes
• Crawl Space & Attic Access Locations (where relevant)
• Stair Locations w/ Rise & Run Details (where relevant)
• Other Detail May Be Added Per Case

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Elevations

Our elevations are a 2-dimentional representation of each exterior side of your new home. These elevations are drawn perfectly to scale, and accurately reflect the structural components of the specific home design. This sheet is primarily for visualization, but it may also be used to represent custom window sizes and layouts, determine exterior wall areas, and provide a visual layout of custom exterior finishes, such as rock, shakes, siding type, etc. Elevations are typically drawn at 1/4" = 1'-0" scale. For smaller homes, all four elevations may fit on 1 sheet. As the size of the home increases, elevations may consume 2 or 4 sheets.

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Foundation Plan

Depending on what type of home is being built, the foundation plan will reflect an accurate design of the foundation of your home. This may vary from a concrete foundation to a welded steel frame design on steel piling. Concrete foundation designs vary from:

• Single Level Crawl Space
• Single Level Monolithic Slab (Slab-On-Grade)
• Daylight Basement
• Mixed Design Types

Materials used to construct your foundation will be accurately reflected on this sheet. These different materials vary from:

• Poured Concrete Walls
• Concrete Masonry Unit Walls (CMU)
• Insulated Concrete Form Walls (ICF)

Wall heights, footing sizes, concrete slab thicknesses, & thickened slabs under point loads are laid out and detailed to ensure our clients are given accurate quotes by concrete contractors and to make sure every structural load path is carried to the ground.

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Floor Joist Diagrams

For homes containing floor joists, a separate sheet is provided in the plans showing an accurate layout of the floor joists and supporting beams for each floor supported by joists & beams. Plumbing drains for fixtures such as showers, tubs, & toilets can be shown on this sheet to ensure that none of the floor joists conflict with any of the plumbing or plumbing walls. A gray-scaled layout of the floor below the joists is shown under the joist layout, providing a real-life representation of where each joist & beam will be positioned.

• Floor Joists Accurately Rated for Spans
• Beam Sizes Accurately Rated for Loads
• Crawl Space Access Location
• Locations of Plumbing Fixtures
• Gray-Scaled Floor Below Joists
• On-Center Spacing for Floor Joists

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Building Section

Also known as a Cross Section, this detail provides skeletal information necessary for attaining accurate material lists and also provides a visually pleasing look at the "bones" of your home. This detail includes the following types of information:

• Wall Diaphragm Construction Materials
• Roof Diaphragm Construction Materials
• Floor Diaphragm Construction Materials
• Foundation-To-Framing connections
• Addition Detail Is Provided Per Design

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Roof Plan

A plan view of your roof shows each intersecting roof line, indicates roof pitch, ridges, hips, valleys, gable ends, and interior ceiling details intended to be built into the trusses, such as tray & vaulted ceilings. This layout provides adequate detail to your truss manufacturer to design your roof trusses accurately and efficiently.

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Additional Details

Depending on the complexity of the design, more detail may need to be added. Every plan includes a close-up of the foundation wall, representing rebar size & spacing, concrete thickness, foundation type, and anchor bolt connection details. Other additional details may include:

• Additional Building Sections
• Custom Window Layouts
• Deck Framing Plan
• Etc.

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Electrical Schematic (additional charge)

We recommend electrical drawings for Owner-Builders. Using an accurate electrical design, you will be able to get several different electrical bids, and ensure that the bids are comparable. Also, if you intend to do a lot of custom lighting, this schematic would accurately reflect the location of all lights and switches. Electrical schematics include:

• Location & Type of Lighting
• Location of Switches
• Indication of Single-Pole, 3-Way, & 4-Way Switches
• Location of Specialty Receptacles (GFCI, WP GFCI, 220v, Dedicated Circuits, etc.)
• Bathroom Fans
• Ceiling Fans
• Other Wiring Details (Fireplace, Freezer, Generator Hook-Up, etc.)

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Plot Plan (additional charge)

We offer residential plot plans sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Mat-Su Borough Mandatory Land Use Permit. These plot plans include the following information:

• Legal Description of Property
• Lot Line Boundary Data
• Setbacks & Easements
• Location of Proposed Building
• Location of Proposed Driveway
• Locations of Proposed Well & Septic (Or Other Water & Sewer Connections)
• Distances From Building to Adjacent Perpendicular Lot Line
• Building Perimeter Dimensions
• Other Information May Be Provided Per Case

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