Why Stock House Plans Can Cost Less—and What’s Included
Designing a house from the ground up can be a significant investment. A stock house plan offers another option: choose a plan that has already been designed, then purchase the rights to use it for your project.
Because the design work is completed before you select the plan, its development cost is not carried by just one buyer. Instead, customers can choose from existing plans and pay for the plan they want to build. That is why a stock house plan can cost significantly less than having a new design created for one project.
The lower cost does not mean you receive only a basic sketch. A construction set includes multiple drawings with information about the home’s layout, exterior, roof, dimensions, and construction details. Here is what is included.
What Comes in a Construction Set?
Elevations
Elevations show the exterior sides of the house. They include material labels, floor-to-floor heights, and roof slope indicators.
Floor Plans
Floor plans show room layouts, room labels and interior room sizes, dimensions, and door and window sizes. They also include electrical layouts, including outlets, fixtures, and switching.
Building section markers identify locations shown in other drawings. Plans are generally drawn at scales ranging from 1/8″ to 1/4″ = 1′-0″.
Slab Plan
When applicable, the set includes a slab plan. It may show floor and deck joist sizes and spacing, rough-in plumbing locations, and mechanical equipment or electrical locations.
The slab plan is not a structural foundation plan. A structural engineer must design the foundation for the specific building site. Soil conditions, footing requirements, grade, and other site details can vary from one property to another.
Roof Design Plan
The roof design plan shows beams and headers, including their heights and locations. It also identifies hips, gables, ridges, valleys, and building section markers.
The plan shows the roof design, but it does not include truss layouts. Your truss engineer or lumber company provides those layouts.
Building Sections and Wall Sections
Building sections show cut-through views of the house. They include floor joist sizes and spacing, floor-to-floor heights, and any non-typical plate heights.
Typical wall sections identify wall construction, foundation wall thickness and reinforcing, and insulation type and thickness. These drawings use scales ranging from 1/8″ to 1/2″ = 1′-0″.
Notes and Details
The set also includes general notes and details. Stairway details appear when applicable.
What May Still Be Needed for Your Site?
Stock plans are prepared in advance, but building sites and local requirements differ. Your building department may accept the construction set with site-specific engineering. Another department may require additional drawings or information before it approves a permit.
The plans include electrical layouts and show certain plumbing, mechanical, and electrical locations when applicable. However, those callouts are not a separate, engineered set of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing drawings, often called MEP drawings. Ask your builder or local building department whether your project needs additional MEP information.
Our stock plan drawings are not certified drawings. If your building department requires certified documents, ask a local engineer or architect whether they can review and certify the applicable drawings.
Structural engineering must address the conditions at the individual site. Soil conditions, wind loads, wind exposure, grade height, and local requirements can differ from lot to lot. For that reason, engineering prepared for one site should not simply be reused on another. Even when sites appear similar, an engineer needs to review the specific conditions and coordinate with the truss engineering.
A stock house plan can offer a more affordable way to begin with a thoughtfully designed layout. Before construction, check with your builder, local building department, and structural engineer. They can tell you what your specific site requires and help you plan for any additional documents.
Ready to find a design for your project? Browse our house plans to compare styles, sizes, and features, and discover a plan to explore further.