HOUSETOPIA.io
BETA SITE
About
For over 14 years we have been designing custom homes and we are excited to begin selling house plans and custom design services through Housetopia.io. We will be creating completely new custom designs that will be sold as purchasable house plans. The design development is underway and we expect to have the first batch of plans released soon. Below is our value proposition for why you should consider purchasing our plans. If you would like to inquire about our plans, custom design services, or collaborations, please reach out using the contact form below. Thank you!
OUR VALUE PROPOSITION
CARE
We care that your project is built successfully and to a quality standard that we would require as if it were our own. We have curated code requirements and best practices in construction and consolidated this information directly into the plans. Most house plan websites sell plans that they have compiled from hundreds or thousands of designers. This is great for offering a large diverse selection for customers to choose from but its impossible to maintain consistency in quality. When you purchase plans from us, you can count on a quality product and a consistent product since all of our plans are created in-house by us and drafted using the same standards and templates for each design.
BUILDNG PERMITS and STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
If you are buying a house plan, that usually means you are planning on building a house and in 99.9% of cities and towns in America, a building permit is required before construction can begin. Every city and town has their own documentation submissions requirements for issuing a building permit. This documentation will always include an architectural set of drawings which is what we sell here at Housetopia.io but it may also include some of the following:
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Signed seal of approval from a licensed structural engineer ("structural stamp")
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Site plan
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Storm water drainage plan
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Energy code compliance documentation
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Tree removal plan
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Building floor area affidavits
This type of supporting documentation is highly specific to the site where the project is to be built and often must be performed by a professional licensed in the state. Housetopia.io can help. Our plans already include framing plans and foundation plans so if a structural engineering stamp is required, the time intensive drafting work has already been completed. This will cut down on the cost for the structural engineer. You can work with your own structural engineer or ours to review and stamp our drawings. Obtaining this stamp will come at an additional cost that we can provide you a quote for. Our structural engineer is licensed in all 50 states. Most house plan companies charge extra for the editable CAD files used to produce the plans. If you decide to work with your own structural engineer, we will give them to you upon request at no additional cost.
COST
If you read the section above about the additional documentation often required for receiving a building permit, it is clear that the cost of purchasing a house plan is just one piece of the puzzle. Purchasing a house plan is a cost effective alternative to hiring an architect to create a custom design. The money you save by purchasing a house plan can then be put towards some of the other design and documentation costs required for a building permit. Recognizing the other design costs you may incur, we try to price our architectural plans competitively.