Your Top 5 Most Pressing Questions Answered

Building your dream home is one of life’s biggest milestones, and it’s natural to have questions along the way. Whether you’re purchasing your first house plan or designing your forever home, we’re here to help make the process simple and enjoyable.

Every day, our team helps homeowners navigate everything from choosing the right plan package to understanding local building requirements to customizing their dream home. To help you get started, we’ve answered the five questions we hear most often.

1. Who Are We? What Do We Do?

America’s Best House Plans is a family-owned online house plan broker that partners with many of the nation’s leading architects and home designers. We offer thousands of professionally designed house plans ready to serve as the foundation of your future home.

Whether you’re looking for a cozy Cottage, a Modern Farmhouse, a luxury estate, or a barndominium, our goal is to help you find a plan that fits your lifestyle, budget, and property.

Once you’ve selected the perfect plan, you’ll work with your local builder to bring it to life. Throughout that process, our team remains available to answer questions, explain your options, and help coordinate any necessary modifications.

Takeaway: Finding the right home plan should feel exciting, not overwhelming. Our team is here to guide you every step of the way.

Plan Packages & Additional Options

Every project is unique, which is why we offer several plan package options to fit your needs.

• PDF Plans are our most popular option, allowing you to receive your plans electronically, print as many copies as needed, and easily share them with your builder or engineer.
• Printed Sets provide professionally printed copies delivered directly to your home.
• CAD Files are ideal if you anticipate making extensive modifications, as they allow a design professional to edit the original drawings.
• Multi-Use Licenses are available on select plans for customers who intend to build the same design multiple times.

We also offer helpful options such as Right Reading Reverse, alternate wall framing, and Material Lists to help customize your project and simplify the building process.

Takeaway: Whether you’re building one home or many, we offer flexible plan options designed to fit your project.

2. Are These Plans Up to Code? Will They Work in My Area?

One of the biggest advantages of purchasing a professionally designed stock house plan is that you’re starting with a home that’s already been thoughtfully created by experienced residential designers. This saves both time and money compared to designing a custom home from scratch.

Because every city, county, and state has its own building requirements, your local builder or engineer will review your plans and make any adjustments needed to meet your area’s specific codes. This is a standard part of the residential construction process and helps ensure your home is ready for permitting and construction.

Our plans are designed using widely accepted residential building standards, making them an excellent starting point for projects across the United States and Canada. 

Takeaway: Your house plan provides the foundation, while your local building professionals ensure it meets the specific requirements for your location. Read about common code requirements, here.

3. Can I Modify a House Plan?

Absolutely.

Nearly every house plan can be customized to better fit your family’s needs. Whether you’re expanding a garage, adjusting room layouts, modifying the exterior, or making structural changes, our Modification Services make it easy to personalize your home.

Getting started is simple:

• Submit your modification request directly from the plan detail page.
• Our design team reviews your ideas.
• You’ll receive a detailed quote outlining pricing and estimated turnaround time.
• Once approved, you’ll work directly with the designer throughout the drafting process until the final plans meet your expectations.

Because every request is unique, modification drawings are created after the project is approved, allowing the designer to focus on developing plans specifically for your project.

Takeaway: Your favorite house plan doesn’t have to be perfect on day one. Our modification team can help make it uniquely yours.

This does not mean that you are purchasing a modified house plan at the risk of being dissatisfied if the plans do not meet your expectations. Far from it! After completing your purchase, the modification designers will start drafting and will send you drafts for your approval.

The process differs slightly with each designer but you can expect initial correspondence with the designer regarding your modifications; in the form of either a call or email. From then on, you and the designer will continue to work on the original modifications until you are satisfied with the outcome. Your satisfaction is our goal; we want you to be happy with your changes when designing your home. 

4. Where Are the HVAC, Plumbing, and Mechanical Drawings?

Our plans include the architectural information needed to construct your home, while mechanical systems are typically designed locally as part of the building process.

Heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical requirements vary depending on your location, climate, utility providers, and local building codes. For that reason, your builder and local trade professionals will develop these systems specifically for your project.

Some plans may show suggested mechanical room locations or fixture placement, giving your builder a helpful starting point while still allowing flexibility to meet local requirements.

Takeaway: This is a normal part of the home-building process and ensures every system is designed specifically for your home and location.The best option though would be to consult with your local plumber, builder, or local electrician. Learn about what all is included in our plans, here.

5. Do You Have Additional Photos or Customer Builds?

We know how valuable photos, virtual tours, and real customer builds are when choosing a home plan. That’s why we’re continually working with our designers, builders, and homeowners to expand our collection of imagery across our plan library.

Many plans already include interior photography, virtual tours, 360º tours, or customer-submitted images, and we’re constantly adding new content as it becomes available.

If you’re interested in seeing a particular plan built, we also encourage you to join our Building America’s Best House Plans Facebook community, where homeowners regularly share photos, progress updates, and completed homes.

Takeaway: Our collection of photos and customer builds continues to grow, helping you feel even more confident as you make your decision. See our entire collection of house plans with build photos, here.

Final Thoughts

Building a home is an exciting journey, and choosing the right house plan is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Our goal is to make that process as simple, transparent, and enjoyable as possible.

Whether you’re selecting your first plan, exploring modification options, or preparing for construction, our experienced team is here to answer your questions and help guide you through every step of the process.

If you’re ready to get started or simply have another question, we’d love to help. Reach out to our customer service team Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET, and let us help you take the next step toward building your dream home.