Construction Bid Plan.  This drawing if of a small addition to a house in the Southeast US.  The addition is to the house front in order to enlarge a master bedroom and add a library-sitting area, small deck, and exterior entry.  The custom home building construction bid drawing is designed: a) to allow general contractors as construction bidders the opportunity to get a sound sense of what's involved, the major components, b) to be understood in builders' language, c) without drawing up a full set of plans for custom home building.  Contractors love these abbreviated presentations.  Eventually, a full set of plans will follow construction bid acceptance.  See how the specificity increases over the Design Ideas drawing.

Permit Plan for Foundation Remediation.   A client needed a plan to repair a crumbling, residential foundation.  The catch — the foundation is beneath a house in super-seismic San Jose, CA.  Here's the sheet that got him the permit, and at the same time, makes the custom home building process itself as clear as can be.  This is about mating durability and safety in an unusual application.

Custom Home Floor Plan - Addition.  This residential custom floor plan was recently designed and drafted for an addition to existing.  Designing and drafting started out with a very sketchy sketch and a few early-evening photographs.  This custom floor plan draft is the sixth in a developmental series.  See how much more detailed is the custom floor plan than either the Design Idea drawing or the Construction Bid Plan.

Custom Home Floor Plan - House.  This'll make it clear as we can as to just how flexible we are at Before The Architect in working with our clients.  This to-be-built custom floor plan was developed from that of the client's after several years of his working on his own.  In this particular application, he had acceptable elevations (after a few adaptation to our interior redesign) and a reasonably good idea about the interior.  It just needed polishing.  Polishing to make the interior tailored to the way this family of 6 lives and will live when extended to the high likelihood of mobility-challenged grandparents and visiting children grown up.

House Framing Plan.  A couple in the Southeast US started building their own addition, and ran out of time to get it closed in.  They found a framing contractor with the right credentials.  He needed a framing plan for his crew to follow.

House Electrical Plan.  This electrical plan has at its background the (simplified) house custom floor plan with the walls in gray.  In the darker foreground is the electrical plan, including lighting outlets, receptacle outlets, lighting switches, and lighting circuitry.

Major Plan Sets. From time to time, we will add a major plan set to our site.  Not all that we do in house design and custom home building plans has broad appeal.  Not all that we do involves either large projects.   Now and then, a big residential project develops with characteristics attractive to a wider audience.  To exemplify our intentions in regard to presenting major plan sets, here are several in part or whole —  French Country.  34 sheets developed over 15 months,  preparatory to letting for construction bids from 4 custom house builders;  French Country 2, major elevations of Chateau Style highlighting some characteristic format; Neo-Spanish Colonial. 50+ sheets developed from a single user, single use agreement;  Victorian House Plan in a farmhouse style.  Underway, and too much fun not to mention here and now;  Jacobean English Manor House.  Coming up soon enough - just shy of 20,000 SF - exceptional; Riverhouse Remodel of cottage in need of growing up; Hill Country House Remodel - makeover of about the ugliest house we've ever come across...but not anymore.