Most would assume that getting a house plan custom designed for them would carry a high price tag. This is not the case as you can have house plans designed for your lifestyle for a relatively reasonable & fair price.
Sure you can hire some design firms that will prepare house plans for you starting at the cost of $10,000-$20,000 and upwards and they will also charge extra to manage the construction by being the liaison between you and the builder (assisting with paint colour choices, trim styles, flooring decisions, brands choices etc…) but with their known high fees this is not the common choice. These firms will charge 16%-30% of the overall construction contract from the builders as their fees. In reality you are paying for repetitive services as most custom home builders will provide an interior designer as part of their custom build contract assist with the above decisions.
Some people will try to cut corners and purchase stock house plans online. What most people don’t realize is that most of the stock house plan websites are American or from non-Ontario provinces. You cannot get a building permit in Ontario unless your house plans are Ontario BCIN approved. Purchasing stock house plans will result in the client needing to have their plans certified by an Ontario approved designer. Not overlooking the inability to customize most stock house plans without paying more per each change, many of these stock house plans are also missing crucial Ontario Building code information & design considerations;
i.e. roof snow load considerations, basement design that are either non-existent or full of steel posts making them virtually unusable for future use, insufficient insulation R-values, overall inadequate structure and lastly no customer support to deal with building officials just to mention a few…
So in the end, you will save money upfront by purchasing stock house plans, but will end up paying for Ontario certification and the revisions required to do so, most often costing more than having a set of house plans designed by an Ontario licensed designer that are actually custom for you!
As a BCIN licensed residential design firm registered with the province of Ontario we guarantee building permits with our house plans anywhere in the province of Ontario. Not only that, our house plans are designed creatively, efficiently, noting all structure which in most cases exceeds building code for all our house designs. Clients usually only have one chance in getting their dream home and making sure your house plans are right is the first step in attaining that dream!
Ontario licensed house plans that are custom designed for the individual client based on their likes, wants and future needs range on average from $1.50 to $2.15 per heated square foot which should come to a pleasant shock for most. Items that can affect the price vary for each individual house plan. Some examples but not limited to are;
certain design features (i.e. walkout basements, in-law suites, rooms in roof, storey & 1/2 designs, etc…) construction types (standard wood construction design vs. ICF design or straw bale design), short time constraints(turnaround time required for the individual project)
Get a house plan unique for you!
Contact Rijus Home Design today for a free custom house design quote (www.rijus.com)
