How Much Does It Cost to Have Blueprints for a New Home Drafted?
Creating a blueprint or house plan is one of the first steps of building a new home. Blueprints or house plans are created by a draftsman for a new home design or a home addition. You can either purchase pre-created house plans or demand a house plan drafted from scratch by a draftsman or architect. 3-bedroom house plans are commonly requested and are used for the standard example project in this guide.
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Drafting Services Cost by Project Range
Types of Plans
The cost will vary depending on whether or not the homeowner wants to use a pre-created house plan or have an architect design a totally new blueprint 1.
Pre-created Plans
Pre-created house plans are designed by architects and can be purchased online. Modifiable house plans, or plans that can be altered by an architect or otherwise customized, will cost 20%-40% more than non-modifiable plans. Most homeowners will need modifiable plans in order to make their preferred changes or otherwise customize the plan due to the construction requirements. 3-bedroom house plans are very popular and range from $800 to $2000.
Customized Plans
For a completely customized house plan designed from scratch, the cost is usually billed as an hourly rate:
- A normal hourly rate for a draftsman will be around $100-$130 per hour.
- Architects will charge slightly more at $100-$140 per hour for a blueprint 1.
- A typical 3 bedroom house will take about 10 hours to complete and will cost about $1000 to $1300 for the first drawing.
- Customizations are further charged on an hourly basis and can add an additional $800 to $1400.
- The blueprint 1 may be designed by hand and printed on vellum paper, which is the traditional method of creating a blueprint 1.
- They may be designed using AutoCAD 2 software, which is the way that the vast majority of blueprints 1 are created today. AutoCAD 2 CD-ROMs can cost an additional $400 to $1000 and are the most popular format for making house plan modifications.
- CAD is used for 99% of blueprint 1 drawings, but in the rare occasion that a hand drawing is needed, it will normally cost more than a CAD design due to the longer length of time required.
Enhancement and Improvement Costs
- Pre-created luxury house plans can cost more, from $1200 to $3000 as well as more complicated and larger 4 and 5 bedroom homes. Luxury homes designed from scratch can take 24 hours to create and cost $2400 to $3120 for the first drawing, not including customizations.
- In general, the more complex a home is in terms of size and interior and exterior features, the more time it will take in order to design it from scratch, which will lead to the cost to design complex homes being higher.
Remodeling Terms Cheat Sheet
Definitions in laymen's terms, cost considerations, pictures and things you need to know.See full cheat sheet.
1 Blueprint: A technical drawing of an architectural design. Traditionally these were made using a printing process that produced a white line on a blue background. They can also be made with CAD software and a large-scale printer
How much does it cost to have blueprints for a new home drafted in my city?
Cost to have blueprints for a new home drafted varies greatly by region (and even by zip code). To get free estimates from local contractors, please indicate yours.
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