HOUSE PLAN SPECS
Floor 1
1,188 sf
Floor 2
1,106 sf
Total
2,294 sf
Unfinished Basement
976 sf
Entry Faces
South
South Glass
9%
Complexity
average
Four Seasons 2
PLAN PRICING
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Study Plans
See larger, clearer, and more drawings than what are shown on the individual house plan pages.
The price can be credited to future orders of Construction Prints or CAD Files of any Sun Plan even if a completely different house plan is later purchased.(Some exceptions if customer requires Study Plan level of consulting.)
Study Plans can be ordered from the Pricing tab for each house plan.
Study Plans include:
- A mini set of design-oriented drawings set up for 11"x17".
- A choice between a Paper version sent by US Priority Mail or the PDF version sent via email.
- Unlimited printing with PDF's for sharing with family members.
- 6 to 9 pages of drawings depending upon the complexity of the home.
- Click here to see an example set for a 1.5 story home with daylight basement.
- Schematic site plan, floor plans (with room sizes and furniture), daylight basements if applicable, exterior elevations, a schematic section of the house to help visualize the interior, kitchen elevations and garage plans.
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Review Sets
Review Sets provide information to help decide whether the design will meet the budget. They are mainly for those who crave technical details, have construction experience or have a builder on board.
The price can be credited to future orders of Construction Prints or CAD Files of any Sun Plan even if a completely different house plan is later purchased. (Some exceptions if customer requires Review Set level of consulting.)
Review Sets can be ordered from the Pricing tab for each house plan..
Review Sets include:
- A mini set of construction drawings set up for 11"x17"
- Choice of PAPER sent by US Priority Mail or PDF version sent via email. (Select PDF to print extra copies or share electronically with other building professionals.)
- 10 to 16 pages of drawings depending upon the complexity of the home.(See each house plan description for the drawings that come with each design.)
- Dimensions and construction notes.
- Click here to see an example Review Set of a 1.5 story home with daylight basement.
- A copy of the Study Plan.
- An "Opinion of Probable Construction Cost" from Sun Plans if requested. Sun Plans evaluates the design and compares it to similar home designs for which other clients have provided construction costs. A range of construction cost is provided. (This is based on national information. Sun Plans does not have statistics by state, region or country.)
Review Sets may vary slightly from later orders of Construction Prints and CAD Files since drawings are continuously being updated to meet newer construction and in-house standards,
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Construction Prints
Large Construction Prints with clear, concise information make it easy for builders to follow yet they are flexible enough to adapt locally based on the price and availability of materials and subcontractors, various construction methods and home owner preferences. Together, every builder and home owner will change some aspects of the design before or during construction. If mutually agreeable (and approved by the building inspector and local engineer), these "field changes" can often be made with red notes on the Construction Prints. (For complex changes, please see CAD Files or Adapt-A-SunPlan Services.)
Construction Prints include:
- Six sets of Construction Prints on 24"x36" paper shipped via UPS ground or PDF computer files sent by email
- 10 to 16 pages of drawings depending upon the size and complexity of the home. (See individual house plan descriptions for specific drawings for each design.)
- Schematic site plan (cover sheet showing how to orient the house for passive solar gain)
- Foundation Plan (either slab-on-grade, crawlspace, below grade or daylight basement)
- First and second floor plans (many construction notes, window sizes, etc.)
- Exterior elevations (all four sides shown in hatched detail)
- Schematic Building section (cut-away through the home showing basic configuration)
- Kitchen elevations (all sides of the kitchen)
- Typical wall detail (showing the various building materials recommended)
- Schematic electrical (showing lights, switches and outlets)
- Schematic framing plans (showing floor framing, roof framing and beams)
- Garage or Carport
- Custom Energy Specs. (Read more.)
- Under the Tell Me More about the Review Set, you can see an example set of drawings; however, with Construction Prints, the plans are updated to the current in-house checklist, do not have the Not For Construction, and include the Custom Energy Specs.
- One hour of technical support with the architect by email or phone
Miscellaneous Details
- Order Construction Prints through the Pricing tab on any house plan.
- After an order is placed, reply to the email received to advise of the requested information Sun Plans will need to prepare the Custom Energy Specs.
- Allow 5 business days for updating the design to the Sun Plans in-house checklist and preparation of the the Custom Energy Specs. (Shipping then takes another 3-7 days.)
- With PDF's, unlimited copies of the Construction Prints can be printed locally so long as they are used for building one home. PDF's are handy for sending to builders, mortgage companies, appraisers, home energy raters, and others who may be assisting with the planning and construction of the home such as the builder's subcontractors. Some building inspection departments require PDF.
Rick is in the lighting business and reviews construction prints in his work.
They are wonderful! If you saw most of the drawings and specifications I see, you would wonder how anything got built properly...It is just nice to see a true professional who does the job correctly and takes pride in her work. In my 34 years of working with Architects you are hands down the best I have had the privilege to work with. - Rick
A client sent a set of Construction Prints (designed for stick construction) to a SIP company to have them converted to SIPs. This is what they told the home owners:
I also wanted to take this opportunity to confirm your selection of Sun Plans Inc. We receive many sets of drawings each day that are interested in comparing SIPs. The drawings submitted by Sun Plans Inc. were high quality and very easy for us to work from. - Steve, SIPS of the South
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CAD Files
CAD files are the most flexible type of construction drawings since they can be modified and sent electronically. While the house design is intended to save the home owner energy, the CAD files are designed to save the energy of design professionals by making adaptations proceed faster should it be desired to have someone other than Sun Plans make the changes. The PDF files that are a part of the order allow for printing unlimited Construction Prints even if no changes are made. CAD files are intended to be used by professionals experienced in residential design.
CAD Files Include:
- CAD files of the Construction Drawings (see below for options)
- PDF file of the Construction Prints (see Construction Prints)
- PDF file of Custom Energy Specs
- PDF file of Copyright Release to allow the house to be modified and changed to build one house
- Under the Tell Me More about the Review Set, you can see an example set of drawings; however, with Construction Prints and CAD Files, the plans are updated to the current in-house checklist, do not have the Not For Construction, and include the Custom Energy Specs.
- One hour of technical support. This can include review by the Sun Plans' architect on proposed changes prior to preparing Custom Energy Specs. If the customer sends a list of proposed changes immediately after placing the order, the architect can review them for energy implications and try to address them in the Custom Energy Specs.
CAD File Details
- Order CAD files through the Pricing tab on any house plan.
- After an order is placed, reply to the email received to advise of the requested information Sun Plans will need to prepare the Custom Energy Specs.
- Allow 5 business days for to allow for updating the design to the Sun Plans in-house checklist and preparation of the the Custom Energy Specs.
- With the CAD files, many changes can be made to the design.
- With PDF's (part of the CAD file order), unlimited copies of the Construction Prints can be printed locally so long as they are used for building one home. PDF's are handy for sending to builders, mortgage companies, appraisers, home energy raters, and others who may be assisting with the planning and construction of the home such as the builder's subcontractors. Some building inspection departments require PDF.
- If consulting on changes is desired before the order is placed, then Adapt-A-SunPlan Consulting and Review Service is the process to take.
- The design professional may expand the house a couple of feet, change the exterior materials, move a bathroom, or rearrange interior walls and doors.
- The structural engineer may want to add engineering information such as rebar sizes and specific connections suitable for the local codes, soils, winds, snow or seismic activity.
- The builder may find it easier to perform take offs and layouts with this electronic version of construction prints.
- Home Energy Raters or HVAC subs creating duct work layouts can increase the speed and accuracy of their services.
Info for the Design Professional
- The CAD Files are designed to be used by an experienced residential design professional
- The standard method of preparing the CAD files is in AutoCAD 2000 DWG file type, with the files split into separate files. Approximately 95% of CAD file orders are prepared in this format. (Sun Plans can export to any version of AutoCAD between version 12 (released in 1992) and 2021, but 2000 is the default as that seems to be the most common one that design professionals can use including those with older versions of the software. It is not uncommon for other design professionals to use very old versions of AutoCAD.
- Can't use any of these CAD File types, but still want the local design professional to copy and redraw the design with changes? The Copyright Release that comes only with CAD Files allow for this. (Please see Copyright.)
- Special requests for all-in-one CAD files, DXF or AEC (DataCAD) files can be honored if advised within one business day of the order.
- Split CAD Files are divided into separate files - cover sheet, foundation, first floor, second floor, elevations, section, kitchen, wall detail, and detached garage as applicable. More than one of the printed sheet may be in each file. For instance, the fp1elect and fp1framing will also be in the fp1 file, but these are recommended to be printed separately as shown in the PDF files that come with the CAD Files.
- More questions? Have the design professional contact us.
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Mirror Reverse
Similar to the Mirror Reverse feature for each house plan, mirror reversing Construction Prints and CAD Files flips the house plan on the north-south axis. However, the Mirror Reverse custom service also reverses the text and numbers so that they are no longer backwards. The drawings will be "right reading". It takes some time to check for overlapping text and numbers, but it is a worthwhile service considering the errors that can be made by the builders and their subs if they otherwise tried to reverse the home during construction.
In rectangular plans designed with one long wall designed to face south, the south and north sides will still face the same compass direction, but the east and west walls are reversed. In angled plans designed to sit at a 45 degree angle to south, the mirror line is from the northern-most corner to the southern-most corner which is a diagonal line across the house. What was the northwest wall would then become the northeast wall, and what was the southwest wall would then become the southeast wall.
Instances of when reversing might help include when the home owners want the entry on the east rather than the west. Or maybe a bedroom on the west is desired instead of the east-facing bedroom if light is not wanted from the sunrise. There are hundreds of reasons for mirror reversing a house along the north-south axis. Sometimes the architect suggests it during the Review and Consulting phase of any custom services based on the home owners' site or other particulars.
A local design professional can also do the reversing with the CAD Files.
Mirror Reverse is a not available for the lower-priced Study Plans and Review Sets.
The Four Seasons 2 is a variation of a previous Four Seasons Homestead, but with the front of the house facing south. As front porches on the south cut solar gain, a small quaint stoop has been designed over the front door.
First Floor
The center of the home is the two-story sunroom that also functions as the dining area. One side opens to the kitchen and the other side to the great room. Both sides have brick walls for thermal mass. The centrally located staircase is to the north. The large great room has a study/music nook at one end with a bay window for north views. It is separated from the great room with columns and low walls. A large side porch allows for great views to the west (or east if reversed.) A full bath and bedroom downstairs can also serve as study.
Second Floor
The master suite is upstairs along with two bedrooms that share a bath tucked into the attic space. Being open to the two story sunroom certainly adds character.
Basement
Build this house with the basement garage or customize a daylight basement if land slopes to the south.
Garage
The free standing garage can be attached to the side near the kitchen and laundry. It can also be constructed in several locations detached from the house.
Construction Info
The entire second floor has exterior walls 6' high at the outer walls for a cottage-like character, but have ceilings that slope up to 10'. The first floor has 9' ceilings. The brick walls on both floors eliminate the need for excessive thermal mass in the floors although thermal mass is still designed into the entire south side of the main floor and the entire great room floor. The second floor needs little mass in the floor so it is more economical to build.
Modification Ideas
Since these ideas may affect energy performance and structural integrity, they should only be undertaken with professional assistance.
- Add a north porch and turn that into the front of the home. The main entry would then be into the great room on the north with the study nook turned into the foyer.
- Change the foundation to a slab for an economical way to add thermal mass
Construction Drawings
For this plan, the following are included with Construction Prints and CAD Files:
- Schematic Site Plan
- Basement Plan with Garage
- Floor Plans
- Exterior Elevations
- Building Sections
- Kitchen Elevations
- Typical Wall Detail
- Schematic Electrical Plans
- Schematic Framing Plans
- Garage Option
Comments and Photos
"Comfort, light, and energy efficiency" are the qualities that David and Susan like best about their Four Seasons 2 house. Their favorite spaces are the central dining sunspace, master bedroom, and west screened porch. "We enjoy the house very much and constantly receive compliments from others who enjoy looking at it, too. (Our town) has had two ice storms this winter with power outages, as well as a transformer explosion that also knocked the power out on a bitterly cold day. We were so happy to be in this house on each occasion, with sun, solar mass, and our wood stove keeping us very comfortable."
The Davis' narrow south-facing (the front of the home had to face south) lot dictated that the garage be located below the house and the south side be modified to be the front - a typical adaptation that makes a home fit on an otherwise unsuitable lot.
Bill Pomarico of Pomarico Construction in Cary, North Carolina built the home. The basement is not heated, but it does have interior rigid insulation which is a part of the Superior precast foundation wall system. The first and second floor exterior stud walls are framed with 2x6's and filled with cellulose insulation. The roof has carefully fitted fiberglass batt insulation between the rafters. The attic space and the cavity space above the rafters were both vented. (If foam had been used, the cavity would not have been vented.) Thermal mass is in the tile covered floors and 8 inch interior concrete block walls covered with 1/2" of sheet rock on both exposed sides. (some clients like the look of brick instead.)
The auxiliary mechanical systems are two air-to-air Trane heat pumps - one for each floor, although one system probably would have worked too. They were designed and installed by Rusty Holder of Holder Mech. Designs, Inc. A wood stove is used on winter nights and weekends when temperatures are below normal or there is not much sun. The thermostat is kept on 68 degrees in winter, and 78 degrees in summer. The mechanical system is not used in April, May, September, and October. The windows are open in those four months except April (due to pollen). On summer nights it is not cost effective to leave the windows open and have the air conditioning remove the extra humidity during the day. Ceiling fans are used regularly in summer. They are also used in winter to distribute heat from the wood stove. The entire house is powered by electricity and the energy costs are far below other homes in the area.
Regarding comfort, the inside temperatures are just right in spring, summer, and fall. In winter, the living room sometimes gets too warm when the wood stove is used. None of the rooms feel too bright, but since most rooms open to the central sun space dining area, sound carries throughout the house. Some families like that aspect. Cloth tapestries on non-solar walls and accent throw rugs as well as soft furniture would reduce sound transmission.
Thank you David and Susan for sharing the lovely photos and information about your home!
