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.
- 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.)
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- For cost savings, removed the basement and build on a slab
- Change out the entry desk area for wood storage
- Screen the west or east porch or glass in part for a sunroom
- Schematic Site Plan
- Daylight Basement Plan
- First Floor Plan with Attached Garage
- Exterior Elevations
- Building Section
- Kitchen Elevations
- Typical Wall Detail
- Schematic Electrical Plans
- Schematic Framing Plans
Although Herb and Angie (Prince Charming 2) live in an area with lots of sunshine, it's also very cold. They are in Climate Zone 6B of International Energy Conservation Code - IECC. (Zone 2 is Florida and Zone 8 is the cold parts of Alaska.) As they were finishing out the trim of the home, Herb wrote about the performance. Even though they were only visiting the house occasionally during construction, the home still performed remarkable well on its own.
Sun Plans asked them about comfort especially in summer since they have no air conditioning. "I also wanted to share with you some performance information about the house. So far, the summer and winter performance has greatly exceeded my expectations. Angie and I spent a long Labor Day weekend at the house, as well as a three week stay early in the summer beginning on Memorial Day.
"During both of these stays there was not one day where we were uncomfortable in the home. Early in the summer, the outdoor temp was typically swinging between a low in the morning of 50 F, to a high of 75 in the late afternoon. During this time the indoor temperature swung from a worst case low of 68 in the morning to about 72 in the afternoon. As we moved more into June, things crept up slightly, but the 4 degree indoor swing remained constant. This was also observed over Labor Day weekend, and mid July when friends stayed there. Even on the warmest days, which peak in the high 80s several times a year, the indoor temp rarely gets above 75.
"Wintertime performance was even more impressive. I have to admit I was really worried about my LP gas bill over the winter. I did do some special programming in the automation system I installed where I automatically would start the ceiling fans about an hour before sunset (peak temp in the house), as well as start the furnace fan to move the warmer air throughout the house. This recirc mode shuts down about an hour after sunset. I also kept the thermostat set at 55 F while we were not there. Worst case outdoor temperatures in January are -5 F in the morning and teens in the afternoon, but typically run about 10 F to mid to high 30s, and the sun shines a lot. The times we have been able to observe temps in the house mid-winter showed that on sunny days the house would routinely get to the low 70s by late afternoon, and if the outdoor temp got down to single digits, the furnace would kick on around 3 or 4 am. If we are burning a fire in the evening, the furnace would typically not run at all. Throughout the entire winter, our LP gas cost averaged $30/month, which is well below what I expected.
"As we told the builder this week, we love our home. We get many compliments, sometimes from people we don't even know who are just passing by."
"About what do your electrical bills run annually or monthly? (no a/c right?) Correct, no A/C. Our minimum electrical bill is about $30/mo. We have an electric dryer, but we love to dry stuff outside if we can (which is often). I do use the automation system to control some lights while we are not there - the house is all LED."
"12 kw-h per day x 30 days = 360 kw-h per month is very good for a house this size with almost 2000 s.f. on the main floor and an equally sized unfinished (but semi-conditioned) daylight basement. At $0.11/ Kw-h that is an electric bill of $40/month. The use is higher during higher occupancy times.
Herb says: "After having been involved in or with the construction industry for 40 years, and never having built my own home, picking a contractor was challenging. But, I believe I picked the right one." He chose Oakley Construction Inc., who builds high-performance custom homes. Jeannie Champion with Oakley says: "I just really do love that house... such a uniquely designed home with such a comfortable ambience about it."
Herb enjoyed working with Oakley on the details. "The beam straps are the result of a collaborative effort between me and Sam, the PM for Oakley. His passion is blacksmithing, and he suggested doing something different than the normal T shaped strap. So, we sent pictures back and forth and ended up with what you see. These are not forged, however, they are plasma cut from 3/8 inch plate steel and painted a saddle brown. Sam has all his beam ties cut by a local metal shop, and the neat thing is that this (or any) shape is not an upcharge."
"Thanks very much for your design and helping make this an enjoyable process! You have been great to work with. I am happy that you are pleased with what you see so far. This started with your vision, and I am trying to stay true to that while staying true to the vision Angie and I have. We see ourselves enjoying many years in it." - Herb and Angie
Thank you Herb and Angie for the photos of your gorgeous mountain home.
