We are dedicated to providing homes of exceptional quality. Each home plan is the result of many hours of thought, ingenuity and labor by some of the nation’s leading architects. A distinguishing feature of our plans is that they enable you to build a healthy home. Each plan incorporates healthy building materials, construction techniques and design, so you can easily build a safe, inviting home for your family.

WHAT MAKES OUR HOMES HEALTHY?

All of the homes offered in our collection feature the basic elements of healthy home construction. Some meet all of our criteria for health, while others meet several, providing you with a wide range of choices.

Our criteria for a healthy home include the following attributes:

• Utilization of passive air flow, daylighting, and fresh air exchange through proper placement of windows and doors.
• Location of areas of high toxicity or combustibles (such as the garage and utility room) away from the bedrooms and primary living spaces.
• Reduction of exposure to chemicals (such as formaldehyde in insulation and particleboard, volatile organic compounds in adhesives, sealants and paints, and the pesticides, fungicides and heavy metals used to treat wood) through use of non-toxic building materials.
• Mitigation of mold and rot by employing proper building techniques and materials from foundation to roof.
• Maximization of energy efficiency.
• Use of environmentally-friendly products and materials whenever they meet our criteria for health, quality and durability.

The benefits are homes that are higher quality, more comfortable, safer, quieter, and require less maintenance. They are also more durable, and incur lower monthly operating costs!

WHAT'S IN OUR PLAN PACKAGE?

Each set of blueprints or vellums is an interrelated collection of 24" x 36" sheets that show exactly how your house is to be built. Each architect provides various degrees of detail. Among the sheets included may be:

• Artist's sketch. This drawing of the exterior of the house gives you an idea of how the house will look when built and landscaped. Large ink-line floor plans show all levels of the house and provide an overview of your new home’s livability.
• Foundation plan.This shows the foundation layout, including drawings for a basement, slab or crawlspace.
• Fully dimensioned and detailed floor plans. Each floor of the house is shown in 1/4 inch scale, indicating the placement of interior walls, doors, stairways and windows, and dimensions for rooms, for each level of the house.
• Cross sections. Shows the house as though it were sliced from the roof to the foundation. These drawings show ceiling heights, and provide additional information about the home’s insulation, flooring and roofing details. Extremely valuable for construction, as these sections show exactly how the various parts of the house fit together.
• Electrical schematic. Includes the placement of switches, outlets and installed fixtures.
• Interior elevations. Shows the design and placement of kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, fireplaces, bookcases and other built-ins. Other items, such as mantelpiece drawings and moulding sections, provide details that give your home a custom touch.
• Exterior elevations.Complete front, side and rear elevations, as well as information about exterior materials and finishes.
• Roof layout. The pitch and layout of the roof, along with framing details.
• General specifications. From the architect, they contain instructions and information about any of the following: structural specifications; excavation and grading; masonry and concrete work; carpentry and wood specifications; windows; thermal and moisture protection; and specifications about drywall, tile, flooring, glazing, caulking, sealants and other finish materials.
• Healthy building specifications. Our published guidelines that specify the best non-toxic products available and the healthy building techniques needed to install them properly, along with contact information for all the manufacturers and distributors. It will enable you to understand the reasons for building a healthy home, and make it easy to select non-toxic alternatives. An invaluable tool if you wish to build a healthy home, and a free copy comes with every plan we ship.

CAN OUR HEALTHY SPECIFICATIONS BE USED FOR ANY HOUSE DESIGN?

We encourage any steps toward healthy building practices, so the answer is a qualified “yes”. But when you consider all the design aspects that also affect the health of a home, just substituting non-toxic materials and finishes won’t make a home truly healthy. Creation of a healthy home begins long before construction starts. Our home plans incorporate specific design elements that help promote health from foundation to finish!

BLUEPRINTS OR VELLUMS?

Vellums (also referred to as reproducibles) are essentially the master copy of the home plan. They will save you both time and money, as you or your builder can make as many copies as you need, when you need them, without additional shipping and higher reproduction costs. They are also erasable, so changes and customizations can be made right on the plan and still be able to make the highest quality copies. Vellums are definitely a wise investment.

HOW MANY SETS OF BLUEPRINTS DO YOU NEED?

One set is all you need to study the plan in full detail. However, if you want to get a quick and accurate estimate or bid from a builder, you’ll need at least four sets. For construction, you’ll need at least eight sets, with one or more copies going to your lender and to any local building authorities that require them.

REVERSE PLANS

Sometimes site characteristics or views make it advantageous or necessary to build a house in the reverse of the way the plans are drawn. This requires a reverse set of plans (often called a mirror-reverse image). The lettering and dimensions will appear backwards on the reverse set, so we recommend ordering at least one standard set that you can read.

BUILDING CODES

Our home plans and specifications meet all Uniform Building Code requirements. However, some counties and states require a licensed architect or engineer to review and "seal" a plan prior to construction, due to concerns about energy costs, local conditions, and safety. Please consult a local building official who can tell you if such a review is required, prior to the start of construction.

COPY RESTRICTIONS & COPYRIGHT LAW

All the homes in our portfolio are protected under the United States Copyright Law. Plans may not be copied, resold, or used for the construction of more than one residence by any means. When purchasing a home plan from Healthy Home Plans, you have been licensed the right to build only one residence. The designers and architects represented by Healthy Home Plans retain all rights, title, and ownership of the original design and all documentation.

DISCLAIMER

Healthy Home Plans is careful to select home plans drawn by qualified architects and designers. Due to the many variables beyond our control (such as the builder, materials, and site), neither Healthy Home Plans nor the Architect or Designer is or can be responsible for any use that is made of the plans.

Both Healthy Home Plans and the Architect or Designer have made carefully researched efforts to ensure that the design of, and materials in, this home are healthy. However, given the constantly changing research and information on healthy home issues, neither the Architect (or Designer) nor his or her agent or distributor assumes any responsibility for any injuries, illnesses suffered, or losses incurred, as a result of using this home plan.