BEFORE YOU ORDER

Your Satisfaction Guaranteed - Our Reorder and Exchange Policies

Customer Service/Exchanges Call 1-800-895-3715
If for some reason you find that the plan you have purchased from us does not meet your needs, you may exchange that plan for any other plan in our collection. We allow you 30 days from your original invoice date to make an exchange. At the time of the exchange, you will be charged a nominal processing fee (call for details), plus the difference in price between the plans (if applicable), plus the cost to ship the new plans to you. If the returned blueprints look used, redlined or copied, we regrettably will not be able to honor your exchange due to copyright rules and regulations. Call our Customer Service Department for more information. Please Note: Reproducible Vellums can only be exchanged if they are unopened. CAD or PDF Files cannot be exchanged or returned.

To Reorder Call 1-800-895-3715
If you find after your initial purchase that you require additional sets of plans, you may purchase them from us at special reorder prices (please call for pricing details) provided that you reorder within six months of your original order date. A nominal processing fee may be required. For more information on reordering plans, please contact our Sales Department.

Important Shipping Information

Within the United States
Our delivery service must have a street address or Rural Route Box number - never a post office box. PLEASE NOTE: Supplying a P.O. Box number only will delay the shipping of your order. Use a work address if no one is home during the day. Orders being shipped to APO or FPO must go via First Class Mail. Please include the proper postage.

For Our International Customers
Only certified bank checks and money orders are accepted and must be payable in U.S. currency.

Damage to Home Building Plans during Transit

If you do receive a damaged item, sign the receipt and write "Damaged" next to your signature. If you suspect the package is damaged but have not yet opened it, ask the delivery person to give you an opportunity to physically inspect the package in their presence. If that is not possible, save the carton and all packing materials for inspection by the shipping company. In any case, please contact The Garlinghouse Company and we will reship your order and resolve the situation as soon as possible.

Returned Shipments

If a order is returned to us by the shipping company, either because no one was home to accept delivery, or any other reason, please be aware that we will be unable to credit shipping charges on any returned orders.

Product Availability

All orders are usually shipped the next business day. In the unlikely event that an item you wish to order is out of stock or temporarily unavailable, we will notify you in writing, phone, or e-mail. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will ship your ordered item as soon as possible. If we will not be able to ship an item within 10 days from receipt of your paid order, you may request a refund.

How Many Sets of Plans Will You Need?

Our experience shows that you'll speed every step of construction and avoid costly building errors by ordering enough sets to go around. Each tradesperson wants a set — the general contractor and all subcontractors: foundation, electrical, plumbing, heating/air conditioning and framers. Don't forget your lending institution, building department and, of course, a set for yourself.

4-Set Construction Package
If you're comfortable with arduous follow-up, this package can save you a few dollars by giving you the option of passing down plan sets as work progresses. You might have enough copies to go around if work goes exactly as scheduled and no plans are lost or damaged by subcontrators. But for only a few dollars more, the 8-set package eliminates these worries. Recommended For Bidding.

To Our Friends in Canada
We have a branch office in Penticton, BC to help you avoid the delays and charges associated with shipments from the United States. Moreover, our affiliate is familiar with the building requirements in your community and country.

Important Note About Building Code Requirements

All plans are drawn to conform to one or more of the industry's major national building standards. However, due to the variety of local building regulations, your plan may need to be modified to comply with local requirements - snow loads, energy loads, seismic zones, etc. Check the regulations fully and consult your local building officials.

A few states require that all building plans used be drawn by an architect registered in that state. While having your plans reviewed and stamped by such an architect may be prudent, laws requiring non-conforming plans like ours to be completely redrawn forces you to unnecessarily pay very large fees. If your state has such a law, we strongly recommend you contact your state representative to protest.

The rendering, floor plans, and technical information contained within this site and Garlinghouse publications are not guaranteed to be totally accurate. Consequently, no plan information or drawings from this website should be used either as a guide to constructing a home or for estimating the cost of building a home. Complete blueprints must be purchased for such purposes.

Attention CA, OR, WA, and NV residents: Our house plans do not meet Earthquake Seismic/Wind code requirements. Energy Analysis is not included. Attention GA, SC, and NC Coastal residents: Plans may have to be engineered to meet local Hurricane/Wind codes. Attention AL, AZ, CO, CT, DE, FL, ID, LA, KY, MD, MA, MN, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, UT, and VA residents: Plans may have to be engineered to meet local building codes. Please check with your local building department before placing order.

More Advice

Buying a set of home plans is similar to buying a car. A variety of features attracts you to it, including styling, size, design, shape, amenities, and fuel efficiency. However, after test driving the car and comparing it to your needs, you might decide that it's not the car for you after all. It's either too big, too expensive, too small, or simply not the kind of car you see yourself in.

Shopping for home plans works much the same way. The key difference is that, while you can test drive a car, you can't afford to build a house just to see if you like it. From working with homeowners for most of the last century, we've developed a few simple bits of advice that we hope will help you select just the right plan without worrying later that you made the wrong choice, or feeling that you didn't get just what you wanted.

Make sure that your building lot is large enough to accommodate the house as you want it built. If you're in doubt, contact your local zoning authority to see what kind of setbacks are required. Setbacks are required distances between your house and your neighbors on each side and in the rear, as well as the distance between your house and the street, sidewalk, or public right-of-way. Understand that the stated square footage on the plan does not include unheated spaces such as garages, porches, unfinished basements, and bonus spaces. People are sometimes surprised when they get the plans and discover that the home is actually much larger than they expected once they factor in these unheated spaces.

All plans show placement of electrical outlets, lights, switches, and plumbing fixtures, though few include actual plumbing or electrical diagrams. Understand that plumbers and electricians do not need such diagrams to install these utilities in your new home.

Know what type of foundation you want before you order. If you need a slab foundation, double check that your chosen plan is designed with a slab foundation option. Some plans come with slab, basement, or crawlspace foundation options; some plans come with only one foundation plan.

Talk to your builder and building inspection office to determine the number of plan sets you need. Most towns or counties require multiple copies. Your builder will also require a certain number of plan sets for subcontractors. You'll also want one for your records. A reproducible master, or PDF file, which allows you to make an unlimited number of reproductions, may be your most cost-effective option.

Make sure your budget will allow you to build the house you choose. Some of our customers discover after ordering a non-returnable plan that it will cost more to build than they had budgeted.

Finally, before you order, talk with your spouse about which plan is right for you. Building a house is a huge investment of money and time and the decision on which house to build should be made together to avoid problems down the road.

All construction plans ordered through The Garlinghouse Company are provided as-is and The Garlinghouse Company disclaims all other warranties, express or implied, including merchantability or fitness of purpose. The Garlinghouse Company is not liable for incidental, special, consequential, or indirect damages of any kind, including, but not limited to, loss of anticipated profits, business opportunity, or other economic loss arising out of the use of services or any construction plans received from The Garlinghouse Company even if The Garlinghouse Company has been advised of the possibility of such damage. It is the customer's responsibility to ensure the accuracy, compliance with applicable statute or regulation, and fitness of purpose of any plans or construction information received from The Garlinghouse Company prior to use thereof. In the event any liability is imposed on The Garlinghouse Company, The Garlinghouse Company's liability to you or any third party shall not exceed the price paid for The Garlinghouse Company's product.