The Myth: Buying Home Plans Results in a Clone Home – Exterior

The Truth is, if one thousand homes were build in a neighborhood from the exact same set of house plans there would be one thousand unique homes in that neighborhood! That’s right. Just because you decide to purchase the same set of blueprints that your neighbor bought, it does not make your homes carbon copies of one another. As a home builder, you have many options available for customizing a home that is built from a standard set of home plans.

The Exterior
Depending on your budget, climate and preference you will select an exterior material or materials for your new home. Your home plans will include information for different exterior materials, or your contractor can make adjustments as necessary. Your options include for most home plans:

• Brick
• Siding
• Stone
• Brick or Stone and Siding
• Stone and Brick
• Brick with Stone Accents
• Stucco
• And possibly others!

In addition to the exterior finish, your choices regarding the size, style and orientation of windows and doors will allow you to add uniqueness to your new home. Your house plans will probably include the option to use several different window styles and sizes, depending on the style of the home that you select.

Some home plans give the homeowner the choice between garage loading orientation, possibly side or rear loading. There are also endless possibilities in terms of decking, patios, and other outdoor living spaces that can add charm to your new home.

Color choice is a simple way to differentiate your home from another build using the same initial plans. Although in itself the color does not make your home unique, it can be a good expression of the owner’s personality.

Taking into consideration the idea the builders have often chosen not to buy a home because they do not want the same house that their neighbors own, there are many sets of home plans on the market today that allow the owner to select a home layout that they like and to pick from several possible front facades for the house, each significantly different from the others that are provided as options. Keep this in mind if you are not entirely certain of how you want the external surfaces to look!

In making these decisions about how to customize your built home, you gain the ability to have the dream home with exactly the look for you and for your lifestyle. Purchasing a set of home plans and modifying the exterior in order to personalize the building enables many home builders to save thousands of dollars from the cost of a custom design. Considering that savings, you might want to opt for a brick exterior or perhaps some light filtering windows in your kitchen.


This home building article by:
Michelle McClory with BuildingPlans.com

Search Now For House Plans >>