Frequently Asked Questions
The staff at Adaptive House Plans understand this process can be a little overwhelming, and luckily we’re here to assist you from beginning to end. Below are some of the most common home design & house plan questions we receive.
General
Can I buy additional print sets after my original purchase?
Absolutely. You have two options. First is we can print additional sets in house and then ship them to you. Option 2 is you take your digital PDF file to a local printer near you and have additional sets printed.Â
Do you offer volume discounts?
Volume discounts are available when purchasing three or plan plan sets within a one year period. Contact our sales team for more details.
Do your plans meet the Ontario Building Code?
Yes, all our plans exceed the regional climatic requirements as per the Canadian National and Provincial Building Codes.
What size of garage plans & blueprints will I receive?
With the exception of our largest garage plans & blueprints sets, all our plotted blueprints are 22″x34″ or ANSI D size sheets. This has the added benefit of printing at 50% scale on 11″x17″ or a Tabloid sheet in the case that you order reduced sets or our electronic PDF file.
Do you provide construction drawings?
All of our plans come with everything you require for building permit application. Every plan also includes construction drawings and details to fully describe the project and protect our customers.
Purchasing
I think I've found my plan but now what?
With a plan in hand that resembles something like your ideal final product, we suggest requesting a no obligation customization quote. One of our Product Experts will happily craft a quote that will cover any time it will take to customize the base product to your exact specification.Â
How do I checkout and make a purchase?
Once you've decided on a plan, if you don't require any customization then you can checkout just like you would with on any e-commerce site. We accept all the common forms of payment. Once your payment has been processed, you'll receive an email with a link to download your PDF file.
If you do require customization, then instead of adding a plan to your cart, click request a quote instead. You'll be prompted to provide some information on the customizations you require. You'll also have an opportunity to upload any files you might have that would help describe the work for us. With that information in hand, we will provide a quote for you that when you approve it, you'll be taken back to your account where you can pay.
How does the customization process work?
All our plans are ready to go as purchased right now. However, for many customers, small customizations are required to meet site conditions. For others, more substantial changes are needed.
Customization
What is an Electronic PDF?
A PDF file or Portable Document File, is an industry standard digital file template not too different from a word document file. Created by Adobe and coming with a free reader program, it’s a robust file format that can compose both vector and bitmap data that is highly searchable, easy to control and very simple to distribute over email.
How do I go about making some small changes to a plan?
For those of you wanting to make changes to the garage plans or blueprints, purchase the PDF file upgrade. Your CAD file(s) purchase includes a copyright release certificate. This will allow your designer to legally make changes to the copyrighted plans for one single project.
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Upon completion of your purchase, our support team will email you your certificate, along with instructions on how to designate your designer, collect their details and forward the licensing agreement. Once we have received the signed agreement, the CAD file(s) will then be emailed to you. If you or your designer has any questions about this process please contact us, we’re always here to help!
The garage I want only comes insulated. How can I get it in an uninsulated version?
All of our plans can be customized to your exact specifications. Going to an uninsulated version is quite a quick change and would have a minimal cost.
Satisfaction Guarantee
What's your return policy?
Due to the nature of the products beings sold and the ability for them to be easily copied or reproduced, we cannot be assured of fairness and as such do not offer returns or refunds directly. We do offer a 30 day satisfaction guarantee, click here for all the details.
I've changed my mind and want to swap plans for another design.
If for some reason a customer wishes to change plans to alternative version, were happy to do that at no additional cost. However, the additional time it takes for our Plan Experts to customize your plan again will be charged at our standard rates.
Copyright
How do I go about making some small changes to a plan?
For those of you wanting to make changes to the garage plans or blueprints, purchase the PDF file upgrade. Your CAD file(s) purchase includes a copyright release certificate. This will allow your designer to legally make changes to the copyrighted plans for one single project.
Upon completion of your purchase, our support team will email you your certificate, along with instructions on how to designate your designer, collect their details and forward the licensing agreement. Once we have received the signed agreement, the CAD file(s) will then be emailed to you. If you or your designer has any questions about this process please contact us, we’re always here to help!
Can I make photocopies of the plans myself?
All blueprint purchases come with a limited-use license, giving the plan owner the right to use the included hard-copy blueprint sets for the purposes of permitting and construction but not for reproduction.
Can I use my plan purchase for more than one build?
No, your purchase gives you license to build one building/project. Contact our sales team for licensing on more than build/project.
Structural Engineering
Do the plans come with structural engineering completed?
Here at Adaptive House Plans & Blueprints we value the relationship we have with our partners. Not only do we offer volume discounts, but many incentives for professionals to work with us. Please contact us directly and we'll send you our professional package options.
We're building and now want to make structural changes. How does that work?
Depending on the nature of the changes, it may require revisions to the architectural drawings but the simple answer is those structural changes would have to be reviewed by our Plan Experts to see if it falls outside of Part 9 of the National Building Code. If it does fall outside, the structural changes would have to be reviewed by a structural engineer.
Do you provide Letters of Assurance with your plans?
No, building code required Letter of Assurance are only provided by Structural Engineers on projects where they are involved. Typically the truss manufacturer will provide all the required technical design documentation.
Designers
Can I purchase the CAD files under a professional license?
Yes, CAD files of all our plans are available to purchase as an add-on service. A license agreement must be signed prior to CAD files being provided. Those files are for that one and only project but can be repurchased towards future projects.
Are we able to get the Autodesk Revit BIM file?
Yes, original Autodesk Revit files of all our plans are available to purchase. A license agreement must be signed prior to the release of the Revit file being provided. As with CAD files, the Revit file provided is for that one and only project but can be repurchased again for future projects.
Do you have material estimates available for your plans?
Generally we don't have material estimates available on our plans for the reason that the plans are almost always customized in one way or another.Â
Customers looking for material estimates can obtain those by working with one of our professional Quantity Surveyors. Contact us for more information.
Builders
I'm a contractor and wondering if you provide a volume discount?
Here at Adaptive House Plans & Blueprints we value the relationship we have with our partners. Not only do we offer volume discounts, but many incentives for professionals to work with us. Please contact us directly and we'll send you our professional package options.
Do you have material estimates available for your plans?
Generally we don't have material estimates available on our plans for the reason that the plans are almost always customized in one way or another.Â
Customers looking for material estimates can obtain those by working with one of our professional Quantity Surveyors. Contact us for more information.
Sustainable Design
I want the highest level of insulation possible. Do your plans do that?
All our plans implement insulation to exceed the local requirements of the Building Code. Customers looking to boost the R-value numbers can trust that we can customize your plans to whatever specification you would like. We will make adjustments to the plans as a whole to ensure the assemblies and systems all work together seamlessly.
I'm in the USA. Will your plans work with International Building Code?
All our house plans have alternate options for our American customers and the International Building Code. Local state by state code requirements vary a little but thanks to a very similar construction industry both sides of the border, we've never had any issues obtaining permits in any US States.
We need to show we meet the "Effective R-value". Do you guys provide that information as well?
All our plans include the Effective R-value details as required across Canada and by some US States and counties. Should you be asked for additional documentation by local authorities, reach out to our Support Team right away. We will provide additional architectural documentation as required to support you.
