Would you believe that your house plans will comprise 30 to 50 pages? Not so amazing, really, when you consider how complex the building process is. When the plans are completed you've accomplished a major part of the home building process. Now you just need to get them approved. Once they are approved and you have the necessary permits lined up, you'll be ready to hire a contractor.

Prelims

"Prelims," or preliminary designs, are the first plans for your home. These are done by your architect or designer, and show the house in three dimensions. Prelims are used to show you where your rooms will be and what size they are. In addition to the location and size of each room, they also show doors and windows, as well as important features such as stairs, fireplaces, cabinets, showers, etc. Chances are you won't hit the nail on the head the first time; you and your architect will most likely make changes after reviewing the drawings.

Prelims also show your site plan, which means how the house sits on the lot as well as any other buildings, such as a garage or barn, will sit on your lot. Things like setbacks and how far away your house is from the street and other neighbors will also be addressed.

The last thing that your prelim will show is your house's elevations, which means what your house looks like on the exterior from each side. In addition to showing the doors and windows, the elevations show decorative features in the design.

Submitting Your Prelims for Approval

Dealing with your local government can be a nightmare when it comes to building your home, or it can be relatively easy. If you know what you are doing and follow the rules, you can ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible.

In a nutshell, your town or city has to approve your plans. The goal is to make sure that your home's plans fit in with any rules or regulations. The rules vary depending upon where you live. Most planning offices try to make the process as easy as possible, and you can usually break ground on your home three to six months from the time you first contact your planning office. Keep in mind that every government works a little bit differently, so having people on your side-architects, engineers, contractors-who are familiar with the way things work in your city and town can only expedite the process.

Be sure to submit your prelims to the powers that be before creating your engineering plans and working drawings. Otherwise, you may waste thousands of dollars and have to do your engineering plans and working drawings all over again. You'll probably find that in rural areas the approval process is much simpler and is most concerned with building code requirements and safety, while in more densely populated areas the rules and regs are stricter, and there are more of them. Rules and regulations may address architectural style, drainage, environmental issues, exterior finish materials, height, landscaping, and paint color.

Did you know? You may need special permits for grading, well, and septic systems. Based upon the needs of the lot, these plans may need to be submitted before your house plans are complete. If there are restrictions, it's best to find out about them before you begin the permitting process. Make sure you give your town hall a call to talk about these issues and any requirements early in the process, and be sure to discuss them with your architect and contractor.

Working Drawings

Working drawings can be completed after the prelims are approved. What exactly are working drawings, anyway? They are a series of drawings that represent the house plans in explicit detail. They are basically a very detailed book of instructions on how to build the house. What's included in the working drawings? Everything, from the number of joists in your kitchen floor to where every single telephone jack will go. Working drawings include everything prelims do-floor plans, site plans, and elevations-and also include all the technical elements and architectural considerations needed to build the home. As a rule, working drawings include architectural plans, civil plans, an electrical plan, a landscape plan, mechanical plans, plumbing plans, and structural plans.

Once you have your working drawings done you'll formally submit them to the city or town planning department for review and approval. Then what happens? Well, your plan will be carefully looked at to ensure it meets all the local requirements and codes. In most cases you will be requested to make a change here and there. In very rare cases, your plan may be completely turned down.

Once you make the changes the plans are resubmitted, rechecked, and the process goes on and on (but hopefully not for too long!) until the planning department is 100 percent satisfied. At this point, your plan is officially improved. Congratulations!

Permits

Once your plans are approved, it's time to arrange for your permits. You'll need to get your permits, and pay the associated fees, before you break ground. Permits and fees you may need to line up may include building permits, design review fee, drainage study fee, grading permit, land use permit, school fee, tree permit, and walkway fee. The permits and fees can really add up, so make sure you know ahead of time what you need and how much they will cost, and be sure to include them in your budget.