A Roadmap to House Plans: Part 1

When you purchase a Sater Design Collection house plan, you are purchasing the best in the business. A SDC house plan is a commitment, from our family to yours, for excellence. As the top experts in this field, it is our mission to relay our knowledge to you and your builders in a highly detailed, organized, pain-free way so that you will have the best home building experience possible. There will be plenty of stressors for you in this process - we guarantee understanding your house plan won’t be one of them. 

This post is for you if you are new to the home buying / building  process, if you feel intimidated by the vast amount of information coming at you, or if you’re having trouble nailing down a place in the process to start. House plans are the holy grail of the home building journey, and we want to make sure you feel comfortable and confident in the knowledge of what they provide. 

Cover Sheet 

Page one of a Sater Design Collection house plan is the cover sheet. The cover sheet functions as the map of your house plan - reference this at any point to collect your thoughts and find where you need to go. A front elevation will always be included, a nod to your future dream home as you dive into this process. The most important aspect of the cover sheet, however, is the expertly planned out index, which provides an overview of the house plan contents, including page numbers for easy access. Lastly, a site plan is also included. We keep this scaled footprint of the house on the front page for easy reference, so you won’t have to sift through pages to find it.  

Typical Wall Sheet & Details 

A typical wall sheet is the first main staple of your house plan. This page will cover all things interior construction when it comes to the walls of your home, meaning roofing materials, insulation, floor framing, wall finishes, and elevation heights to name a few. Section cuts of the exterior walls of the living area and garage area allow you to visualize and fully understand how these aspects come together. 

Additionally, this page features architectural notes encompassing general specifications ranging from optional ways to make your home more green, to the strength of concrete, the plumbing, general mechanical information, and so much more. Depending on the size and breadth of the home, a second page of details may also be included. Everything listed in this section is meant to provide you with building guidelines that meet the basic standards of the International Residential Code. You are able to customize however you like, but know that depending on what state you build your house in, you will have to work within that state’s specific requirements. 

Foundation Layout Plan 

The foundation layout plan, sometimes referred to as the plumbing location plan, is not a structural plan but rather a design plan that gives the overall dimensions of your foundation in addition to the location of the plumbing and drains. The intent of this page is for you to work with your local structural engineer to design the best structural foundation for the geographic location you plan to build your home on. 

This design sheet is meant to be shared with your plumber so that they can accurately run the plumbing lines. Additionally, it is especially useful for those planning to incorporate a slab floor system where your plumber will have to pre-plumb and locate the drains before pouring the slabs. 

An Eye for Detail