Buy The "Right" Set Of Plans

Plan In The Mirror

What if you really like a particular house plan, except for one little thing – you want to build the “mirror image” of it? How do you get a set of “reversed” house plans?

Most plan services will provide reversed plans for you but before you place the order, you need to know if the plans are true reversed plans, or reverse-reading plans.

So what’s the difference?

Reverse-Reading Plans

Reverse-reading plans are a mirror image of the originals. The plans and elevations are oriented the way you want, but all of the text reads as if it’s showing on a mirror – in other words, unreadable. To use reverse-reading plans you also need right-reading plans to accompany them. Your builder will read from the right-reading plans but build from the reverse-reading house plans.

Sound confusing? It can be for your builder unless he’s done it before. It takes a little more concentration to build from reverse-reading plans and the opportunity for mistakes is increased.

True Reversed Plans

True reversed plans are more than mirror-image plans; they’re completely reversed – text and all – and are therefore as completely useable and buildable as the originals.

But finding true reversed plans of a house design you like may be difficult. It’s likely that you’ll have to pay to have the plans reversed by the author. If the plans were drawn on CAD software (most newer plans are these days) then it’s not a big deal. My firm uses SoftPlan, which does it with little more than a few keystrokes per sheet.

If the plans are hand-drawn you’ll find that getting true reversed plans is expensive or even impossible. In that case you’ll probably be better off buying the right-reading plans – and the license to modify them – and then hiring a local design professional to reverse them for you.

There’s one other thing to consider – some building departments won’t issue permits on reverse-reading plans. Check that out before you buy.

A Few More Things To Consider

Finally, I’d like you to carefully consider changing the orientation of the plan you like. In the previous chapter “Choose Your Site Before You Choose Your House Plan” you learned the “four S’s” of siting a house – Slope, Sun, Soil, and Sewer – and how proper attention to these factors can influence the layout and the positioning of your house.

In “House Design And Energy Costs” you found out that the direction your house faces can cause the house to use more or less energy, and can impact how much you enjoy your house; too much or too little sunlight can make some rooms uncomfortable to use.

Next: Choose The Right Builder