Has anyone gotten blueprints done online ?

Question

I saw some guys that do blueprints online but not sure if they would work for Phoenix city as far as the correct requirments?

Has anyone gotten blueprints online?

Jared W Smith · Answer

I co-sign with Scott. Online plans are not site specific and most often they must be tailored to the locale including state building codes and climate. Best to find a local Architect.

-Jared W. Smith, RA - Principal Architect at Architect Owl PLLC (Licensed in NY & CT)

Scott E. · Answer

I have not gotten blueprints online, why would you?

There are plenty of local architects and draftsmen who know what the city is looking for, and who also have networks of engineers that will help you get together complete plan set before submitting.

Adam Oldham · Answer

@Francisco MilanI would recommend seeing if you can look at the permits filed in your city and see if the blueprints are attached to the permit file. Sometimes if you see a house you like you can look at their drawings and then bring those to your architect to give you a good starting point and hopefully save a little bit of money when getting plans put together. But in general I think online plans are a good starting point but depending on the jurisidiction there may be other requirements needed that those plans don't offer, so usually better to consult with a local architect.

Jared W Smith · Answer

Fair enough Craig. You are preaching to the choir. I worked in multiple large corporate offices for 13 yrs before I went out on my own. Trust me, the skillset to run your own firm is not learned in year one. Hard to explain unless you are an Architect. And I don't know what he told you but if he a few months of license, it's highly doubtful he had professional liability. You can't even get a quote without proving licensure. It's a costly and lengthy process. Maybe general liability. But I digress..

Overall your story shouldn't give others the idea that what you experienced is common when it's far from it. That was my point. People sometime don't read between the lines or understand the intricacies of working with an Architect. I can see a reader gathering: "Oh, I can get a full set of plans completed by an Architect for $1,000 bucks." And then expect this in real life under vastly different circumstances. See my issue...??

Mark Bohstedt · Answer

If you are building in Phoenix it has almost no chance of going through without a significant amount of additional drawings added to the plan.   I use some plans from online blueprint companies in Missouri, as a GC I know what I want and how to build it so the plans don’t need to be detailed, but these plans would never work for any municipality where I’ve built in Maricopa County.

There is a designer in the West valley that has a lot of great plans you can order and they do meet Phoenix building requirements.  PM me if you want his info.

Logan M. · Answer

I am going to echo everyone else on here. The only part of planning that I would do online is maybe a preliminary to sell the vision but I would never try to go that route for full approval unless you are in some backward city with no idea what they are doing.

There are so many restrictions including needing stamps by a certified architect that I just think it will be way more painful than it is worth trying to save a little money.

These are not perfect but they are useful:

https://www.boxbrownie.com/development-site-plans

Ryan Normand · Answer

Local is best since they will know the specific rules for the city. What kind of plans are you looking for - new construction, addition, remodel? Most cities around PHX don't require an architect for minor additions and remodels. Draftsperson or GC can do the plans. I've design-built a couple myself. Feel free to PM me if you want. I'm based in Chandler.

Has anyone gotten blueprints done online ?

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