Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
tammyte

How detailed for a plan?

tammyte
10 years ago

I am unsure of what details to have on the final house plan.

Here are a few examples:

-In my kitchen plan I have a prep sink on the end of the island. The plan shows it over one cabinet space. I know my KD will have it correctly placed but shouldn't I have it in the actual house plans the correct way for plumbing and such?

-Door types. There is a closet on the main floor that is showing bifolds. I would prefer to have double doors on hinges.

-Do we put where light switches, outlets and such will be on the final house plans?

-Trim. I realize we need to know how wide the trim is to make sure there is sufficient room in some tight spots (doors near a corner), but do we need to list all the trim now? Maybe we should at least put trim in there so we know how much is needed?

Comments (6)

  • rrah
    10 years ago

    We had several versions of our final plan. I don't recall all of them, but one was specifically an electrical plan that specified locations of switches, outlets and lights.

    Yes, it should show door types.

    Your plumber will need to know the exact locations of all plumbing fixtures. I think our last plumber used the house plans and a final kitchen plan to confirm all kitchen plumbing locations. They were the same, but he wanted to confirm it. You will need to have your kitchen plans finalized prior to plumbing.

    Trim--maybe--do you have any trim that would require the house or the area be framed in a particular way? For example, we have a series of transoms (not really trim, but kind of) in several areas. This required different framing. Cased, open doorways might require certain framing. For example, a cased opening that's 6 inches would be framed and drywalled differently than one that is 10 inches.

  • virgilcarter
    10 years ago

    If you want it in the contractor's budget for construction, and if you want it installed...

    then it should show accurately and completely in the construction drawings.

    The examples you have described are not "details", they are simply part of construction drawings and specifications which illustrate and describe all of the Work. Details are actually large scale illustrations of critical assemblies, ranging from foundations and rough framing to cabinetry and finish carpentry, where needed.

    Trim is often shown in "typical"l exterior and interior elevations for windows, doors and other penetrations. this is important so that finish carpenters know what is expected and the scope/magnitude. I'm not sue how you will leave trim for later installation and still have a weather-tight exterior.

    Interior trim may be left, for as long as you can live with an unfinished appearance with framing, wall material, insulation, etc., exposed. Might become a bug problem over time.

    Good luck on your project.

  • tammyte
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Oh I meant interior trim Virgil. :)

    Thank you. That's exactly what I needed to know. I have all these things figured out but I wasn't sure if I was being too picky with the designer on the plans. So what I am hearing is get as picky as I want with every little thing so it's right in the end. Correct?

  • rwiegand
    10 years ago

    Plus anything that doesn't go onto the plans per se should go into your specifications if you care about it. The more detail you provide the more likely you are to get what you want and an accurate bid. That means part numbers for the sinks and faucets, part numbers for switches and electrical outlets, exact details about how many coats of what kinds of paint and details of how it should be applied, etc etc down to what outlet covers you want. If it's not specified you risk getting the cheapest, nastiest version of whatever the component in question is.

    Hours (many) spent on doing the plans and specifications in excruciating detail will save days of delay, possible change orders, and frantic last minute decision making down the road. Having it written down avoids all manner of argument-- if the wrong thing is installed you (or the contractor) just point to the detail on the plan or the line in the specifications and the discussion is usually over with minimal drama. It's also a great discussion document for value engineering-- you spec X and the contractor says you can use Y and save $$, you talk about it and then make the change or not. In the bidding process the more detailed the drawings and specs are the more likely you will get an apples-to-apples comparison among builders.

  • lazy_gardens
    10 years ago

    Unless you can have yourself cloned so you can stand at the side of every worker on site and tell them what you want, you need to have every detail written down and drawn on a plan. With a description of that materials to use.

    Builders work to the plans they are given, so the plans need to be detailed and complete.

    That kitchen sink, for example, will be plumbed for the position shown on the drawings ... so your KD will either have to be on-site supervising the plumber OR the KD will have to make sure that the drawings are an accurate depiction of the kitchen you want.

    If neither of the above happens, you will have a sink installed on the end of the island. Fixing it will take a plumbing change order and you will be expected to pay to have the plumbing corrected because they followed the plans they were given.

    If the plans showed the correct sink position and the plumber goofed, the plumber fixes it at no charge to you.

  • tammyte
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you! I just wasn't sure how pushy/picky to be at this point. I now see that this all needs in there before the final plans are printed.

Sponsored
EA Home Design
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars69 Reviews
Loudoun County's Trusted Kitchen & Bath Designers | Best of Houzz