Every house plan in our collection is a complete set of professional architectural construction documents, designed to give your builder, engineer, and building department everything they need to bring your home to life.
Our Design Standards
Every plan in our catalog is drawn to meet the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC) – the national baseline that most states adopt as the foundation for their local building codes. That means when your builder, engineer, and building department sit down with your plan set, they're all starting from a recognized, well-understood standard. Less guesswork, fewer surprises.
Our standard specification is 9-foot ceilings and 2x6 exterior walls, not the 8-foot ceilings and thinner walls you'll find in a lot of lower-tier plan catalogs. For mountain and cold-climate builds especially, 2x6 construction is the right baseline: more room for insulation, better thermal performance, and the structural depth that mountain conditions call for.
One thing we're intentionally flexible about: framing type. We don't specify truss versus stick framing in our plans, and that's by design. The right framing method depends on your builder's experience, local material availability, code, and cost – all things your builder and structural engineer know far better than any predrawn plan could anticipate. What we give you is the architectural design. Your local team brings the site-specific layer. That division of labor is what makes stock plans work well, and it's why we designed our plans to be built with, not around.
How we calculate square footage matters too, especially for hillside and walkout plans. Listed square footage reflects total heated, finished living space — including finished lower levels when shown as complete. It does not include garages, unfinished areas, decks, porches, or outdoor spaces. For walkout basement plans, we call out both above-grade and total heated square footage separately, because those numbers tell different stories and buyers need to understand both.
Every Rocky Mountain Plan Company digital plan set includes the following sheets. Here's what each one is, and what your build team uses it for.
An elevation of the home, along with a drawing index and general notes. The first thing your builder, engineer, and building department will open – it orients everyone to the full scope of the set.
Material and installation notes following national industry standards, with a note that local codes and your jurisdiction's requirements always take precedence. Your builder and engineer use this as a reference alongside local requirements, not as a substitute for them.
Overall dimensions of the foundation, with references to footings and support walls. This is the architectural foundation design – structural engineering is not included (more on that below), and a local structural engineer will review, adapt, and stamp this sheet before permitting.
The layout of each floor – all rooms, doors, windows, walls, stairways, niches, appliances, and built-ins – fully dimensioned and noted. This is the sheet your builder references most during framing, and the one you'll pore over most while you're deciding if a plan is right for you.
A vertical slice through the entire structure from roof to foundation, showing how it's assembled and braced. Stories, foundation type, wall construction, roofing materials, floor framing, elevation heights, and insulation are all shown here. Structural member sizing and type are noted where relevant, but specific engineering calculations are determined by your local engineer.
All four sides of the home – front, rear, left, and right – with dimensions, heights, special construction notes, and exterior materials called out. Your builder and subs reference these for exterior detailing, and your building department uses them to understand the finished appearance of the structure.
Roof pitches, slope directions, overall roof layout, and overhang dimensions. If your builder uses manufactured trusses, a truss manufacturer will engineer them separately to meet your local code. This sheet gives them the architectural intent to work from.
Location of outlets, fixtures, and switches, kept on a separate sheet for legibility. Your electrician will work from this as a starting point, coordinating with local code and your personal preferences during construction.
Relevant interior and exterior details like cornice and eave treatments, special wall assemblies, and design elements as needed to communicate design intent to your builder.
We're happy to walk you through anything before you purchase.
A house plan is an architectural design document. It gives your builder, engineer, and building department the complete picture of what's being built. But before a building permit is issued, most jurisdictions require a few additional items that are specific to your lot, your location, and your site conditions. These are handled by your local professionals, and they'd need to be customized for your site regardless of what a stock plan showed.
Here's what to expect:
Structural engineering and stamping – Most jurisdictions require a licensed structural engineer to review the plans, adapt them for your site-specific conditions – snow load, wind zone, seismic requirements, soil type, hillside considerations, etc. – and stamp them for your building permit. This is the most common requirement buyers encounter, and it's standard across the industry. Mountain areas especially tend to trigger this. We can connect you with a trusted engineering firm if that's helpful.
HVAC and mechanical plans – Heating and cooling systems are climate-specific, fuel-specific, and builder-specific. Including them in a stock plan would almost certainly mean they'd need to be revised for your site anyway. Your mechanical subcontractor – coordinated via your builder – handles this as part of every residential build.
Plumbing plans – Water flow and system type vary by site, local code, and local supply. Your plumbing sub handles this routinely, the same way they do on every project.
Site plan – A site plan shows where your home sits on your specific lot, and is mindful of setbacks, orientation, grading, and utility connections. A local surveyor or engineer produces this, and your building department will almost always require it.
Energy compliance documents – Many building departments require documentation that the home meets energy code. Your local engineer or designer produces these based on your jurisdiction's specific requirements.
Truss engineering – If your builder uses manufactured trusses, the truss manufacturer engineers them separately to meet your local code and load requirements. The roof plan in your set gives them the architectural intent to work from.
Geotechnical report – For sloped, hillside, or mountain lots – especially in areas with varied soil conditions or slide risk – a geotechnical engineer may need to assess the site before construction. Your builder or local engineer can tell you whether this applies to your lot.
Materials list – Materials and cut lists are generated by your builder or estimator directly from the plans. They're site-specific, supplier-specific, and change based on finish choices made during construction.
None of this is a gap in purchasing pre-designed house plans – it's the normal division of labor in residential construction. The plan provides the design. Your local team adds the layer that makes it buildable on your specific site.
All Rocky Mountain Plan Company plans are delivered digitally – no shipping wait, no rolled tubes in the mail. You'll choose your format before checkout.
High-resolution, print-ready file. Print as many copies as you need for your builder, engineer, subs, lender, and building department. Minor field adjustments can be made via redline by your local professionals. PDF is the right choice for most builds, especially if you're building largely as designed or making only minor changes.
Add an editable .dwg file to your order for full flexibility. CAD is worth the add-on (+$500) if you're planning significant modifications, if your structural engineer or designer prefers to work in native files, or if your plan is particularly complex – multi-level, varied roof pitches, walkout lower level. Not sure? Start with PDF. The CAD file can always be added later.
Most buyers do, and that's completely expected. Whether it's a window adjustment, a room reconfiguration, or something more significant, modifying a stock plan is a normal part of the process. Minor changes are often handled on-site by your builder. For plan-level changes, a local drafter or design professional who knows your area's codes is usually your best first call, and our drafters are also available if you'd prefer.
