Donald A. Gardner Architects

We are sorry that you have been disappointed in the purchase of your Donald Gardner house plan. While you are correct that our plans do not include the plumbing, electrical and HVAC layouts, we certainly do not omit those details to cut any corners or to provide an inferior product. Our plans do specify light fixtures and outlet locations, and plumbing fixtures, all of which can be utilized by electrical and plumbing contractors to design the best layout for your house. It is important to note that the layout details for plumbing, electrical and HVAC are site and building code specific. Without knowing where the water or electricity enters your home, we cannot provide you with the best layout for your specific house. The same goes with HVAC needs. Codes and restrictions vary so greatly, not to mention technology on those mechanical items, it is best determined by your builder or subcontractor who should have the knowledge on what is needed for your specific home, on your specific lot, in your specific area. Architectural firms that design custom home designs may provide those details because often they are designing a specific home for a specific lot. Custom architectural firms also charge a lot more than a stock house plan design firm such as ours. Custom designs can be upwards of $10,000 or much higher, while our plans are only a small fraction of that. We realize that some customers do need to have additional information provided to them by local professionals to build the home and meet all their local building codes. This is something we try very hard to communicate to our customers prior to and during the order process in various locations on our website and verbally if the customer places the order over the phone. Under the “Resources” menu on our website we have links to “Frequently Asked Questions” and “What’s in a Plan Set”. On each specific plan page we have “Click here to see what’s in a set” shown immediately above all of the plan products that are available for purchase. In addition, when a customer is adding products to their cart, there are more links on the products page stating “Click here to see what’s in a set” and “What’s in a set?”, “About our Plan Packages”, and “Popular Questions”, all of which state information about what is and is not included in a plan set. And finally, before completing an order, the customer is required to check a box stating they have read and agree to the “terms and license to buy the this plan”. Clicking on that link will open a new printable web page listing the terms and license details which, again, include information about what is and is not included in the plan sets.

Needless to say, we are always striving to improve how we communicate to our customers and we will greatly take this situation under consideration regarding improvements to our website. We wish you the best in your home building endeavor and hope it is one that despite the misunderstanding, you will end up with your dream home.

Jason,

I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with your custom modifications quote. I would like to clarify some of your comments made above. Yes, we do charge $99 to complete a modification request and this is done to cover the time and effort we take to provide you with an accurate estimate and that $99 is applied to any modifications you do. While you may feel that your changes were simple and small, that is not the case. Your requests to stretch the porches requires much more than extending the floor. This is a two-story plan and your changes require the roof, wall, windows and foundation sections of the plan to also be modified and it also requires the pitch of the roof to be modified. Stretching the garage has the same effect and requirements as noted above for stretching the porch. As stated in your comments, to move a closet, convert a powder room to a full bathroom, switch the dining room to a bedroom, remove the e-space and add additional windows are much simpler modifications and that is why that portion of your modification estimate only totals $450. This is also why we itemize each of your requests, which will allow you to choose what works for your budget if you are not wanting to complete everything.

Additionally, once all of the above changes are completed, they still have to pass a rigorous review by our structural engineer to ensure all changes adhere to our level of quality design work.

We hope you find the perfect house plan that meets all your needs and you have many years of enjoyment in it once it is built.

We regret to hear about your disappointing experience with our company. Here at Donald Gardner Architects, we do our best to inform our customers of the policies for the products we offer. Your purchase of the AutoCAD file was nonrefundable because once the files are downloaded they cannot be returned. Communication is important to us and we know that purchasing non-refundable house plans is a commitment, that is why we require a license agreement to be signed prior to receiving them. The agreement fully outlines the policies of the files as being non-refundable and non-transferable. We are very sorry our house plan did not work for you and that FEMA and your HOA made the house prohibitive to build. We greatly value our customers and the services we provide and strive to help customers make the best plan purchasing decision possible.