The site will likely have a section about blueprints or building plans. If the webpage does not list any information about blueprints, try to locate the phone number for the city or county clerk’s office. Having the city or county clerk’s phone number will allow you to ask about blueprints, as well as inquire about the property record that lists the builder of your home.
In many places, the city or county will not have the blueprint on file, so be prepared to move on to contacting the agency that built your home. In Los Angeles County, for example, building plans are only kept for 90 days following the completion of a building project. [4] X Research source
If the clerk’s office does not have this information, your mortgage company, real estate agent, or the city’s zoning office may have it.
If the builder of your home is no longer in business, you will most likely have to commission a contracting firm to draw a set of plans of your home, depicting the building as it currently exists, called “As Built” plans.
A recently built home is almost guaranteed to have a set of digital blueprints which can be sent to you via email. If you had success asking the firm that built your home for a set of blueprints, they may ask for a fee to share them with you. This practice is more common if you requested the plans from an architectural firm rather than a building company.
As Built plans are often the best chance you will have to obtain a set of complete or partial blueprints of your home. Contractors may be cheaper than architects, but architects may produce more detailed plans. If you are planning to begin a project as soon as you have the plans, a contracting firm will likely also be able to give you a quote on the project.
The price of these plans may be high, with a common rate being roughly $0. 50 USD per 1 square foot (0. 093 m2), but it is typically more cost effective than attempting a large scale project without proper documentation of your home’s structure. If you only need a particular section of your home to be drawn up in blueprint form, you will save the time and money it would take for a contracting firm to do a commission of the entire building.
Be sure to include the thickness of walls and insulation in a blueprint, as well as electrical outlets and estimates of the location of major pipes and wires. You can use a stud finder to locate beams in the walls if necessary. Drawing your own plans by hand is tricky, and requires a great deal of precision. Be careful that you accurately depict your home’s structure in the blueprints.
