i have questions

frequently asked questions
this document was last updated June 6, 2009.

how do you calculate square footage and footprint?
the square footage noted for each plan is to the outside face of the exterior wall of the heated area. that means it does not include garages, porches or patios. the footprint is the overall width and depth to outside face of wall or patio column support. the footprint does not include overhangs or gutters.

why don't you offer printed copies?
the simple house is committed to reducing our carbon footprint as much as possible. because of this, we only offer our plans via download. no paper (no cutting down trees), no packaging (saving even more trees) and no shipping (no use of fossil fuels). this also is faster for you, because you don't have to wait for us to print, package or ship your plans.

how does the pdf file downloading work?
once your purchase is confirmed, you will be receive a link to our secure download area.
you will then be able to securely download your purchased plan.
you will also receive an authorization to print letter via email.

how do the dwg cad files work?
due to many requests from people wishing to make changes to our plans and not wanting you to have to take a pdf set to a designer and pay them extra simply to redraw them, we decided to offer editable dwg cad files.
when you purchase a dwg set, you will receive via email a zip file with editable cad drawings that you can take
to a local architect or designer to customize to your needs.
as with all of our pdf plans, you are allowed to make changes to the set you
purchase and build it only one time.
when you choose the dwg option, you will also receive a link to
download the pdf set to be sure you receive everything in the set.
sometime dwgs get scrambled with various cad programs, so we want to be sure
you get what you wanted.

after i download my plans, what then?
well, you could just store them on your computer, but we're thinking you didn't spend almost five hundred dollars for some pretty pictures and drawings. we assume you will want to build the house. after all, that's why we designed these houses. you will probably need to print them, or at least some copies of them. you can do this at a local print shop (such as kinko's) or your local blueprint place. your local building department may allow you to submit them as pdfs. if so, bravo for them! you'll also probably need some copies in order to get bids from sub contractors or a general contractor.

how many printed copies can i make ?
your pdf or dwg purchase allows you to make as many copies as you need for the construction of one home. we encourage you to be frugal in your use of paper and only print as many as you need. after all, it kind of defeats the purpose of what we're trying to do with the whole pdf download or dwg email thing
if you go out and print 50 copies for every sub contractor and their grandmother.

my printing company won't make copies for me without your approval. what now?
bravo for them! they don't want to risk violating our copyright (see below for why). you should have received an email with an "authorization to print" letter shortly after your order and download. if not, or if you deleted or lost it, email us at help@thesimplehouse.com and we will issue you another pdf "authorization to print" letter for your use.

what if there is a mistake in the plans?
every effort has been made to make these plans as accurate as is humanly possible. but as you may know, humans are fallible. if you find a mistake, please notify us at notify@thesimplehouse.com so we can correct it. the extent of our liability is to make the correction and, if you really insist, we'll let you download a new set of the corrected plan you purchased.

will these plans meet my local building code?
we have designed these plans to meet basic building code requirements. you should check with a local engineer or architect (or your local building department) to determine what your local wind, snow or earthquake requirements are.
some modifications may be necessary to meet local conditions.

if my building department requires changes, is that covered in my purchase price?
unfortunately, if we knew what every building department was going to require, we'd buy a lottery ticket and retire wealthy. as we said, we have designed these plans to meet basic building code requirements. every location in the usa, canada and mexico varies, so we are not able to cover the cost of such changes. if you look at the fact that an architect would probably charge between 8% and 12% of the cost of construction, and you are paying a fraction of that, if you need to pay a local engineer a few hundred dollars, you're still way ahead.

what kind of warranty comes with the plans?
we cannot warranty that these plans will be suitable for your lifestyle or local conditions. we can warranty that they are nicely designed and pretty cool. but beyond that, we really can't say whether or not they will work for you. that's your responsibility. so look them over carefully, download the study pdf sheet and think before you buy.
we are unable to give refunds on purchased plans.
our construction documents contain: floor plans, exterior elevations, foundation plan, roof framing plan, building sections, cabinet elevations, electrical plans, construction details, schedules and suggested specifications, so they are pretty complete.

can i build the plan more than once?
only if you purchase it more than once. if you get caught, we'll come after you for copyright infringement. we have tried to keep the cost of our plans reasonable so that if you wanted to build them more than one time, the cost to purchase would not be prohibitive. we've spent a lot of time and energy developing these plans and would ask that you respect that. if you are a builder who wishes to build a whole bunch of our plans, contact bill@thesimplehouse.com and we are sure we can work out an unlimited use purchase agreement. just so you know, according to the copyright laws for the united states, violation of our copyright can bring a fine of up to $100,000 for each violation. you may be responsible to pay actual damages plus profits. you may also be required to pay legal fees which often exceed the damages. kind of makes our few hundred dollars or so seem pretty cheap, huh?

can i have someone else draw up plans from the study plan?
well, you could, but again, if you got caught, we'd come after you for copyright infringement. go back and read the question above about copyright rules and realize this applies to the study plans, too. after all, we're just trying to make a living. we now offer editable dwg cad files for a reasonable price to give you the option for changes and modifications.

i purchased the plan and changed my mind. can i have a refund?
unfortunately, all purchases are final and we cannot allow refunds. as you can surmise, allowing you to download a pdf or dwg file can be problematic for us because we really don't know what you are going to do with it. once it leaves our server or is emailed to you, it is difficult for us to track or control.
we encourage you to carefully study the plan you are considering prior to purchase or download.

i'm having trouble downloading, what do i do?
contact us via email at help@thesimplehouse.com, tell us your issue and we'll work it out. guaranteed. usually it's something simple and if not, we can figure a way to work around it. just don't hesitate to communicate with us. don't let yourself get frustrated and mad and tell people bad things about us. we'd much rather have you contact us, have it get worked out and then have you tell all your friends and assocates how wonderful we are!

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