Where to find house blueprints

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Blog Insights, news and everything else building records. How to Find Blueprints of a Building. Find the Contractor who constructed the property Start your search with the contractor who originally constructed the property. It's possible that the county zoning board would also hold the original building permit, which would have the contractor's details on it.

The County Clerk holds the key or document The other option is to start at the county clerk's office. County clerks are the official record keepers of documents pertaining to building construction and permits. Each office operates differently, which means that the process to secure the permit or record you need will be different. Some will charge a small fee to request access to original files, so be prepared when you request building blueprints.

Locate the original owners of the property If the building was purchased from the same individuals who built it, they may have a copy of the blueprints. Looking for inspiration? Get our newsletter! Sign up! Discount Codes. Get Today's Coupon Code. Sign me up for the newsletter, too. Get Code Now. Request complete! Your Coupon Code is:. Enter this code at checkout for instant savings on your house plan order. Valid on participating plans. Some exclusions apply.

In the early s and before, builders rarely drew up the kind of detailed specifications found in modern blueprints. House construction was largely a matter of convention, using methods passed down by word of mouth. Written manuals and pattern books often contained the hazy instruction "build in the usual way. But for owners of older homes who are seeking to preserve or restore them in a historically accurate way, blueprints are an indispensable resource for remodeling and restoration work.

It's every home renovator's dream: You lift a floorboard in the attic or open a musty old trunk, and voila—there are the original blueprints with dimensions, specs, and elevation drawings, showing where every window and door was meant to be originally.

The mysteries of your house are solved, and you have a roadmap for repairs and restoration. Alas, this is a dream that is rarely fulfilled. For most of us, this is only a dream.

Remember that the house you're living in today may have begun in a much different style. Don't get off track looking for plans for a Greek Revival, when your home may have begun as a Federal style.

So, should you give up the hunt? Not yet! There are several people and places you can turn to for help finding original blueprints for your home:.

Your first line of inquiry might be with your realtor. If your house was built in the past 50 years, the sales agents at your real estate office may be able to help you locate facts about its construction. Often they will know the local developers and be familiar with housing styles in your region.

Because realtors deal with many houses inside and out, they tend to know about which stock plans were used in their locality. Other names for stock plans include catalog plans, stock building plans, stock house plans, mail-order plans, and pattern book houses.

Builders and developers would customize "off-the-shelf" stock plans, changing details to meet a client's needs, although a customized stock plan is not a custom home. Your realtor is likely to know the difference. At times in American history when single-family housing was in great demand, using stock plans could save time and money—costs escalate with changes. Many stock plans began as customized building plans for an architect's client, which is why you may see a modified Biltmore Mansion in your neighborhood.