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Custom Jobs

We frequently discuss the idea of "customizing a plan to fit your needs" in the pages of Timber Home Living, but sometimes it can be hard to visualize exactly what types of changes that might entail. To help you get a better idea of just how much you can alter a stock plan, we dedicated a portion of our special floor plans issue (October 2010, on newsstands Sept. 1) to showcasing what five different homeowners did to a basic timber company plan to make it their own.

Although many elements remained the same — most notably, a catwalk that provides extensive views of the trusses — others were extended, flipped or rearranged to better fit the needs of the individuals residing in the home.

For a sneak peak at some of the homes shown, check out the Burnside and Wolfe residences on TimberHomeLiving.com. Let us know what you think!

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Comment by Whitney Richardson on August 18, 2010 at 11:44am: That's an excellent point, Mark -- one we've also addressed in past pieces. Just to clarify, the homes in question for this particular article were designed and produced by the same timber company, so there was no intellectual property interference. But in terms of the overall design process, you're right on the money: Compiling examples of different features you like from various plans and bringing it to a designer is one thing (and actually encouraged in most cases, so the designer in question has a better of idea of what you want); taking another designer's work and making a modifications to it without purchasing the right to do so is another.

Comment by Mark Wagner on August 18, 2010 at 11:18am: Sorry for the repost, the link didn't come through: Here is our article on plans use.

Comment by Mark Wagner on August 18, 2010 at 11:18am: Starting with a companies stock plan is a good way to begin the design process. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, when there are some great ideas out there. You are right in that some minor modifications can have a tremendous impact on the feel and look of a home. The area that I would be concerned about is to make sure that you respect the creators of the plan-its copyright holder. If the timber provider you are using is the same that created the original plan, there is usually no issue. When you want to use another manufacturers designs, though, that is definitely an issue. We recently had an article on this topic posted on our site: MarkWagner<>Gravitas