Choosing a house plan is one of the most important decisions you will be faced with when building your new home. If you are like most people, you have browsed through hundreds of floor plans and finally found the perfect new home for your family. But upon closer inspection, you realize that in this "perfect" house, there are a few things you would like to change to better suit your needs. Don't worry; just about everyone makes some sort of changes to their home plans while building. The following are some common changes that are made to home designs. Mirror Prints Would the house look or function better on your lot if it were built in reverse? Mirror prints, where the plan is printed in reverse, are widely available. Contact the firm that designed your home for details. Sometimes you will still need to buy a regular set of plans in order to read them easily, since the printing on the mirror prints is often backwards as well. ”Red-lining” Blueprints These are the most common changes made to home plans. Changes to the plan are made in red pencil or red ink, hence the term "red-lining". “Red-lining” is suitable for a variety of changes, including repositioning of walls that are not “load-bearing”. You can expand a room if it doesn't have any effect on the structure. You can change the locations of windows or doors. You can add in or remove a fireplace. There are many other options. An experienced contractor that knows your local codes best does “red-lining”. Make sure to order enough copies, since photocopies of blueprints are not allowed. It is also always a smart idea to check with your municipality's building and zoning department to be sure redlining is acceptable. Reproducible Blueprints If you are making major changes to a plan then reproducible blueprints are suggested. An experienced draftsperson can draw, add or erase changes to your plan. They're also helpful if local code modifications are needed. With reproducible, you can add a room, a porch, or a garage. You can change roof pitches or rooflines. If you want to change the look of the house, the elevation can be redesigned. You can change the foundation or make significant changes to the interior layout. These plans have special authorization that allows copy shops to reproduce them. Some firms even provide plans as a CAD file for ease in modifying plans. A CAD file is an electronic version of the blueprints. Customized Blueprints Sometimes you are able to use the designer of the home you wish to build to make changes to customize the plan. Many firms do offer to customize their plans. Contact your specific firm for details and pricing information. If the designer of your plan does not offer to customize, it would still be in your best interest to contact them because they may already have a plan in their collection that reflects the changes you would like to make. Most designers want to make your dream house a reality and are more than willing to work with you to achieve your dream.