The Timeless Appeal of Dog Trot House Plans – and a Modern Example You’ll Love

What Is a Dog Trot House? If you’ve spent time studying Southern architecture, you may have heard of a dog trot house. Also known as a “dog-run” or “breezeway” house, this design dates back to the 19th century and was especially popular in the rural South. Its defining feature is a...

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Building Codes 101: Why Your House Plan May Need Local Adjustments

Why Building Codes Matter One of the most common surprises for new homebuilders comes after the excitement of purchasing a house plan. You’ve chosen the perfect design, but when you take it to your local building department for permits, you’re told it doesn’t fully comply with local building codes. Suddenly, the...

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How to Budget for a Custom Home Without the Stress

Building a custom home is a dream, but managing the budget doesn’t have to feel like a nightmare. In fact, with thoughtful planning and some smart tools, you can tackle this milestone with confidence—and maybe even with a sense of excitement over staying on track. The Cost Reality True transparency begins with...

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Understanding Your House Plan License: What You Can and Can’t Do

When you purchase a house plan online, it may feel like you’ve just “bought” the design outright—something you now own like a piece of furniture or a car. But in reality, what you’re purchasing is a license to use the designer’s work, not ownership of the design itself. This distinction...

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5 Surprising Home Building Costs First-Time Builders Overlook (and How to Avoid Them)

For many first-time homebuilders, the moment of breaking ground feels like the start of a long-awaited dream. Blueprints are finalized, budgets are balanced, and the anticipation of watching walls rise from bare earth is almost too exciting to put into words. But talk to anyone who has built before, and...

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