Get Professional House Plans | Seth's Home Pros

Buildable, permit-ready house plans in Maine in about a week. Flat pricing starts at $1,250.

No hidden fees.

Your plans get approved or you don't pay for them.

Why you want plans before you want quotes

Most people call contractors before thinking about drawings. That's backwards.

It costs money.

Without a plan set, three contractors are pricing three different buildings. One assumes 9-foot ceilings.

Another assumes a full basement. The third may choose the cheapest code-compliant windows.

Their quotes aren't comparable. None is necessarily wrong because nobody specified the building.

With a real drawing set, three contractors price the same building. Differences between their quotes now tell you about the contractors, not an undefined design.

Plans force decisions onto paper early, when changing your mind costs nothing. Moving a wall in a drawing takes ten minutes.

Moving one after framing means a change order.

What you get

Conceptual Drawings: $1,250 Floor plans, elevations, roof plan, foundation plan, door and window schedule, and title sheet. Enough to price the job and, in many towns, enough to submit for permit.

Detailed Drawings: $2,500 Everything above plus plumbing and electrical layouts, construction details, cross-sections, a site plan, and framing callouts. This is what a builder wants when the project is anything more than simple.

Architect-Sealed Plans: custom pricing Prepared and sealed by a licensed architect, with structural calculations. Required for some projects and some jurisdictions.

Every tier includes two free revisions. Most projects are turned around in about a week.

Your Plans Get Approved. Or You Don't Pay for Them.

Here's what nobody tells you about buying house plans. You pay up front and wait three weeks.

Then you walk into the code enforcement office and learn that something is missing. Now you're paying again for corrections.

This works differently.

If your code office returns the drawings, we revise and resubmit them as many times as necessary. You pay nothing for those revisions.

If the office still won't approve them, you get every dollar back.

I can't sit in your town office and make its decision. Nobody can.

I can stand behind the drawings until they clear, then eat the cost if they never do. That's the guarantee.

You won't lose money on plans you can't build from.

• Unlimited free revisions until your permit is approved
• Full refund if approval never comes
• Two free revisions included regardless
• Flat pricing from $1,250, no hidden fees
• Plans in your hands within about a week

About our drafting and design services. Conceptual Drawings ($1,250) and Detailed Drawings ($2,500) are drafting and design services. They are not architectural services and are not prepared, reviewed, stamped, or sealed by a licensed architect. They are not engineering services and do not include structural design or structural calculations. Our liability for these drawings is limited to the amount you paid for them. Architect-Sealed Plans are prepared and sealed by a licensed architect and are priced separately.

Who gets house plans from us

People building new who own land or are about to, and need something a builder can price and a town can permit.

People adding on, where the addition has to work structurally and visually with what's already there.

People who bought plans online and discovered they don't meet Maine requirements, don't suit the site, or don't match what they actually wanted. Modifying a purchased plan is common and usually cheaper than starting over.

People with sketches on paper and a clear idea they can't yet hand to a contractor.

What "permit-ready" means and what it doesn't

Permit-ready means the drawing set is complete enough to submit: the sheets a code office asks for, drawn correctly, dimensioned, and coordinated with each other.

I don't control the outcome. Permit approval belongs to your municipal code enforcement officer.

No designer decides for that officer. Neither does an architect or contractor.

I stand behind my work. If the drawings come back, we fix them and resubmit at no charge.

If approval never comes, you receive a refund. It's the only promise here that I can honestly make.

Where in Maine we draw plans

The service area covers all 30 towns. Local requirements vary more than most people expect.

Each code office may ask for different submissions or require a scaled site plan. Shoreland and historic reviews may also apply.

The issuing town determines what belongs in the drawing set. That's why I ask about location first.

When to start drawings

Earlier than you think. For a summer build, drawings should be underway in the fall or early winter.

The sequence that works is drawings, followed by the permit application. Contractors then quote from the real set before construction begins.

Each step depends on the last, and the permit is usually the longest pole.

The sequence that fails starts with calling contractors in April. You discover that drawings are required, order them in May and submit in June.

Then the building season is gone.

Why house plans in Maine are different

Frost depth and snow load. Shoreland rules, too.

Plans made for a milder climate may specify a foundation depth or roof structure that isn't adequate here. A code office will catch that.

Plans drawn for Maine account from the start for your town's frost line and your location's ground snow load.

On waterfront property, shoreland zoning sets expansion limits and setbacks before the drawings begin. The building must fit those constraints from the start instead of being adjusted afterward.

One thing I'll say plainly: the design work is done by our draftsman and designer. That's a real trade and a skilled one. Where a project genuinely needs a licensed architect, that's the Architect-Sealed tier, and it's an actual licensed architect doing it. I'm not going to blur those two things, because "architect" is a protected title in Maine and the difference matters.

How much house plans cost in Maine

Pricing is flat. Every tier includes two free revisions.

If a code office returns the drawings, revisions remain free without a limit.

Now compare the cost of skipping plans. You receive three quotes that can't be compared.

A contractor adds contingency because the scope is vague, while design choices get made on site at framing speed.

Full breakdown: what house plans cost in Portland, Maine.

What house plans questions come up most?

What does "permit-ready" mean? The drawing set is complete enough to submit to your code office. Approval itself is the code enforcement officer's decision, which is why we back it with free revisions and a refund.

How long do house plans take? About a week for most projects.

Can you modify plans I bought online? Yes. That's a common request, and it's usually cheaper than starting from scratch.

Do I need architect-sealed plans? Depends on the project and the jurisdiction. Many residential projects don't. We'll tell you honestly which tier you need rather than selling you up.

Is this an architectural service? The $1,250 and $2,500 tiers are drafting and design services, not architectural services, and are not stamped or sealed. The Architect-Sealed tier is prepared and sealed by a licensed architect.

Is this the only thing I pay Seth's Home Pros for? Yes. Contractor referrals are free to you. Plans are a separate paid service under a separate written agreement.

Other work my contractors do

General contracting · Remodeling · Garage builders · Deck builders · Siding · Windows and doors

Get your plans started

Tell me what you're building and where. Then tell me what you're starting from.