FAQ

WHY SHOULD I BUY A SET OF DRAWINGS FROM DIGITAL CHURCHPLANS?

To save money.

Call around in your area to find out what architects are charging. You’ll find that our price for the architectural design and permit drawings is about 90% off the going rate. Folks who have bought architectural plans before often ask us if our prices are real.

Price is objectively verifiable. The difference between paying fifteen hundred and paying fifteen thousand is real and tangible.

We also think our plans are pretty good, but most architects would say that.

Still, show them to a contractor, and ask: are these plans rationally organized, functional, easy and economical to build? When the contractor answers “yes”, you’ll have found yet another way you’ll save money through Digital Church Plans.

And the amount you’ll save on construction is much more even than what you’ll save on the design.

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED?

Plumbing, mechanical and electrical engineering drawings are not included in our super-low quoted price –though we can provide them for a price or refer you to someone who can.  We can’t control what engineers charge, and we’ve never found one who’s willing to lower prices by 90%.

Besides, mechanical engineering is tied to your local climatic conditions, and needs to be done from scratch much of the time.

That’s also true of foundation engineering and civil engineering.

WHY DON’T WE PROVIDE ENGINEERING, AND HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

We can’t give you as sweet a deal on engineering as on our architectural services.

The reason we can give you such a great deal on the architectural is that the work is already done.

We can’t control what engineers charge, and we’ve never found one who’s willing to lower prices by 90%.

Besides, both mechanical and foundation engineering are tied to your local climatic conditions, and need to be done from scratch much of the time. The same is true for civil engineering.

Structural engineering of your building is provided by the manufacturer (except for the foundation).

Typically, a set of sealed plumbing, mechanical and electrical (PME) engineering drawings for building permit submission will cost you between fifty-fivecents (dirt cheap) per square foot and $1.50/SF. That’s about $5,500 to $15,000 for a 10,000 square foot building. In addition, a highly variable amount will go to a civil engineer for site design.

For dimensioning purposes only, we include a foundation outline, but it’s marked  “not for construction” because climatic and soil conditions are so variable. You’ll need to get a local structural engineer, who will probably charge you about $1000 on receipt of your metal building company’s engineered column reactions. You can get this simultaneously with your other engineering.

CAN THESE DRAWINGS BE USED TO GET A PRICE FROM A CONTRACTOR?

Depends what you mean by a price.

If you mean a firm, legally-binding bid that can’t be modified except by change order, you need to wait until the building department is through making changes; they can increase the cost by quite a bit. And no contractor will give you a firm bid until that process is finished.

If you mean an estimate that is in the ballpark represented by the range of, say, five competitive bids, that figure can be yours when you purchase the architectural working drawings; it’s simply not rocket science to make an educated guess that’s sure to get you in the ballpark. And truth is, you don’t even need the plumbing, mechanical and electrical design for that.

If you have no forbidding site peculiarities, your building construction cost depends on whether you’re in a high-cost area (CA, NY) or a low-cost rural area, and on the treatment and finishes you specify. Most of our churches have been built for between $65 and $100 per square foot, excluding site work. This is because they’re designed to take full advantage of the economies of pre-engineered metal building construction.

WHAT DO I GET FOR MY MONEY?

A set of architectural working drawings that was submitted to, and approved by, a building department within the last decade. Typically, this consists of floor plans, elevations, door schedules, code summary, bathroom blowups, wall sections, UL Details, and usually a building section. Only drawings required by the building department are included; if your contractor desires additional details, he can commission someone to do them at his expense.

A foundation plan is included, and it’s marked  “not for construction” because climatic and soil conditions are so variable. You’ll need to get a local structural engineer.

UNCERTIFIED AND CERTIFIED PLANS: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

We sell Uncertified and Certified plans. The latter cost twice as much as the former.

Uncertified plans are drawings that need an architect to seal,  and to perform revisions both before and after comments come back from the building department.

Certified plans means that architect is us. This will save you oodles of money.

If you’d prefer a local architect, we’ll send him cad files of our drawings and a release to modify them to his liking and yours.

HOW MUCH IS A SET OF DRAWINGS?

See Our Packages

HOW DO I PURCHASE A PACKAGE FROM YOU?

See how easy it is by clicking here: How to Purchase One of Our Packages