How we pick plans

Every collection starts from a brief, such as one-story plans for a narrow lot, and the criteria are stated before any plan is shown. A plan is included because it meets the brief, from any seller.

If the plan that fits best comes from a seller we don't earn from, it is included anyway, with a plain link.

Commissions never decide which plans we include, in what order, or what we say about them. No one can pay for a review, for a “What works”, or for the absence of “Trade-offs”. Paid placements, if we ever carry them, are labeled “Paid placement” and kept apart from the editorial list.

We don't publish rankings ordered by commission, sponsored reviews, pop-ups or countdowns.

Every number comes from the seller's listing, with the plan number and the date we checked it: “Specs from [Seller], plan #[number]. Last checked [date].” If the seller doesn't list a value, we write “Not listed by the seller”. We never estimate it.

We separate what the plan lists (data), what you can expect roughly (an estimate, with its source), and what we think (opinion).

Each plan is checked by a person before it's published and rechecked at least every 90 days. Plans a seller stops listing are marked “No longer listed” and removed from collections. Substantial corrections are noted at the foot of the page, with a date.

We never guarantee that a plan can be built on your site, never guarantee construction costs, and never describe a plan as code-compliant or permit-ready except as a quoted, attributed seller claim. Every plan needs to be checked against your site, local codes and your builder's review. Some locations require modifications or a local professional's stamp.

Renderings are credited to the seller, and photos of completed builds are credited as such. Floor plans are shown whole and unaltered. Our own diagrams are labeled “Diagram, not to scale”. We don't publish AI-generated images of homes, rooms or floor plans.

Read the disclosures