FAQ
1.What is included in an EcoHouse Plans download?
Once purchased, our EcoHouse plans are downloadable in PDF, giving you all the features you would commonly get from blueprints.
When building a new home, you will need Working Drawings, that provide numerous additional details required to build your eco-home.
You can save time and money by purchasing our home plans, professionally designed and produced in the English language, compliant with BS, AIA, EN, ISO and other internationally recognized building standards.
Best of all, you would only be paying a fraction of the original design cost because the design cost is shared by so many people all over the globe, thus forming an online community of like-minded people and home builders
A list of Working Drawings found in our EcoHouse Plans, usually contains::
1. Site Plan: Shows the proposed site layout of your EcoHouse and the corresponding design elements;
2. Foundation Plan: Shows foundations with all load-bearing points and footings applicable to your eco-home;
3. Floor Plan(s): Show(s) the placement and dimensions of all interior walls in your EcoHouse floor plans, materials, levels, specifications;
4. Roof Plan: Show roofs with all constructional elements, specifics and dimensions applicable to your eco-home;
5. Section(s): Cross-sectional view(s) of your entire EcoHouse, with materials, marked details, sectional labeling, dimensions, levels, roof pitches, etc;
6. Exterior Elevation(s): Show(s) exterior materials, details, and all necessary measurements from all sides of your eco-home.
7. Vertical Circulation Details: Show additional details and dimensions of elaborate staircases, ramps, elevators, and other vertical circulation means within your eco-home building plans.
8. Joinery, Doors & Windows Details: Show additional details and dimensions of elaborate ecological window and door designs within your eco-home building plans.
9. Eco-Equipment Details: Show additional details and dimensions of active solar equipment (e.g. solar panels, solar collectors, wind turbines, etc.) within your eco-home building plans;
10. Structural Calculations: Show detailed structural calculations for various construction elements within your eco-home building plans;
11. Specifications of Eco-building materials and products: Show detailed specifications for various construction elements and products within your eco-home building plans, as well as their availability sources;
12. Materials List(s): List(s) specifications, descriptions, dimensions and quantities of materials required to build your eco-home;
Options and Extras for EcoHouse Plans (varying from one design to another):
13. HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning), IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) and Plumbing schematics;
14. Schematic Electrical Layouts;
15. Roofing Details;
16. Wall Details;
17. Interior Finishing Details;
18. Furniture Details;
19. Water Supply and Drainage Details;
20. Surface Water Drainage Details;
21. Fire Fighting and Protection;
22. Landscaping Details;
23. Miscellaneous Eco-Equipment Schematics and recommended equipment (e.g. solar panels, solar collectors, wind turbines, etc.).
2. How can I buy and download an EcoHouse Plan?
Purchasing and downloading is performed on our website, only.
Once you have placed your order and your payment has been processed and approved, you can download the PDF plans immediately on our website platform.
Each download can be performed once, and once, only. Should you encounter any difficulties or inconvenience with the download, please contact us immediately using the email address found on our 'Contact Us' webpage.
3. Can I see a completed EcoHouse home that has been built?
There exist examples of ecohouses around the globe that have been built based on our plans.
However, in due respect of international privacy laws, we cannot disclose information about customers who have built from an EcoHouse Plan without their prior permission, which sometimes entails a lot of time and resources.
Consequently, the EcoHouse Plans featured on our website represent what we consider "best case scenarios" from our best professional architectural and engineering judgment, practise and experience acquired from around the world.
4. How much would my EcoHouse cost to build?
The best way to determine your eco-home building costs would be to give printed copies or downloaded files of your EcoHouse to three (3) local, prequalified contractors of your preference and selection and have them bid on the house construction costs.
A good set of home plans can often save you money when a contractor is bidding on a home, because the working drawings remove uncertainties and allow the contractor to be more competitive on price.
If a contractor is asked to give a price to build an EcoHouse without having detailed working drawings to bid on, then they can provide you but a vague idea of what it may cost to build your home.
This particularly holds true for energy-efficient building as, sometimes, builders have little experience with the procurement and cost of alternative building materials.
The cost of building a home varies worldwide and is highly dependable on local climatic, economical and social traits.
Eco-building can depend on where you decide to build your house, your home floor plans, cost of materials in your area, how you finish the home, and whom you hire to build the house.
For all these reasons, FB Ecotecture would not be in a position to estimate how much your eco-home built from one of our EcoHouse plan would finally cost.
5. Should I opt for Passive, Active, or both (i.e. Hybrid)?
One should always bear in mind that part of the task of creating comfort can be achieved without energy-consuming mechanical heating or cooling equipment.
This is achieved by responding to given climatic conditions in the design of building shape, its orientation and materials and that active systems are required only to take over during those periods when passive means are inadequate.
Of course, hybrid (i.e. mixed) systems are always worth considering, too.
6. Do you provide Engineering Stamps and Engineering Calculations?
We do not offer engineering stamps or engineering services.
In certain places of the world local authorities may require special engineering work as the area may be prone to natural disasters or entail other special requirements.
Therefore, please make sure to review your building site in great detail before selecting one of our EcoHouse designs, and the same should apply to your local building codes and bye-laws, too.
7. Can I modify an EcoHouse plan designed by FB Ecotecture?
In a word - yes.
However, please bear in mind that FB Ecotecture will not be held responsible or liable for any damage or consequence arising from the subsequent use, misuse or modifications of any designs or content found on this website, nor for any non-compliance with the local laws and codes of practice in relation thereto.
8. What personal information does your website gather?
We store information that you input for registration and for orders. This is used to process and fulfill your orders.
If you subscribe to our EcoHouse Plans Newsletter, we store your email address so that we can send you our newsletters. You can cancel your newsletter subscription at any time by following pertinent instructions.
If you send us an email, we use your email address to respond to your questions or query. Any use of your testimonials or questions will be done anonymously so your full name or email address will not be used.
If you indicated you want to be informed about future updates, we may occasionally inform you of updates to our site or new designs. If you opt out of it at any moment, your email address will not be stored or used for any future purpose other than responding to your email.
9. Does your website share the information it receives?
In a word - no.
We may, however, release personal information to comply with the law or legal authorities requests for purposes such as fraud protection.
10. How secure is information about me?
The security of your information is protected by state-of-the-art computer software to encrypt sensitive information such as transactions.
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