House Plans for California

California building departments think about three things most other states do not weigh nearly as heavily: seismic design, wildfire defensible space, and water use. A simple, compact, single story massing is easier and cheaper to engineer for seismic loads than a complex multi wing design, and a smaller footprint with less landscaping to irrigate fits both the drought reality and the defensible space clearance many wildfire prone counties now require around a home.

This collection focuses on modern, minimalist single story plans with compact footprints, the kind of simple rectangular or near square shapes that keep both the structural engineering and the buildable lot requirements manageable. Several of these plans were designed as tiny homes or ADUs, which also lines up well with how California zoning increasingly favors smaller secondary units on existing lots.

These plans are not engineered for site specific seismic, wind, or wildfire hardening requirements, all of which a California building department will require calculations and often defensible space documentation for. Confirm those requirements with your local building department before you build, and our editable CAD files make local engineer review straightforward.