FAQs

Rebuild Paradise Foundation is working with several design professionals to continually add plans to the Floor Plan Library. We are launching the program with one floor plan but have several others coming in 2021. Please remember that these plans are very generously donated and the process before launching each floor plan is quite involved. Check our website often for additions to the library or follow us on Facebook or Instagram for the most up-to-date news. Your patience as we continue to expand the library is appreciated!

The Floor Plan Library is intended for the use of homeowner’s building an individual residence in the Camp Fire footprint. Rebuild Paradise Foundation, along with the several donors and sponsors of the program, realize that building after a disaster is not only overwhelming, but expensive. This program is intended to ease the mental hurdle and financial burden of bringing a rooftop back to the Camp Fire affected area and ultimately, benefit our long-term recovery. Please email info@rebuildparadise.org if you have additional questions about your eligibility to use the Floor Plan Library for your build.

The floor plans in our library have already been through initial plan check with the Town of Paradise and Butte County (unless otherwise specified). Revisions and corrections for the house itself have been completed. We refer to this as “master planned.” Because the plan has been through plan check, you can expect a very expediated process when you submit your site plan for your permit.

The floor plans you are viewing on our site have been very generously donated by the design professional at no cost. The only expense related to use of one of these floor plans, is to the design professional for your unique “site plan”and plan set for submittal. The “site plan” is property-specific (a drawing of how the property will sit on your property) and may require some additional engineering. This is required in order to submit for your building permit. This expense will be unique to your situation, Rebuild Paradise Foundation cannot estimate this cost for you. Please discuss this cost with the design professional you are working with during your first meeting.  *Master Plans do not typically allow for changes. If changes are desired, please enquire directly with the Design Professional about additional costs and a custom home design.*  Further, property owners will be responsible for all permit fees charged by the municipality.

The term “master-planned” means that this home has already been through initial plan check with the Town of Paradise and/or Butte County. Revisions have been completed by the design professional. With the plan already through plan check, your approval process for permit issuance is sped up drastically and your cost for final plan check is reduced.
*Master Plans do not typically allow for changes. If changes are desired, please enquire directly with the Design Professional about additional costs and a custom home design.* 

Yes, these floor plans are available to any property owner building a primary residential home within the Camp Fire footprint, even if you are new to the area.

The Floor Plan Library is for use within the Camp Fire footprint. If you are unsure if your property falls within the Camp Fire footprint, please use Cal Fire’s structure status map on www.buttecountyrecovers.org. The Camp Fire footprint is easily visible with a red outline and specific addresses are searchable. It is important to note that some challenging topographies, soils and site specifics may require additional design work outside of master planning.

Thanks to the generosity of the design professionals, the floor plan as drawn is free. The process of additional steps to create a “site plan” that makes this plan fit with your unique property, and the creation of the plan set for submittal, will come at an additional charge that is agreed to between you and the Design Professional plan owner (Architect, Designer or Engineer).  Since each property is unique, we cannot provide an estimate on what your site plan creation cost will be.  This cost will be a fraction of what a normal house design process would be.  The cost you ultimately pay for your site plan and the timing for that payment will be agreed to between you and the design professional.

The program is intended for property owners building a primary residential structure (owner occupied) within the Camp Fire footprint. If you are looking to utilize a master plan to replace a rental, please contact the Design Professional for the plan you are interested in directly.  You can find the Design Professional’s  contact information at the bottom of the individual plan’s page.

As this program is intended for a primary residential structure (owner occupied), we recommend that you reach out to the design professional directly to discuss your build intentions/ideas directly. The design professional “owns” the plans and can speak to this question. You can find the Design Professional’s  contact information at the bottom of the individual plan’s page.

Please click one of  the blue buttons correlated with the floor plan you are interested in titled either “I’m interested, but have questions” or “I’m ready to get started”.  A questionnaire will pop up and you will need to submit information in the required fields. Please allow at least 2 business days for a return call oremail from the Rebuild Paradise Foundation with further instructions.

You should receive a return email  or phone call from Rebuild Paradise Foundation within 2 business days confirming receipt of your interest in a particular plan. Our staff will contact you directly prior to connecting you with the Design Professional. Once you have talked with a member of the Rebuild Paradise Foundation team and gone over the the next steps in the process, please allow the design professional at least 1 week to make contact and schedule a meeting. You will also be receiving a “Property Homework Sheet” from Rebuild Paradise Foundation that will help you prepare for your first meeting with the Design Professional and links to a directory of licensed contractors/builders.

There are hundreds of variables in knowing how much a house may cost to build on your unique property. Many of these variables will depend on your unique property, contractor/builder and your finish choices. Rebuild Paradise Foundation cannot quote you a build price for these floor plans. With use of these plans, you will need to hire a contractor/builder of your choice.  We highly suggest you speak with at least three contractors for a bid with the plan you choose. Please also take some time to visit  https://www.cslb.ca.gov; here you can learn best practices for hiring a contractor and look up a contractor’s license. Directories for contractors in our area can be found at https://www.rebuildcampfire.com/hbrc or www.vceonline.com or www.paradisechamber.com or www.rebuildparadise.org/hbrc.

Master Plans do not typically allow for changes. If changes are desired, please enquire directly with the Design Professional about additional costs and a custom home design.

The first step you can do in knowing whether or not a home will fit on your property, is to get a copy of your plot map from the Town of Paradise or Butte County. Your plot map will have your property dimensions marked. Also, ask the Town of Paradise or County about your septic size, septic location, septic capacity and property setbacks/ easements. You will also want to check your records to see if any CC&R’s exist that specify a minimum dwelling size, increased setbacks/easements or other factors that affect the placement of a home on your property.  With this information about your property at hand, you can view the floor plan dimensions under “IMPORTANT DETAILS.” Remember, several of our plans are available as a flip, meaning the floor plan is available in reverse – garage on the left or garage on the right. Using these pieces of information, you may have a good idea if the floor plan will fit first without meeting the design professional.

Additionally, while the intention of master planning is to make these plans work for everyone, each property is unique and some variables like; lot size, snow load, geologic, soil type, and slope may not allow you to capture the full value of master planning.  The Design Professional who drew the plans can still work with you on a potential modification and engineering that will still save you time and money.

The interior finish choices are completely customizable to your liking. Please work with your contractor/builder with those choices and remember the cost of your build can vary dramatically based on your finish choices. For any exterior finish changes, other than proposed on the master plan, please consult with your design professional. The design professional can best advise on how those changes may impact the process.

Use of the Floor Plan Library DOES NOT cover your building permit fees with the Town of Paradise or Butte County. For an estimate on building permit fees for a specific floor plan, please call the Town of Paradise or Butte County building department directly.

There are six things that are extremely helpful for you to prepare before meeting with the design professional.
1. Know your property APN. If you do not know your APN, visit www.rebuildparadise.org/mapping and search your address. The APN will be displayed as part of your search result. The APN can also be found on your property tax bill or by visiting www.buttecounty.net/assessor/Property-Assessment and searching your address.
2. Retrieve a copy of your plot map from the Town of Paradise or Butte County.
3. Know your septic size/capacity
4. Know your existing septic location.
5. Have your septic evaluated by a licensed evaluator. This will help you understand if your septic system is functioning and usable for your build/rebuild.
6. Know your property setbacks and easements.

The Town of Paradise and Butte County building departments can help you retrieve all of this information.

The Rebuild Paradise Foundation has several potential cost saving programs to assist residents in the Camp Fire footprint.

1. Please see the information we have developed in regard to homeowner’s insurance on our website under the Resources > Insurance tab.
2. The Missing Middle Grant is available and can reimburse a homeowner up to $5,000 for pre-construction costs such as architecture/engineering fees, survey costs, and water-related expenses. Please see: https://www.rebuildparadise.org/grants/  for more information and to download an application.
3.  The Septic Infrastructure Grant is available and can provide up to $7500 as payment for major septic expenses incurred. Please see: https://www.rebuildparadise.org/septic-infrastructure-grant/ for more information and to download an application.
4. We also have advanced mapping tools on our website, Resources > Mapping, where you can search your address and see if anyone in your neighborhood has had a property survey completed. If your neighbor has already completed their survey, it’s possible that by using the same survey company for your address, you may have a significant cost savings. Also, the two foot contour intervals filter on our map, may be very helpful to your home design professional.

Through many conversations with the rebuild community, Rebuild Paradise Foundation has heard much interest for ADUs or tiny home floor plans. Yes, our goal is to provide a smaller floor plan in the library. Currently, “The Flumes” master plan  is the only plan that meets the size criteria for an ADU.

This is a discussion that you and the Design Professional will need to consider during your first meeting.

If you are looking for a contractor or builder, we recommend you start by visiting Paradise Chamber of Commerce, www.paradisechamber.com and/or Valley Contractors Exchange, www.vceonline.com. Both organizations have wonderful directories for contractors/builders/tradesmen. You can also visit https://www.rebuildcampfire.com/hbrc.

Thank you for your interest and dedication to helping our community recover. We would be more than happy to discuss the project with you further! Please email info@rebuildparadise.org and we can set up a meeting.