If you're interested in adding a garage to your property there are a variety of options. You can hire a builder or contractor and have them do all the work, including the design and the plans. You can get a garage kit and assemble it yourself or with the help of friends or a contractor. Or you can get a comprehensive set of free garage plans and take it from there. If that sounds too good to be true, it's not. There are places that provide completely free professional designs, plans and blueprints for garages, barns, sheds, workshops and other structures.

What does that all mean, and what's involved with all those options? Well, it all depends on what kind of person you are, what your budget is, and to what extent you want to be involved in the process of adding a garage or other freestanding building to your home.

If you hire a contractor or builder to do all the work, you pay them not only for material and labor, but also for the design of the project and everything that's involved with it. Designing and then putting up a building is a complex process that requires professional skills, and a variety of plans and details for all aspects of the construction. The builder will also create a materials list and make sure that the entire structure conforms to local building codes. All you have to do is approve the design and pay the bills.

If you want to be more involved in the design and construction of your garage or small barns, and save some money in the process, you may decide to create your own plans and only use a builder to do the labor. Or perhaps you even do some or all of the work yourself. This is not as easy as it sounds. Architects, like engineers and other professionals, go through years of college and training to do their job. And while a garage or small barn is not as difficult to design as, say, a hospital or office building, it is not trivial either. So being able to get free architectural plans is a terrific way to have more control and save money at the same time.

There are licensed architects who for one reason or another make available whole sets of building plans absolutely free, no strings attached. The plans include all the necessary floor plans, framing plans, elevations, and sections. They also include details for more difficult parts like door and window framing, post connections and so on. Finally, they include detailed materials lists.

Having a full set of plans and a materials list does not mean you're all done. But it opens up a lot of opportunities. You may start with a set of plans and then make your on alterations. Or you may use the set to get a more accurate estimate from a contractor. Or the set may save you money because you already have the plans when you approach a contractor. However, do consider that building codes and requirements vary from place to place, so depending on where you live, some changes may be necessary before plans can be submitted for approval.

Bottom line: you can get totally free garage plans done by professional architects, and they are complete sets that include everything you need. Look for them before you pay to have something done that you can get for free.