McFarland Designs Information page

McFarland Designs has always prided ourselves in; 1) very detailed plans that cater to the owner/builder, 2) a vast knowledge in construction by having experience in almost every phase of construction, and 3) the gift of design in many areas from architectural to graphic design. With our experience as well as our designing ability, makes our plans an asset to any construction project. We use the latest CAD (computer aided drafting) programs and produce very detailed plans which we like to call ‘builder friendly plans’ as they are much simpler to build from. They also eliminate the guess work in the estimating of the construction costs for the project, therefore saving you money, time, and headaches.
Our typical plans include:
• Site plan and Gen. Info.- includes the full site/property with the proposed locations of the building or additions along with the all streets, setbacks, easements, and other info.
• Floor plan(s)- includes the plan view of the floor areas of all the different levels with full accurate dimensioning, they use this plan to frame the walls and for reference.
• Elevations- includes the exterior view of all sides of the building, we put in extra detail here to give you more of an idea what the finished look of the building will be.
• Foundation plan- includes all of the concrete footings, stem walls, slabs and/or raised floor construction, steel reinforcing, wall and shear hold down anchors, any retaining walls, and complete accurate dimensioning.
• Framing plans- includes the entire roof/floor systems including; the ridges, hips, valleys, overhangs and fascias, roof and floor construction member sizes, spacing, height, and hanger/connectors, all posts, headers, beams, hardware, and all shear wall panels, hold downs and hardware.
• Sections- most plans have 1/4” scale sections without much detail, our building sections are at 3/8” scale, therefore showing more detail in the construction plannig phase.
• Utility plan- includes all the electrical outlets, switches, lighting, phone, TV, and cat5 cable locations, also shows the HVAC equip. and water heater sizes, locations, and info.
• Structural detail sheets- includes all the foundation, framing, shear, and retaining wall construction details and notes.
• Title 24 energy calculations- includes all the energy calculations for the building to meet Title-24 energy requirements, from window glazing, shading, HVAC & water heater info., there are also upgrades to help make the building more energy efficient and green friendly.

David McFarland is a native southern Californian and he has called San Diego County home since 1976. David is married with 3 children. He enjoys sports, camping, cars, and construction/ handyman projects, he also enjoys family activities and is very involved with his church. David graduated from Escondido High School, and then graduated tops in his class from Phoenix Institute of Technology for Architectural drafting and design. After college he went to work for a large commercial contractor doing drafting and design work. Then at the end of 1981, at a young age, he started his own business, the start of McFarland Drafting & Design, doing freelance work for other Designers and Architects as well as small additions and remodel jobs for owners and contractors, building up to large custom homes, tenant improvements, and commercial projects with a vast array of clients. During that time David visited many construction projects, learning the latest construction techniques and details to help him produce builder friendly plans, as McFarland Designs grew they did larger projects and hired additional help through the years. He has also self-learned ACAD, Google Sketch-up, as well and many other programs to aid in his planning projects. David’s eldest son is attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for an Architectural degree and hopes of one day teaming up with David at McFarland Designs- stay tuned..
McFarland Designs specializes in very complete detailed plans, a vast knowledge in construction, and the gift of design. David has also built 2 speculative projects and has hands-on experience in almost every phase of construction, this is helpful in knowing the costs of varying construction techniques, helping the client stay within their budget.
So with close to 30 years experience, as well as their designing ability and construction knowledge, this makes plans from McFarland Designs an asset to any construction project.