Plan licence agreement
Draft, not yet in force. This text is being reviewed by an attorney and will be finalised before we take any paid order. Bracketed items are placeholders. Questions: hello@yardsetplans.com.
YardSet Plans - Plan Licence Agreement
Version 0.1 (draft), [date]. Between YardSet Plans LLC ("YardSet") and the purchaser named on the order ("you").
Plain-English summary (the full terms below control): You are buying a licence to build one building from a stock design, not the design itself. The plan was prepared for a stated set of design conditions (the "envelope"), not for your lot or your town. Before you build, you must check that your site and your town's code fit the envelope and have the plan adapted by a qualified local professional where they do not, or buy our site-adapted tier. The plans are not sealed; your building department may require a licensed engineer's or architect's review. No refunds on downloads.
1. What you receive
| Tier | Files | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| PDF plan set | 24 x 36 PDF drawing set (cover with 3-D view, notes and design criteria, foundation plan, floor plan(s) with framing, roof plan and framing, elevations, sections, schedules, details, electrical/life-safety plan for habitable buildings) and the code compliance report for the envelope | single build |
| CAD + PDF plan set | the above plus the DXF drawing file | single build; CAD terms in section 6 |
Files are delivered by download link after payment. Keep your own copy; links expire after [30] days.
2. The design envelope - what the plan was prepared for
The plan was generated by YardSet's software from the prescriptive provisions of the 2021 International Residential Code for the following design conditions, printed on the cover sheet and in the compliance report:
| Criterion | Catalog envelope |
|---|---|
| Ground snow load | 50 psf |
| Ultimate design wind speed | 130 mph, Exposure C, not in a hurricane-prone or windborne-debris region, not a special wind region |
| Seismic design category | A, B or C |
| Frost depth | 48 in |
| Climate zone (energy) | 5A |
| Presumptive soil bearing | 1,500 psf (no fill, no expansive or wet soil, slope under 15%) |
| Flood | not in a FEMA special flood hazard area |
| Code edition | 2021 IRC as published (no state or local amendments) |
If any condition at your site is more severe than the envelope, or your jurisdiction has adopted a different edition or amendments, the plan does not fit your site as drawn. Examples: ground snow over 50 psf, wind over 130 mph or coastal exposure, seismic D, a flood zone, poor or unknown soil, a steep lot, a town with a 2024-based code or local amendments. Our free Fit Check on the website compares an address with the envelope; the site-adapted tier re-runs the plan for your address and code.
3. Your duties before you build
3.1 Verify local criteria. Obtain your jurisdiction's Table R301.2 design criteria (wind, snow, seismic, frost, weathering, termite, flood, ice barrier, climate zone) and its adopted code edition and amendments, and compare them with section 2. Confirm zoning (allowed use, size, height, setbacks, lot coverage, parking, owner-occupancy) and any septic, wetlands, shoreline, historic or HOA rules. We do not do any of this for a catalog purchase.
3.2 Have the plan adapted where needed. Where the envelope does not fit, or your building department asks for it, have the plan reviewed and adapted by a qualified local professional (a licensed engineer or architect where the law or the official requires one), or buy the site-adapted tier. Coastal, high-wind, high-snow, seismic D, flood-zone and poor-soil sites generally need a licensed engineer.
3.3 Site plan. The catalog set has no site plan. You or your surveyor prepare it.
3.4 Permit. You (or your contractor) submit the permit application as owner of record. The building official decides what the application must contain and whether unsealed drawings are acceptable; we do not promise that any permit will be issued.
3.5 Trades and products. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, sprinkler, energy rating, trusses and manufactured products are designed, sized and permitted by the trade contractor or manufacturer.
4. Not sealed; who we are
4.1 The plans are not sealed and were not prepared by or under a licensed architect or engineer. YardSet is a drafting and plan-preparation company; no one at YardSet is a licensed architect or professional engineer. The plans were prepared as stock designs under the one- and two-family / accessory-building provisions of state licensing laws and are sold as design documents for adaptation and use by you and your local professionals.
4.2 If your jurisdiction requires a seal, section 3.2 applies. In some states a licensed professional must prepare or adopt the plans before they can be submitted; we do not sell into any jurisdiction as "permit-ready" and nothing in our catalog says a plan is approved or pre-approved anywhere.
5. The licence
5.1 Single build. On payment, YardSet grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the plan to obtain a permit for and to build one building of the design, at one address you name, and to make the copies needed for that purpose (building department, lender, contractor, trades). The licence ends when that building is completed.
5.2 Not allowed: building a second structure from the plan (on the same lot or another); selling, giving, lending, posting, publishing or otherwise distributing the files or prints; using the plan or any part of it to create another design for sale; removing the YardSet name, licence number or copyright notice; using the plan on a lot or for a buyer other than the one named.
5.3 Multi-build option. A builder or developer who wants to build the same design more than once buys an additional build licence per building at [50]% of the tier price, or the builder plan ($299 a month plus $750 per lot, which includes site adaptation). Each additional licence names the lot.
5.4 Resale of the finished building is of course allowed; the licence restricts copying and rebuilding, not the house.
5.5 Modifications. You may have the plan modified for your project. Modified drawings are derivative works of the YardSet plan and remain subject to this licence; YardSet is not responsible for modifications made by others.
6. CAD (DXF) terms
6.1 The DXF is provided so that a qualified professional can edit the drawings for your project. It is licensed, not sold, under the same single-build licence.
6.2 You may not use the DXF, or any block, detail, symbol or title block in it, to produce drawings for any other building, to build a drawing library, to train software, or to create products for sale.
6.3 Edited files carry no YardSet responsibility and must remove the YardSet title block or mark the drawings "modified by [name]".
7. Copyright
YardSet owns all copyright in the plans, the 3-D model, the report and the files (17 U.S.C. s.102(a)(8), architectural works, and s.102(a)(5), pictorial/graphic works). Unauthorised copying, distribution or construction may be an infringement; statutory damages and attorney's fees may be available (17 U.S.C. ss.504-505). Code text and tables cited in the set belong to their publishers.
8. Refunds
Downloads cannot be returned. All catalog sales are final once the files have been downloaded. If a file is defective (will not open, pages missing), tell us within 14 days and we will replace it. If you buy the site-adapted tier within 90 days of a PDF or CAD purchase of the same plan, we credit the catalog price toward it.
9. No warranty; limitation of liability
9.1 The plans and report are provided for the envelope in section 2 and are otherwise "as is". We do not warrant that they fit your site, meet your jurisdiction's code or zoning, or will be accepted for a permit. Our obligation for an error in the plan as drawn for the envelope is to correct the file.
9.2 YardSet's total liability for all claims relating to a catalog purchase is limited to the price paid. YardSet is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages, including construction costs, delay, loss of use or loss of rent. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
10. General
Governing law [home state]; disputes as in the Terms of Service section 15; these terms and the order confirmation are the whole agreement; if a term is unenforceable the rest stand. Ticking "I agree" at checkout accepts this licence.