Even before this Wichita business opens, ‘Everybody’s like, oh, that’s super cool.’

About 15 years ago, James and Sarah Milne were building a house and trying to make lots of decisions about the layout and what should go where.

James Milne said his wife “could actually see . . . the vision, and I just could not.”

In the end, he said there were about a dozen things he would have done differently.

Now, the two, along with their daughter, Cara McClenny, are opening Walk Your Plans Wichita to help others visualize their building and remodeling projects.

When the opportunity came up for them to become licensees of the national company, James Milne said, “It really intrigued us.”

He said the business is about making good choices that result in saving money, too.

Milne said the national average for a change order once a contract has been signed for a new home is $4,600 and that the average new-home build has 6.3 change orders that cost about $30,000 in total.

“What we’re trying to do is help people get ahead of that,” he said.

Residential and commercial customers can visit Walk Your Plans Wichita at 5160 N. Webb Road just south of 53rd Street North and view their plans projected on a wall and the floor in a 2,700-square-foot space.

They’ll be given white boards to use to jot notes on while walking through the space. Contractors and architects are invited to join, too.

“It’s meant to be a very collaborative space,” Milne said.

He said most people nationally who visit these spaces make 15 to 20 changes to plans just in an hour on the floor.

For instance, 80% of people working on home plans decide to make a change to their kitchen islands while in the spaces.

Walk Your Plans does not make the changes. It simply helps customers better envision what the plans look like.

In addition to the floor plans, there is an 18-foot elevation wall that helps customers envision things practically, like, can I reach the cabinets at the height they’re planned?

The simulation helps with everything from small decisions to moving whole walls.

Even if homes are larger than 2,700 square feet, Milne said plans can be broken up into sections, which he said makes sense anyway.

“Your mind can’t really see all 2,700 square feet” at once, he said.

Milne said people can walk roughly 2,000 square feet per hour.

Before visiting the business to walk the plans, customers will be asked to send their plans along with a list of what they’d like to accomplish with specific areas to focus on.

Usually, customers walk the space twice — once in the initial design process as they’re trying to pick floor plans and again before they break ground.

Milne said there was an experiment with virtual reality goggles as another way to look at plans, but he said the experience just wasn’t collaborative enough.

With the use of iPads, he said customers can have an augmented reality experience by using technology to place furniture pieces and see textures and patterns with tile and carpet through vendors the business works with.

Plans start at $1,495 an hour, and packages are available for reduced rates for several hours.

Milne said there are a lot of new homes under construction near the business, and he said it will be convenient to west-siders, too, with Highway 254 so close by.

As the Milnes have told people about the business, James Milne said, “Everybody’s like, oh, that’s super cool.”

However, he said they’re still surprised when they see the projections in action.

That’s why there will be an open house from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday. There will be a ribbon cutting and remarks at 3:15 p.m. and floor demos every 30 minutes.

Milne said he’s not too concerned about AI one day replacing the business because most people don’t have an extra 2,700 square feet to test plans.

His family is, however, ready to advance with technology.

“Holograms aren’t a thing yet, but as soon as they are, we’ll get those, too.”