Plan your House by following some simple steps
By Michael Sanford
Custom-home designs and specifications typically are created through a four-step process, as follows:
1. The buyer brings his or her ideas for the home to
the table or the buyer and builder develop some
preliminary ideas together. Very often, buyers have saved
pictures, articles, floor plans and other bits of information
relevant to their dream home. The designer and builder
can use your clippings to create a plan for a home that is
buildable and will meet your needs and fit your budget.
2. The designer begins the preliminary drawings
based on your ideas and conversations with you and the
builder. The preliminary drawings consist of rough
sketches of proposed floor plans and levels, projections for
the size and location of various rooms and concepts for
siting the home on the lot. Accurate cost estimates can't be
calculated at this stage, but the builder and designer can
guide the project toward a plan that will be within your
budget. A realistic cost estimate can be determined only
from complete plans and specifications.
3. Preliminary drawings approved by the buyer then
are turned into working drawings. At this time, the designer
creates the original drawings from which the blueprints for
your home will be made. Working drawings may consist of
four to 20 pages, depending on the complexity of your
home and the level of detail in the drawings.
4. Specifications-called "specs" -- are created to
identify the finishes and features that will be used in your
home. The specs determine everything from the type of
roof to the trip levers on the toilets. The working drawings
determine the quantities of materials that will be needed
and the specifications determine the quality of those
materials.
You have found the perfect lot on which to build your new
home. Now you have an abundance of decisions to make.
Where will the house sit on the lot? You will have to decide
this based on the total square footage of the house. What
kind of features are you hoping to have. These are the
things to consider, storage, a laundry room, a home office,
a bathroom downstairs, a full bath upstairs, and a family
room.
Consider the future? Are you just starting out and planning
a family? Do you need a guestroom for visitors? Flexible
house plans are probably the best option for you. You don¡¯t
want your house to end being too big in the future. If it
starts getting small, make sure you allow for expansion if
necessary, and make sure it is according to your local
zoning laws.
How does the house plan you have chosen fit on the lot? If
the lot is deep and narrow you don¡¯t want a shallow and
wide house plan. Where will you place the house so that
you get the maximum exposure to sunlight in the morning
and in the evening? Make sure the windows are where
they are supposed to be.
Check the zoning laws where you are building your house.
There may be a limit in the height of the house or on what
percentage of space your house can take up on the lot. Be
open to suggestions. You can go with a pre-drawn plan or
a custom plan that is drawn to your specifications. Another
important item is how water drains off of your property. You
would want to build the house on the rise of a hill rather
than at its base. At the base the run off could do damage to
the house.
When thinking about your house in general, does the
house style fit in with the neighborhood? You wouldn¡¯t put
a large Victorian house in a neighborhood that had ranch
style homes and vice versa. Find out if there is an
agreement with your city or town regarding the type of
houses that is acceptable for that area. The size of the
house is important. If it is too large or too small it will stick
out like a sore thumb.
Will a lot of changes have to be made? There will be
changes at some point to add a garage or change the size
or shape of a room is fairly easy but you had better be
prepared to pay a lot more for custom plans.
When you are thinking of the rooms determine what
percentage of total square footage will this room take u p. If
the master suite takes up twenty percent of total space is
okay if you are also going to use some of that space for a
reading area. If not consider a plan with a smaller
bedroom. In order to determine the total space of any room
you multiply the length times the width and divide that by
the total square footage of the home.
You may want a dishwasher or an island in the center of
your kitchen but sometimes you have to do a trade off. For
example, if you want a dishwasher but will have to lose
some cabinet space you must decide which is more
important cabinet space or the dishwasher. The colors
inside the house are most definitely important. If you want
each room to have its own color the best plan for you
would be a closed plan which would create separate
individual rooms. If you are going to have a solid color
throughout an open floor plan might work for you.
If you want the space consider planning a room switch. A
room that is now being planned as an office can become a
guestroom or a nursery. An extra bedroom could be come
a work out room or a family room/library. If you are building
a garage consider adding an extra bay and making that a
workbench or a potting bench. Once you figure all of this
out and you have the plans all set you can if you haven¡¯t
already choose a lot. With an organized search you could
find a plan that comes very close to your ideal home. Once
you get the plan you can make any necessary last minute
changes.
Building a home is probably the most complicated
decision you will ever make. The plan for your new home
can be either custom or pre-drawn. Custom plans are
more expensive but the expense of pre-drawn plans could
be as well if you request any modifications to them. Check
with your city or town for their zoning laws.
Once the site for your custom-built home has been
selected, the design process can begin. Builders caution
against starting with a fixed idea of how your home should
be designed because much of the design will be dictated
by the characteristics and constraints of the site you've
selected.
The custom design process involves talking about ideas
for your home, evaluating options for your home's floor
plan, reviewing preliminary conceptual designs and
preparing working drawings and specifications, which are
the written instructions for building your home.
Designing a home that will fit your budget is crucial to the
project's success. Builders say the hardest part of the
custom-home design and building process is matching
buyers' needs and dreams with the realities of their
budgets. The tendency is for the designer to stretch the
size or specifications of the home beyond what is realistic
in an effort to please the buyer. Having a builder's
guidance and assistance will help keep the design within
your budget.
Many buyers are inclined to try to save money in the home
design stage, in part because these expenses can't be
recouped if the project doesn't go forward for some reason.
Builders advise against cutting corners at this point
because a good design is truly the foundation of a well-
built home for the following reasons:
1. Structural integrity. A basic element of a good
design is making sure your new home won't be prone to
structural deformities. The location of beams and posts, the
routing of mechanical runs and chases and the
engineering of the foundation all affect the home's
strength, soundness and livability. Mechanical runs and
chases are hidden spaces inside the walls and the floors
that are needed for plumbing, electrical, HVAC (heating,
ventilation and air-conditioning) and other home systems.
2. Aesthetic considerations. Your new home's curb
appeal and floor plan are important not only for your
enjoyment of the home, but also for the eventual resale of
the home. A good design ensures a well-thought-out floor
plan and takes the look and feel of the home into
consideration. A good design is timeless.
3. Interpretation errors. A good design and working
drawings will minimize errors resulting from the omission
of details needed by the subcontractors, suppliers and job-
site supervisors hired by the builder. Design errors
increase construction costs for you and the builder.
4. Change orders. A plan that is well thought out and
closely scrutinized by you and the builder will be subject to
fewer costly changes during construction.
A successful home-building project requires a three-sided
balance of the size, the cost and the quality of the home.
No builder can construct a huge home of the highest
quality for a bargain-basement price. Quality and size
requirements determine the cost while budget constraints
determine the size and quality. Having realistic
expectations about the size and quality of the home your
budget can accommodate will help you, the builder and
the designer agree on a plan that will suit your needs and
fit your budget. About the Author For more information on House Plans please visit the House Plans Resource center at http://www.house-plans-advice-guide.info
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