Learn Quickly to Draw and Customize Your Own House Plans - Design House Plans Free
1. Does it pay to hire an architect?
8. Make the plans work for you
Just think about what you could do if you knew how to put together your own house design! You would not have to settle with pre-made house plans - like everyone else, or pay high prices for architects to draw everything for you. Of course, if you live in a city, you need an architect's approval, but you are free to present your ideas to him or her with already drawn house plans in which you have already worked out many of the details. This could lead to some real savings for you.
Is the site flat? Sloped? How steep? Is there a view? Is there limited access? Are there existing obstacles such as trees, rocks, other buildings or water? Sure, most developed sites have been established in flat areas with pre established roadways and driveways entry points and even a place to put your mail box. But if you are one of the lucky few to have obtained a more "interesting" site, then these are all things for your consideration. The majority of the house plans you find online are designed for flat sites, with a few trees and no water, view optional. Some house plan websites will offer plans that are designed for specific types of sites, such as "lakeside" plans or "golf course" plans. Take special not of anything on your site that is out of the ordinary and make sure when shopping online for plans that you look to see how large the home is. It is doubtful that your neighbor will be thrilled with part of your new Game Room poking into his Koi Pond...
Climate specific building designs are best for each region and when you meet with your designer or purchase pre-drawn plans it is vital to ask what climate these were designed for. DO NOT accept the idea that plans for one region will work in another - they won't! You will end up with a sub-optimal design that save you only a fraction of the energy ($) you could've saved.
6. Don't be fooled, be smart.
The simple answer is yes. A set of plans purchased online will range in cost depending on the elaborateness of the plan, the size of the home and the architect who designed it. Some websites charge by the square foot, others use different formula to determine how much to charge for their house plans. In addition, different websites offer different types of plan sets, but this article will discuss those difference later. For the time being it is reasonable to suggest that you would paying about $1,000.00 for plans for an 1,800 square foot home if you purchased them online. To hire an architect would cost much more.
Although houses differ in style, structure, and build, house plans have one thing in common--their elements. Concentrating on the basic elements of a house plan will aid homeowners in organizing the parts and conceptualizing the house's actual outcome. Above all, the major elements that the homeowner wants in his house ought to be included in the house plan. The rest of the minute details that the homeowner deems necessary can be added through the course of the finalization of the house plan.
Outlining the structure of the house is the very first step. How many stories should there be? Do you prefer a basement? How many rooms will there be?
When it comes time for you to start thinking about building your own dream home, you will want to consider drawing and customizing your own house plans. After all, it is going to be your home for some time - do you really want it to look like a carbon copy of someone else's home? Why not learn to draw your own house plans, floor plans, and home design, to suit your unique tastes and needs, and make it your signature house by drawing it yourself? Here are some details about drawing your own house plans to get you headed in the right direction.
Selecting where exactly the windows and overhangs need to go on your future home, or addition, is fairly complicated but you designer should be able to explain why the majority of the windows are on the south side of your home and how the overhangs are designed to let in the low winter sun. Your designer should also be able to explain how they calculated the thermal mass built into your home to prevent you house overheating in the summer & winter by properly matching the glass area to thermal mass ratio for your climate.
8. Make the plans work for you
Just think about what you could do if you knew how to put together your own house design! You would not have to settle with pre-made house plans - like everyone else, or pay high prices for architects to draw everything for you. Of course, if you live in a city, you need an architect's approval, but you are free to present your ideas to him or her with already drawn house plans in which you have already worked out many of the details. This could lead to some real savings for you.
Is the site flat? Sloped? How steep? Is there a view? Is there limited access? Are there existing obstacles such as trees, rocks, other buildings or water? Sure, most developed sites have been established in flat areas with pre established roadways and driveways entry points and even a place to put your mail box. But if you are one of the lucky few to have obtained a more "interesting" site, then these are all things for your consideration. The majority of the house plans you find online are designed for flat sites, with a few trees and no water, view optional. Some house plan websites will offer plans that are designed for specific types of sites, such as "lakeside" plans or "golf course" plans. Take special not of anything on your site that is out of the ordinary and make sure when shopping online for plans that you look to see how large the home is. It is doubtful that your neighbor will be thrilled with part of your new Game Room poking into his Koi Pond...
Climate specific building designs are best for each region and when you meet with your designer or purchase pre-drawn plans it is vital to ask what climate these were designed for. DO NOT accept the idea that plans for one region will work in another - they won't! You will end up with a sub-optimal design that save you only a fraction of the energy ($) you could've saved.
6. Don't be fooled, be smart.
The simple answer is yes. A set of plans purchased online will range in cost depending on the elaborateness of the plan, the size of the home and the architect who designed it. Some websites charge by the square foot, others use different formula to determine how much to charge for their house plans. In addition, different websites offer different types of plan sets, but this article will discuss those difference later. For the time being it is reasonable to suggest that you would paying about $1,000.00 for plans for an 1,800 square foot home if you purchased them online. To hire an architect would cost much more.
Although houses differ in style, structure, and build, house plans have one thing in common--their elements. Concentrating on the basic elements of a house plan will aid homeowners in organizing the parts and conceptualizing the house's actual outcome. Above all, the major elements that the homeowner wants in his house ought to be included in the house plan. The rest of the minute details that the homeowner deems necessary can be added through the course of the finalization of the house plan.
Outlining the structure of the house is the very first step. How many stories should there be? Do you prefer a basement? How many rooms will there be?
When it comes time for you to start thinking about building your own dream home, you will want to consider drawing and customizing your own house plans. After all, it is going to be your home for some time - do you really want it to look like a carbon copy of someone else's home? Why not learn to draw your own house plans, floor plans, and home design, to suit your unique tastes and needs, and make it your signature house by drawing it yourself? Here are some details about drawing your own house plans to get you headed in the right direction.
Selecting where exactly the windows and overhangs need to go on your future home, or addition, is fairly complicated but you designer should be able to explain why the majority of the windows are on the south side of your home and how the overhangs are designed to let in the low winter sun. Your designer should also be able to explain how they calculated the thermal mass built into your home to prevent you house overheating in the summer & winter by properly matching the glass area to thermal mass ratio for your climate.
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