The desire to design your own house floor plans is admirable, but may be beyond the scope of what your able to accomplish without a little help. Stock plans available on the internet or plan books can only help so far because each house needs to be designed not only for those who will live there but also to compliment the site where it is being placed. Here are some tips for those who desire a custom home design but want to be more involved in the process while not spending 8% of the total build cost to hire an architect.
The first step is to make a list of necessities. Ask yourself and your family how many bedrooms are needed, now many bathrooms, two-story or one-story, are you satisfied with some living space in a walkout basement, do you desire separate living areas or do you want a combined great room, does the garage need to be attached to the house or can it be added later, etc.
The next step is to look for houses that appeal to you. Are there things that attract you? Are there things that you hate? Can you be satisfied with conventional construction or do you want a hybrid or log home" Do timber accents impress or are you more drawn to whites or grays? Taking the time to gather pictures is a great help to assisting the designer in knowing what you are looking for.
Thirdly, look for a home designer near you that can take these ideas and translate them into reality. Choosing a home draftsman might be suitable, but choosing one that is also a licensed general contractor can lend to a custom home design that is based on building codes and practical insights from day one.
Fourthly, be willing to start with a floor plan. Working out the floor plan nuances, flow of the rooms, and circulation path makes the entire design process flow better. With today's high tech 3D design software like Revit, the flat floor plan is actually being designed with the structure in the background. The placement of each window and exterior door and the sizes thereof are the factors that are then taken into the 3D realm and turned into the house design.
Fifthly, but this actually should be before number 1, be sure to research what requirements are in existence for your HOA if you have one and for the local building code department of your city or county planning office. Things like minimum square footage of living space, maximum footprint of the home, setbacks from property lines, overall height of the buildings, length of roof lines that are unbroken by changes of direction or height, etc are all very important. It is best to include this type of planning parameters into the plan from the beginning so that less time and effort has to be invested in redraws to satisfy requirements that were in place from the beginning.
I have built several of my own homes and I can honestly say that designing my own home plans is a great experience. There is some stress involved, but the investment in a quality set of designs makes it much easier to envision the house that will meet your needs and match your dreams. Quality architectural plans created by a proficient home designer allows accurate cost estimating and construction time projections for your home. And finally, plan designed by a house designer are infused with structural knowledge based on building codes that would be lacking with a simple pencil drawing.
For more insights to design your own house floor plans visit us at Venture Home Design. If you have specific questions be sure to post a comment below.
Mike and Sue Lemmon
Venture Home Design
Belgrade, Montana
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