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House Plans – Where To Start
By Martin Smith
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. You will hopefully be in your new home for long time so make
it what you want it. Enjoy your new home.
(c) www.1st-4-
house-plans.com
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About the Author
Martin Smith is a successful freelance writer providing advice for home
buyers and consumers on purchasing a variety of
Dream Home which
includes
Cottage Plans,
Beach House Plans, and more! His numerous articles provide
a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information
Article Source:
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