Software and Floorplans Abound
It is easy to pick up a lot of floorplans on the Internet. It would not take long before you ended up with a whole collection. Unfortunately, this may leave you with the limitations of someone else's idea of a home - what should be your home.
Avoid the Copycat Syndrome
Ask yourself if you really want to follow someone else's idea of what your home should look like, or seek to create your own custom home plans. While you may not want it to be too extreme for when you might try to sell it later, you certainly do want a home that is designed around the way you live. In order to accomplish this in the best way possible, you want to start out with a great idea for your own wonderful dream home that will not limit your imagination.
Go for Your Own Custom Dream House Plans
A good way to start out would be to write down the things that you would like in your dream home and then put them into a basic hand-drawn floorplan. Alter it as you see the need to add or subtract some things, and then when you are comfortable with it, talk to a home designer about your need for house blueprints. You certainly want to consider some options like patios and decks, a large kitchen, a cathedral ceiling, lots of glass and possibly skylights, extra bathrooms and walk-in closets.
When you design your own custom home, you have the opportunity to put into it those features you want most - and where you want them. You can add closet space, an extra bathroom, a large family room, a study or den, a hobby room, and so much more.
Enjoy the Uniqueness of Your Home Forever
Once you have talked to a builder and have actually built your unique custom home, you will have the joy of knowing that it was built just for you and your family. It is your design and you can be proud of it. You did not borrow someone else's house plans, although you may want to get some ideas there.
Your dream home can have its beginning today. If you have a good idea for a floor plan, you may want to go ahead and get started. The architectural design you need can be started quickly by a professional draftsman and before long, your custom home will soon be on the way.
About the Author
By Mike Valles, a financial and real estate writer. He invites you to learn more about getting your own custom house plans and discovering what options are available to you. Visit http://customhouseplans.8m.com/ now and see how soon you can get started with your custom house plans for your new dream home.
[ add comment ] ( 3 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 54 )It is finally the time you have been looking forward to. You have given it quite a bit of thought and planning, made all the sketches and gathered photos and are now are ready to build your new home. The problem is that most builders will not work from sketches and photos. And to aggravate the matter, not only does your local building inspector require specific technical working drawings, but so does the subdivision planning review board.
The solution is to hire a home designer. These professionals are trained to take your ideas and hopes and put them to a working drawing. Not only drawing the plan, but also helping you to put the right design elements into your home to give it a beauty and charm that reflects your personality and taste. A home designer, also known as an architectural designer, is trained with the skills needed to make sure your home meets codes and is functional.
Once you have found a designer, there are several things you will want to discuss with him or her. The first is your budget. An experienced designer will know how to keep you within your spending limits. I personally have met with clients that had elaborate kitchen designs which went well beyond the expected amount of money allowed for its construction. The solution was that we found a cabinet builder who made the same type of cabinets the clients were wanting at a fraction of the cost that the national brand asked for theirs.
Another thing would be your sketches of the proposed layout of the home. Some people do not realize that the single line drawings they made of their plan will loose four inches or better when the wall thicknesses are properly drawn. Space, among many other things is sometimes misunderstood or improperly account for.
For instance, you may be expecting a ten foot by ten foot room but after the wall thickness is added, the room ends up something like nine feet four inches by nine feet eight inches. The designer will posses the skill to gain this lost area back to the planned size but rest assured, it will be at the cost of some other room or area of the home. Make sure to spend time discussing the layout so that you are happy with the finished product and its dimensions.
There are many other things that will be involved in the final design of your home that I am sure your designer will mention. Always try to be available to your designer should they have questions as this will make things flow more smoothly to a finished product.
About the Author
Tim Davis is a fully trained home designer with around thirty years experience as a designer and drafter. His website is at http://customhouseplans.8m.com.
[ add comment ] ( 3 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 44 )A dimension is the measurement of one point to another. In the case of an architectural floor plan, it is what guides a framer to build the building. So in fact, dimensions are one of the most important elements of a floor plan drawing. Without them there would be no way to determine the geometry of a building, the position of its interior walls, or its door and window locations.
Dimensions or dims for short, usually follow a logical order. This logical order is usually in steps extending out from the body of the plan to define the length or depth beginning with the exterior elements of the home.
The outermost or dimensions would be of the over all length and depth of the building. The next would be used to define any breaks or turns in the exterior walls. The third would be the distance between the exterior walls and the center or side of the interior walls. These would then carry on to the next interior wall until you reached the opposite exterior wall. The final dimension set of this group would then be from wall to opening which would either be a door or window.
Included with the outermost dimension, but not always linked to an interior wall dimension would be those of the decks and porches. The also sometimes have dimension lines placed to the porch posts or columns and to define stairs attached to the porch or deck.
The next logical dimension set then would be those dimensions which could not be defined from the exterior or outermost dimensions. These would be the interior walls and sometimes the dimensions to wall openings if they have to have a specific location in the wall.
The only other sets of dimensions would be those which defined the location of special fixtures like interior columns, cabinets, etc. Labels and notes are also part of this category which includes door and window sizes unless these are in a legend (list) somewhere else on the plan, cabinet sizes, fireplace types, and room names.
About the Author
Tim Davis is a fully trained home designer with around thirty years experience as a designer and drafter. His website is at http://customhouseplans.8m.com.
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 44 )Computer Aided or Assisted Drafting is what CAD stands for. The most descriptive definition we can give this type of program is a drafting board inside a computer, giving an accuracy that cannot be achieved on the drafting board.
CAD had its beginnings in the early 1960s when an engineer named Ivan Sutherland developed the concept in a program called Sketchpad. Although very primitive by the standards of today, it was very effective in creating accurate drawings.
Later, other programs were developed and called by different names and all created drawings in two dimensions. None the less, they all had the same benefits in that there were less errors in the drawings because of the infinite accuracy of the program and also the drawings could be re-used and altered easier than paper drawings with less waste of time and materials.
By the 1980’s, some of the earliest commercial CAD programs were inexpensive enough for individuals to purchase. These were AutoCAD, CADRA, MicroStation, Generic CADD, and CadVance to name a few. My early experience was with AutoCAD and then in the beginning of the 1990’s, Generic CADD Level 3.
Then when 3D programs started to appear on the market the stage was set for more complex applications. One of the finest I ever used was a program called Generic CADD 3D which in effect, was so easy to use I was creating complete isometric and oblique drawing of homes on the first day of use. I guess it was because the interface was so similar to Generic CADD Level 3 that the learning curve was short. With the use of two letter commands and simple controls, the 2D program only took a couple of days to master.
At this time AutoCAD already had 3D integrated into their 2D package, but it was so complex to master I didn’t pursue learning it. The creators of AutoCAD however, bought Generic CADD out and it was downgraded to a less useful package.
Although there are programs like 3D Home Architect and Chief Architect on the market today which all but draws everything for you from the floor plan you create. CAD is still the leading program type in most architectural offices.
It is amazing but even though I have mastered quite a few CAD programs, I still sit down at the drafting board from time to time just for old times sake. Actually I do it more to just keep the discipline alive.
About the Author
Tim Davis has years of training that you can utilize for almost all of your drafting needs. His website is at http://draftingservice.us. If you wish to learn drafting, he has created several courses that can be taken at http://101info.org.
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 39 )This is a field of Drafting and Design that is quite often overlooked. Many people equate this professional with a drafter or architect. This is actually a separate field where the designer was trained by another experienced home designer or by an architect as an apprentice.
Most people believe that all they to need do is hire a draftsman to draw the plan that they have designed. The problem here is that a drafter is an illustrator who simply takes the ideas and sketches of another to create technical drawings. Unfortunately, a drafter may or may not posses the education and skills necessary to catch a code infraction, suggest a proper flow and layout to a home design, etc.
Whereas, an architect has training to handle most large commercial or residential designs and many do not believe they should waste their time with small to medium residences. Sure, this professional is trained in all aspects of construction and design but there is a premium price to be paid in using their services.
That is why there are trained home designers. In most cases, you will find the training and experience you will need to have a workable and functional house plan completed by this professional that will not only stand the test of the building inspector but also the test of the contractor in the construction field.
A trained home designer should not only posses the ability to draw your plans, but also the education and experience to understand the building codes and what will or will not work functionally in a homes construction. He or she should also respect you enough to realize that the home they are drawing is yours and should reflect your wishes and your personality.
About the Author
Tim Davis is a fully trained home designer with around thirty years experience as a designer and drafter. His website is at http://customhouseplans.8m.com.
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 49 )
Calendar
