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An Affordable Shortcut To Designing Your Dream Home |
| Last Update 2/18/2005 |
| Rating 6.73 |
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An Affordable Shortcut To Designing Your Dream Home
You have likely been making mental notes for years. Every book or
magazine that you read and each home that you visit has become a
source for pieces to the puzzle that can become your new home. You
don't know a thing about architecture, designing or drafting but
that shouldn't stop you from taking the dream house that you have
pictured in your head and making it a reality.
There are two ways that you can approach the creation of new house
plans from which a builder can work:
1. Hire an architect
2. Make alterations to an existing house plan
There are many benefits to working directly with an architect. You
will be able to sit down with an experienced designer and review,
very specifically, all of the ideas and requirements for the home
that you have in mind. The architect can give suggestions and help
you to avoid problems that you may not have anticipated. However, be
prepared to pay handsomely for this service. A good architect does
not come cheap.
An economical compromise is to modify existing new house plans.
There are hundreds of publications and websites that specialize in
developing house plans that are available for purchase. These
packaged plans are designed by professional architects and are
available in a variety of styles, sizes and price-ranges. In many
cases, you can visit a website and enter the various criteria for
the home that you desire and an internal search engine will match
your specs with plans in inventory.
You should be looking for companies that will allow you to modify
existing house plans. Not all of them will. When you find one that
has a large enough inventory of plans, take the specifications that
you have developed for the house that you want to build and use the
site's search engine to find compatible designs. You will likely be
indicating basics such as:
- Style of home (Colonial, Ranch, Mediterranean, Cape Cod,
etc.)
- Square footage
- Number of bedrooms
- Number of bathrooms
- Garage
- Type of foundation
While it is unlikely that a plan will be just what you were looking
for (though you never know), you may find one that is generally
suitable if some modifications can be made to match your specific
requirements. For an additional fee, the company will allow you to
present written alterations to the existing plan. These changes will
then be presented to a staff architect who will incorporate the
modifications as requested.
Common modifications include:
- Changing the foundation
- Adding or enlarging a garage
- Reconfiguring a bathroom or kitchen
- Adding to or reducing the size of rooms
Typically, you can make the changes right on the house plan. Written
explanations are requested along with the design to insure accuracy.
The altered plans are then submitted and an estimate is prepared by
the design firm and returned to the customer. Once satisfied, the
customer will receive a complete set of blueprints to forward to the
builder.
While you may not be able to claim that you personally designed your
own home, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that the
finished product has your personal touch. And you will be able to
afford a few more amenities with the money you saved on an expensive
architect.
© Copyright Online Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.
About the author: J. Terrence McDermott is administrator and
webmaster for
<a href="http://www.house-plans-central.com">House Plans Central</a>
a site featuring recommendations and resources for those seeking
information about house plans and home designs. He can be reached at
info@house-plans-central.com
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