When you discuss your sketches and photo's with him or her, make sure that you go into depth about your likes and dislikes. Matter of fact, it's a good idea to make what is called a wish list of things you would like to see. For instance soffit over your kitchen cabinets, a built in ironing board in your utility room, or arches in your cased openings, etc. No detail is too small if you want your home to be designed and drawn your way.
Here is a biggey. If you have chosen a drafter, his job is to draw your home exactly the way you want it within reason. Therefore he or she needs as much information as you possibly can give them. If you've hired a designer, you need to keep an eye on how much creative license you've given them. Otherwise you may not be receiving what you really desire in a home. On the other hand, if you don't have a clue about looks, style, and function, hiring a designer is by far your best way to go.
Tim Davis is a veteran Architectural Designer who teaches architecture and drafting over the internet at http://houseplandrafting101.net. His Home Design site is located at http://customhouseplans.8m.com.
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( 3 / 199 )I’ve been drawing residential homes for the better part of 20 years and the majority of those homes were drawn on CAD programs like General CADD, (Generic CADD) AutoCAD, or CADVance. And of all things that collect over the years are not only the sets of drawings but the special details and sections included in those drawings. Shoot, by my second year I had drawn so many different types of homes that my details and sections varied twenty fold in materials and method of construction.
So what is a smart drafter to do with this type of resource? Recycle! It was pretty simple when I was drawing homes specific to my area of the country. Why? Well because most every builder was using the same method of construction. So, a builder would order a set of plans, I’d draw the Floor Plan, Exterior Elevations, and the Foundation or Basement and then pop in one of my previously drawn sections from another similar type house.
Then, when the internet caught on and I started drawing houses all over the US, I had to start again from scratch. The methods used in other parts of the country weren’t always the same as the ones used in the southeastern US. But the plus side in all this is that all I had to do was alter the existing details that I had to fit the methods common to the region I was drawing the house in. If I hadn’t, I can only imagine the extra hours I would have had to spend drawing new details and sections.
So, if you want to save time in your efforts to draw houses, save those details. You’ll be glad you did. Catalog them if you can. But even if you can’t, by all means don’t discard them.
Tim Davis is a trained architectural drafter and designer who teaches residential drafting over the internet at http://houseplandrafting101.net. He also offers a package of CAD symbols for download at http://homedesign.8m.com/details/.
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( 2.9 / 216 )New house plans are a necessity when you are ready to build your new home. Whatever kind of home you are hoping to build soon, you will need a good set of floor plans to do it with.
House Blueprints Are A Necessity
Whether you are planning on building a luxury home, a summer home, a condo, a country house, a custom log home, an investment property, or a new green home, the house plans will have to come first. Getting your blueprints for your new house does not need to be difficult.
The Time Is Good to Get Ready to Build
Listening to the news may make you wonder about whether or not it is a good time. Recent news says that mortgages have not changed in the past couple of weeks, and may not change much in the future. While that may not change much, you probably should not expect the cost of getting a set of house plans to get any cheaper, either. So, even if you are not quite ready to build, now is still a good time to get your new home house plans ready. Minor alterations can be made later - if needed.
Avoid Mistakes with a Professional Home Designer
Consulting with an experienced custom home designer will enable you to avoid a lot of potential mistakes, too. You can gain a number of tips and insight into what works well - and what may not - if there is a poor design feature that may need changing.
You will definitely want to make sure that whoever makes your new home plans has the experience you need. You will need to have elevations, foundation plans, the floor plans, cutaway drawings, basic electrical, and various views. It is also possible that you can get a 3D rendering of your custom home plans so you have a very good idea of what your new home will look like before you build.
Go for Experience and Custom House Package Plans
If you already have a good idea about what kind of new home you want, then now would be a good time to start finding an expert for your new house plans. Some architects offer convenient package plans to help fit your budget and enable you to know what you are getting up front with your floor plans. For a look at my custom house plans packages, click here to get started.
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( 3 / 284 )Rather than going for graceful, interesting houses that express something, they simply try to build the biggest, most expensive thing that they can to show off their wealth. For me, this isn't the way to do it. The great thing about having some money is being able to express yourself in your living situation. A unique custom house plan can do this.
On the street that I live on, there are many different unique house plans to look at. You might see an Art Deco house right next to a traditional Tudor and beyond that, a house that looks sort of like an old-style barnyard except larger. Although I don't like all of these unique house plans – some of them are downright ugly – I do admire their willingness to take risks. And with risks, there are occasionally great acts of beauty.
Up in the hills, for example, you can see some of the most unique house plans in the entire city. There are houses that are built around streams in a style that reflects the workings of the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Some of these have entrances at the back of the house, intricate networks of walkways, and a harmonious design that seems to fit in well with the surrounding land. They also have interesting gardens, large windows, and other features that make their house plans unique.
Coming up with your own unique house plan is kind of difficult – as I figured out myself. There are plenty of unique designs, but finding the perfect one can be a painstaking process. In my case, I had to look at well over a hundred different designs before I found the perfect unique house plans. It actually was one of the plans I had initially considered, but when I looked at it in more detail it was perfect. It was spacious, interesting, and well-designed for entertaining in such a favorable climate.
There is plenty of outdoor space surrounded by awnings which protect it from the wind. Since the weather is so mild there, this meant that I had ability To entertain outside year-round. This is a great luxury for someone who enjoys inviting a lot of guests over to their house. I certainly have taken advantage of it since then.
About the Author: Caroline Bourke runs her own interior design business from home. Check out this great Advice For Homes website with loads of Home Improvement ideas.
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( 2.9 / 262 )There are many things that may be difficult to learn, but knowing how to draw house plans is not one of them. In fact, it would not take you very long to be able to do it yourself and then you can start drawing your own house plans for your dream home. Here are just a few things you need to know about learning how to draw floor plans.
The Home Design Software
Drawing house plans and floor plans requires that you use special home design software. This software, such as is offered by CAD, or Chief Architect, simplifies the process and enables you to use special features that are necessary for your custom home designs. Some of this home design software contains features like:
* Furniture
* Cabinet design
* Siding texture
* Floor textures
* And more.
These features are used when you tell the home design software program to generate your 3-D images so you can know what your custom home will look like.
The Time Involved
Learning how to draw your own custom house plans really does not take long. Two courses can be completed in just a couple of months, but you can learn how to draw a ranch style home in about a month. The nice thing about computer courses is that you have the freedom to work at your own speed and schedule. This allows you to put in the time you have available, or whenever you are available, even if 3:00 am is the only time you have for it!
The Assistance Available
Taking a course is one thing, but doing it with the ready help of a trained and very experienced house plan designer will definitely give you an edge. Questions can be freely asked through emails and you will get an answer quickly.
The Focus of the Lessons
These courses will teach you what you need to know about designing your own floor plans. By the time you finish the first course, which could be completed in a month, you will have made the floor plans for the ranch style home. This will include:
* Elevations
* Foundation
* Basic electrical
* Kitchen
* Doors and windows
* Porches and Decks
* And more!
The second course will teach you how to draw a two-floor home. Between the two courses you will have learned enough to get you going so that you can begin to create the house plans for your dream home.
The House Plans You Create
Being given the basic tools for drawing house plans, you can go from there and use your imagination to create your own dream house plans. You will be able to experiment and tweak your unique creation until it is just the way you want it. Best of all, after your new home plans are done, it is just a few more steps until you can build it - and the best part - live in your dream home that you designed yourself.
By Mike Valles, a freelance writer, invites you to learn more about these courses for drawing your own house plans. Enrolling takes only a few minutes and you also get the personal help of the instructor who has more than 22 years of experience. To learn more, just go to House Plan Drafting 101 at http://houseplandrafting101.net
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Valles
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