Comments on: How to Design Your Own House Plans

on 11/1/2008 If you think you can design your own house with a $99 software you are in for the surprise of your life. Architects don't go to architecture school 6 years for nothing. No responsible architect will do the plans for a houser designed like that. It's probably a death trap and many, many design issues would have been probably overlooked by an untrained person. The worse part is that you will come into the design process with a lot of pre-conceptions that may be irrelevant and will prevent you from analysing and accepting good ideas customized to your needs presented to you by the architect. Design is an adventure, enjoy it!

on 11/1/2008 If you think you can design your own house with a $99 software you are in for the surprise of your life. Architects don't go to architecture school 6 years for nothing. No responsible architect will do the plans for a houser designed like that. It's probably a death trap and many, many design issues would have been probably overlooked by an untrained person. The worse part is that you will come into the design process with a lot of pre-conceptions that may be irrelevant and will prevent you from analysing and accepting good ideas customized to your needs presented to you by the architect. Design is an adventure, enjoy it!

on 4/1/2008 My wife and I are using the www.homebuildingprojectplan.com softeware to build our home. It is going great so far, but wanted to know your thoughts. Thanks for any help that you can provide.

on 4/3/2006 When building, always plan for the future. Put outlets, cable and phone jacks in all rooms. Even if you never use them, they will always be there if you ever sell the house. Converting rooms into offices works so much better when the necessary wiring is there (home networking and Internet access).

on 3/21/2006 Lots of new houses have Jack & Jill Bathrooms, but if you have a boy and a girl, this isn't very practical. The part they share is the part that is in the most demand - the tub and toilet. For very little extra cost, you can give them both their own full bathrooms and avoid lots of fighting in the future! Add a hot-water heater just for those two baths and save yourself lots of aggravation in the future! My builder said the cost difference is minimal - especially if the bathrooms share a wall.

on 11/22/2005 When planning a room layout, do not place a door behind a door. This is especially true for small rooms. For example, placing a pantry inside a small laundry room or a closet in a bathroom. You would need to step inside the room, close the door, open the closet or pantry, close that door, then open the original door to step out.

on 11/22/2005 My husband and I have real problems sharing the bathroom. In our plan for our new house, we will share a toilet closet (a door on both sides) but other than that - we will have separate bathrooms. My side will have a jacuzzi tub, sink, vanity and linen closet. His will have a large shower, sink and his linen closet. At the back of each bathroom a door will lead to individual closets as well.

on 11/22/2005 Windows on the south face of a house help heat your house in winter. Make sure the windows are hung high on the wall, you don't want to waste floorspace. The overhang will shade them during the summer days when the sun is higher in the sky.

on 11/22/2005 In my next home I will place a clothes management/laundry room nestled among the bedrooms. Clothes can be organized in built in shelves, drawers and closets. When clothes are dirty they can be easily washed, dryed and put away all in the same area. When clothes are needed you simply go to the clothes mgmt room. There will be a small dressing area for privacy. This will increase bedroom size, save money on bedroom furniture and streamline the laundry process immensely. Seasonal storage will also be included in this area.

on 11/22/2005 Our house plans include a laundry room upstairs as well as one downstairs. No more lugging clothes up and down stairs. There is a little more up-front cost, but trust me, it pays for itself in the future.

on 11/22/2005 To save energy in warm weather, it is very useful to design your future home with big windows. Consider adding some decorative iron so that you can leave them open at night. It is convenient to have a fan in each room and to use air beds, because they tend to stay cooler than regular beds. The ceiling should be at least 2.70 meters high in order to have a sense of freshness at night, and it should be painted white.

on 11/22/2005 Try to have many outlets near your countertops. I never realized how many appliances I actually had. Take note that those appliances always have a short electrical cord.

on 11/22/2005 When designing your home, make your life in the new house easier by having the laundry room adjacent to your walk-in closet. That way, you won't have to lug laundry baskets through the house and can put your clothes away fast and easy.

on 11/22/2005 Our current house has an open floor plan with the kitchen visible from the living room, family room and the entry. Unfortunately, the entry from the garage comes directly into the family room and everyone puts their purses, keys, cell phones, books, etc. on the kitchen counter, which I am constantly trying to keep free of clutter. In our next house, the garage will enter into the laundry/mud room, which will be large enough to have a "clutter counter"!

on 11/22/2005 Save money by doing whatever you can on your own...like tile, shingles on the roof, painting, cleaning in between phases of the building process (it is much easier and faster for sub-contractors to work when there are not piles of scrap all over.