Home Building Plans - What Every Owner Builder Must Know About Architects

By Author: Taurus Inspro
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What's the value of a good architect? Everyone knows that architects design homes and buildings. But, if you're building a home, should you pay an architect or simply buy a house plan that has already been designed? I'll answer these and other questions here.

There's more to a set of house plans than the layout and the look of the house. Once you hire an architect, you're getting licensing, training, and experience which will assist you to create something uniquely yours and in line with local building practices.

What does one want?

The first thing to believe is what you're after and the way you propose to go about it. Are you building a stick-built home from scratch? Or, are you getting to build a log home or some sort of kit or packaged home? Will you build with alternative construction materials, such as SIP panels or insulated concrete forms?

Also, the size and complexity of the house are critical. A simple, small house is vastly different from a large home filled with custom features. You also need to know the rules of your Home Owners Association.

Let's take the above questions one by ...
... one:

Buying Existing House Plans

There is an enormous business in selling stock house plans. Some of these are designed by renowned home designers. In some cases, there's certainly nothing wrong or inferior about using one among these plans to create your home.

Building with packaged homes generally utilizes this method. You’ll not have a very custom home, but you'll likely pay quite a bit less to get your set of plans. Be sure that you’re Home Owners Association or your local building authorities do not have requirements that preclude you from going this route.

Designing your house

Have you created your design? For some, their home building dream includes drawing their plans. I need to caution you here. There’s more to designing a home than meets the eye. If you're not experienced or trained, you'll invest a lot of your time just to find out that you got to have everything redone by a professional.
Good design includes things like; structural integrity, materials selection, code requirements, aesthetic appeal, traffic flow, lighting, views, and nature's influence just to call a few.

Is an Architect Prepared House Plan a Must?

The short answer is usually not. The decision might be taken out of your hands, however. In India as an example, there are several states which will not approve plans created out of their state. Similarly, Home Owners Associations may require all plans to be designed by their list of architects. Always check before you get home plans online or from a catalog.

How Much Does an Architect Cost?

The cost of using design professionals varies greatly. Their experience, reputation, and geographic location will think about it. Also, you'll find different professional levels for these designers. As an example, a residential designer is a lesser designation than an architect and therefore usually less expensive.

Knowing first what you want is vital. If you propose to build a high-end custom home with a unique look that reflects your lifestyle and provides the ambiance you're trying to find, spending tens of thousands of dollars (or more) is also well worth the money. On the other hand, you'll get a good design for several hundred to a few thousand dollars.

Getting Started

You'll want to interview your choices. It is best to get a referral if you can but, however you find your options, make sure to own exploratory meetings to see how they work and if their style and charges suit your needs.

Do you want to incorporate very specific ideas? You’re a blank slate? Sometimes it is often best to provide them a minimal framework of what you would like and allow them to create. Other times, particularly if you want to keep costs down, just give them a lot of input, so they know what you want.

Finally

The value of a good architect that understands the marketplace and your desires can't be overstated. You're likely to benefit from a better value home as well as a home that you're going to be proud of.

Taurus Inspro is one of the Top Architecture Firms Bangalore. You can take a look at our design planning by visiting Best Residential Architect Bangalore.