Monday, April 26, 2010

Some Considerations for a New Kitchen

As you begin the design of a new home, I believe it is best to spend time in careful consideration of your future kitchen and how it is layed out. It deserves special attention because it is where the family meal is prepared and there is nothing more important than the family coming together for a well cooked meal to keep unity in the family.

One of the best layouts includes a bar built into the counter space or better still, a breakfast nook which is directly connected to the kitchen for morning meals. The bar or table located in the nook is a wonderful place for the kids to do school projects or homework. It is also a great place for mom and dad to balance the check book or some other task.

If you pay enough attention to the appeal of the kitchen, it can also help you control how tidy the rest of the house is if you have little ones. If the kids are content to spend a majority of time in the kitchen and nook area, there is less chance they will be spreading chaos into the rest of the house. With that said, there should be a bit of a buffer area between the noon and kitchen area for them to play. Not much, but enough where they will have a bit of play area so that they can be watched while you complete tasks in the kitchen. Just make sure that area is safely away from the stove to avoid burns.

A well designed kitchen should also be easy to work in. For example, we should design it so that there is a twelve to fourteen foot triangle between the stove, sink, and refrigerator. No more, no less. This allows for less steps which equals less work and more food preparation and cooking.

Plenty of natural light should also be considered. A nice sized window maybe placed directly over the sink if possible would help illuminate the area. If it is not possible to place a window over the sink, maybe install large windows in the nook area to reflect light into the cooking area.

There ought to be plenty of storage space if possible, including a pantry integrated into a closet. Make sure it is in easy reach of the cabinets. In corner cabinets, a Lazy Susan should be installed. The “Lazy Susan” is a rotating set of shelves installed so that everything can be reached by turning it like a carousel.

Don’t underestimate the importance of drawers. Drawers are very handy for storing silverware and a good designer will make sure that there are some deep drawers for those miscellaneous things that always seem to show up in the kitchen. If the truth be known, junk drawers are not a bad idea for keeping the kitchen uncluttered. Some cabinet companies have racks built into special cabinets that pull out like drawers for storing pots and pans that are hung on special runners for saving space.

Time and labor savers like a dishwasher and trash compactor should be installed near the sink. Other appliances to be considered would be a built in microwave for quick snacks and warming up meals.

About the Author

Tim Davis is an experienced architectural designer who specializes not only in residential house plans, but also commercial.

Residential Home Design: http://customhouseplans.8m.com
Commercial Building Design: http://buildingdrawings.8m.com

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Planning and Building a Home

There are some things that can be said about planning and building a home. In fact, enough to more than fill several volumes of books containing house plans. Let me mention a few of those things that are really important when building.

First of all, never build a home without obtaining a complete set of plans. I have seen quite a few homes that were a total train wreck because the builder did not have a set of plans to follow. Or if they did, they were sketches on a sheet of notebook paper. And the houses ended up a mess with roof pitches that were too high, rooms were out of proportion, and exterior materials did not match the home.

With a set of house plans, the owner knows right up front what they should expect their home to look like and if it has enough room to meet their life style. Not only this but, the plans are actually like a contract between the builder and owner as to what is expected. This actually protects both parties. Make sure that if any changes are made during construction it is marked on the plans and initialed by both parties.

Last, if you have never built a home, you probably do not realize what it means to keep clear of liens. The lien laws are very harsh on the builder of a home in most states. Any company that has furnished material like lumber, sheetrock, etc., basically any material that went into the construction can file a lien on your property and make you pay for it a second time if the contractor has not settled their accounts. That is unless you have taken the precaution of making sure your contractor furnishes you with receipts for all the material from the ones who supplied it.

By being a bit cautious, you can overcome all of these possible problems and make building your home a pleasure instead of a pain. Have a complete set of plans drawn and insist that the contractor following them completely. Also insist on a "surety bond" from the contractor to protect you against any material liens if the contractor fails to pay any of his or her bills. Do not make any changes in the plans after signing the contract unless they are noted on a master set of plans. This also makes sure the bonding company does not have a loophole to weasel out of paying if the contractor does not pay their bills.

Be involved in the building process and ask questions if something does not seem right. This little extra step has avoided more misunderstandings than anything other precautionary effort. And most of all be ready to communicate with your builder. They can not read your mind you know.

About the Author

Tim Davis is an experienced architectural designer who specializes not only in residential house plans, but also commercial.

Residential Home Design: http://customhouseplans.8m.com
Commercial Building Design: http://buildingdrawings.8m.com

Monday, April 19, 2010

Permanence and Beauty of Brick Construction

There is a certain little village in a remote fertile valley of Pennsylvania whose history is rooted deep in memories of the early colonists who settled there. In the peace and seclusion of this valley these wanderers from home seemed to have found happiness. It is as if they had said to themselves: "Here we will live and die; here we will build our homes, and here our children will grow up into peace and plenty." And so the sentiment throughout the little village that sprang into existence and the homes hi the village, was one of permanence. No mere settlers' cabins found mushroom growth on the hillsides; everything was planned for the future; the houses, small and large, were built of brick, houses that would last for generations. It may be that these early settlers realized the possibilities of beauty as well as of permanence in the brick house. Perhaps, in the homes of their ancestors on the other side of the water they had observed it growing old gracefully, and remembered that from year to year and from generation to generation it took on a mellower and friendlier tone, that in time it attracted to itself vines from the nearby flower bed, and after many seasons withdrew into the landscape about it, furnishing a most beautiful color note. It is impossible, of course, to decide just how far into the beauty of things the early settler permitted his mind to wander, for he was not a sentimental person and he was often harassed by poverty, perplexed by religious doubt, and all about him was the problem of the Indian.

But whether his feeling was practical or aesthetic, the fact remains that his desire for a home found satisfaction in the brick house, well designed, sturdily constructed, and planned so inevitably for peace and comfort and right living that the result was beauty. These Colonists had wandered about long years enough to have grown heartsick for what stood as the greatest privilege, the permanent home. How much of gratitude went into the building of these houses in the Lovely Valley one may not say, but that their friendliness is evident and their beauty permanent would indicate that they were built as monuments to the discovery, by these men of travail, of the opportunity of finally taking root in the soil and of establishing permanent relation with the land.

And today a Traveler journeying through this Valley in Pennsylvania and gazing upon these old brick houses, which have been homes from the first closing in of roof and door, will find, as he stands on the winding roadway, with the bees humming in the clover fields, with peace and beauty about him, that not the least of his joy is the friendly aspect of the gentle old dwellings that seem to welcome him as they have welcomed families and friends for generations past. If the Traveler is a man of imagination, and even if he is not, but only practical and wise, he will realize that there is something about the well-contrived, well-adjusted brick house that seems to have a special significance, as though it were somehow predestined to be a homestead; that it belongs in quiet gardens, with brick-paved pathways and bowers of climbing roses, and he hopes for a lattice window back of the roses, and he is sure of a friendly homely existence within the brick walls.

Of course, every traveler who passes through the Lovely Valley may not feel in this poetic way about the brick house. It is possible to conceive of a pedestrian on the sunny roadway who is a cement enthusiast, or who may be devoted to the development of the clapboard house, or of one who has pinned his faith in modern domestic architecture to the style born of the old Mission buildings, with their red-tiled roofs outlined against the brilliant California sky. We cannot expect architectural enthusiasm limited to one expression in America, because we are a people of many tastes and many needs, and happily just now we have become conscious of the fact that we have an independent point of view toward architecture which it is worth our while to cultivate, and we do not intend that any one person or style shall dominate that taste. With our diversified landscape, our different kinds of climate, with our mountains and valleys, seashore and plains, we have the opportunity for almost every kind of home building that the heart of man may crave. AH that we can hope for is that this craving shall be accompanied by a sincere desire to create a good dwelling for a man's own life and the joy of his own neighborhood. Here hi America we have only lately and very slowly awakened to the desire for this home quality in our dwellings. We have wanted the house that our neighbor would admire, or the reproduction of the house that our neighbor had admired somewhere in foreign lands. We seemed to seek through our buildings an opportunity to be flattered.

Our estimate of the place we lived in was how we felt about its appearance, not the peace and comfort it afforded us. We judged it as a stranger, not for the home As pathetically and most wittily remarked, "Americans seem to regard their houses as something to escape from." Our interests have been away from the fireside, out in our concert halls, in our theaters and in our market-places. As the French people have advanced from the phrase "where one lives" to the use of our English word "home," we seemed to abandon both the sentiment and the expression of it for the sake of a hurried, restless, excited pursuit of what we have fancied pleasure to be. We have not sought Lovely Valleys in which to build permanent brick houses. We have put up our enormous hotels, with elevators to take us quickly away from them and cabs at the door to hasten our escape.

But whatever phases of development a nation goes through in pursuit of the various will o' the wisps flickering through its civilization, the homesickness for the hearthstone will always come back sooner or later. And we have just now reached that period of home sickness in America. As a result we are leaving our cities, the more intelligent, the more thoughtful of us, to find comfort or peace or opportunity for work in the country. And the minute a man's face is turned toward the country with affection, his heart softens at the word "home." And when once the desire for home is awakened, the building of the home dwelling place becomes a matter of great significance, and its beauty and permanence the absorbing thought of his days.

It may be that we shall slowly reach a developed ideal of home beauty, but the ideal must grow through love of home, and the love will come as we seek more and more earnestly the peace and repose of the Lovely Valley for our daily life. Not because the Traveler had a deep-rooted objection to cement or wood or stone, did he build his homestead of brick, but because down in the Valley the old brick houses had touched his imagination, because they seemed to hold in essence the home quality his heart was heavy with. These houses had been built with the greatest simplicity out of the material that the Colonists found at hand, and so were in harmony with the landscape; they were built for home life and so seemed to him to be the epitome of what could be wrought as a symbol of home existence.
There is so much to be said for the brick house. After the first expense of building, it is less costly than many other kinds of construction; it adjusts itself to various styles of architecture, to the simplicity of the Colonial period, to the more ornate and lavish Jacobean style; it may be made equally effective for the small bungalow or for the stately mansion; there is indeed no end to the variation of beauty and color which can be achieved by an understanding use of brick. There is no more permanent building material than brick, witness the examples of this architecture still remaining in Pez'sia and Egypt.

For a period in America we lost our sense of proportion toward an aesthetic valuation of brick. We massed it in flat surfaces, often we painted the brick and the mortar one color; we built it without interest in its architectural possibilities; we erected long lines o city brick houses all the same color and tone. It also became a means of easy development in the quick up building of crude frontier towns. It was used without understanding, until the brick houses became almost an architectural byword. Finally we turned away from it or from the usual presentation of it, and for the time centered our interest in the wood structures.

And then we proceeded to do very largely to wood what we had been doing to brick, we forgot its possibility for beauty and all the lovely association which the well-constructed wood house has had in the architectural development of each nation. We put up the clapboard shanty. We used up good forests to build bad houses. We degenerated from the shanty to the terrible building known through our suburbs as the Queen Anne house, which was a matter of openwork walls and gingerbread trimming. As we lost our love of home and our appreciation of good construction we seemed to lose our color sense in relation to architecture until our suburban houses became blotches on the landscape and our city houses indicated that our metropolitan life might be a prison routine.

Today we are once more thinking about our homes, about the beauty of them, of the value of permanence, of their relation to the kind of life we are living; about the effect they will have upon our sons and daughters as they grow up to be real American men and women. The result is, as we have already said, that we are turning toward the country for the life of these sons and daughters, and we are building in the country homes that will outlive our own life, that will be monuments for generations to come of the awakening of the American people toward the necessity of a beautiful, satisfying home life, if the nation is to make the progress which we have all in our hearts hoped for it.

The brick house has the great advantage of furnishing its own beautiful color spot in the landscape, and with the present method of varying the color hi the brick in its manufacture, and with the mortar used in the natural tone and raked out between the brick, a picturesque effect of rich and subtle coloring can be achieved which would only be possible in other architecture after very many years of weathering and mellowing.

A house of brick, well thought out, may be made to harmonize most interestingly with almost any kind of landscape. It is most friendly in effect if adjusted to a sloping hillside; if it stands on flat ground it only needs the close proximity of an apple orchard. In the woods it relieves gloom and monotony, and on the seashore it is in beautiful contrast to the gray tones and the blue sweep of the water. There is but one point to be considered in planting a flower garden for the brick house. Vivid red flowers should be kept back in the separate flower beds or in the hedges at the side of the garden enclosure. The poppy, salvia and red geranium should not be brought too close to any tone of brick house except those of yellow.

The use of brick in the garden wall is a thing that the English people have brought to perfection. What could be lovelier than old English gardens hedged about by orick walls, with the apricots and pears growing against their sunny exposure. And what so friendly as the brick pathway with flowers close at the edge, and even a weed or two under one's feet, leading to the capacious and the kindly entrance of the old brick house. We have lost sight in America of the value of the brick pavement in the town or country landscape. To be sure, it eventually becomes quite uneven, it is never very neat and crisp, but what color it lends to the pathway and how intimately it is related to the brick house itself, and how it branches away and leads you out to the brick wall where the fruit is ripe,—the wall which seems somehow to shelter you from the world with most friendly arms, and at the same time to hold gentle lure for the stranger without the gate.

From a practical point of view the brick house is an excellent investment. Well constructed at the start, it needs very little repair, and has the advantage of becoming more beautiful from year to year instead of increasingly shabby, as is the case with many of our wooden structures; generally the case where the houses are painted instead of being oiled. And if one stops to think of it, what an inartistic as well as unfriendly thing it is to paint a house over from time to time in quite a new and different color. How can we hope for tender associations about a dwelling that is green one spring and red another and yellow another; that from year to year has a different face for us, and seems to be striving in a crude way to keep in fashion ? What would we think of a friend who came to us one season as a blonde, and the next as a brunette, and then suddenly startled us as we were trying to form some sweet tie or association, in the guise of a striking Venetian type, all red and gold and orange ? No sense of affection can spring in your heart for the house that does not grow old beautifully, that does not hold the same friendly aspect from year to year, changing only as the hand of time is laid upon it. We want to find in our houses what we seek in our friendships, an unchanging quality, a welcome and a surety of peace and comfort.

From "The Craftsman" 1911

I thought this might be of interest to the readers.

Tim Davis is an experienced architectural designer who specializes not only in residential house plans, but also commercial.

Residential Home Design: http://customhouseplans.8m.com
Commercial Building Design: http://buildingdrawings.8m.com

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Methods of Learning Architecture and Drafting

I have spent the better part of my life studying architecture and drafting. As a boy, I used to pester the daylights out of a local architect who had an office close to my home. I would offer to clean and take out the garbage just to get a chance to watch him work. He was a good and patient man and allowed me to learn everything a thirteen year old could absorb.

While in the navy, I took every course I could in drafting since the military offered continuing education to those that wanted it. Drawing, specifically drafting was a passion with me and after my time on active duty, I learned all that I could about the profession. This included vocational school and part time apprenticeship with local architects and designers.

By the time I was in my thirties, I was already an accomplished draftsman both in architecture and mechanical drafting. When I landed a job with a modular home plant, the architect for the factory took me under his wing and began my training as an architectural designer. The goal was to train under him for seven years and then take the test to become a licensed architect myself. However, as luck would have it, the state changed the rules just before I received the required years of training and would not allow me to take the test. Such is life my friend.

The process I went through can best be described as apprenticeship training and is a time honored method. I call it the school of hard knocks. There are other methods however. I could have entered college starting with a total of seven to eight years of higher education and then the mandatory post college internship.

No regrets though! I believe my own education and training was more than ample for the career I have chosen. During all this time over the years, I have owned my own drafting and design office and have worked with several fine architects, designers, surveyors, and engineers, and have completed more residential and commercial building projects than I dreamed I would as a young boy.

About the Author

Tim Davis is a veteran Architectural Designer who also teaches architecture and drafting over the internet at http://homedesign.8m.com

Friday, April 9, 2010

Architectural Plans for Commercial Buildings

When you are ready to create a new commercial building for your business, you want it to be an expression of what your business is about - a part of your brand. Besides being just the place where your business happens to be located, your commercial building can say a lot more about you, and communicate the impression that you want your customers to have about you.

Quality commercial building plans need to include unique design features that will make your building stand out from the competition. With the right appeal, it can actually add to the attractiveness of your business and make people take notice as they drive by. Such an appeal can add to your bottom line and increase the number of your customers and your success rate - even before your doors ever open.
The process of getting the right architectural plans for your commercial building starts out with obtaining a set of complete blueprints for your building. Architectural drawings will need to be made for each aspect of the building.
This will include:

•Foundation plans
•Floor plans
•Exterior views
•Framing plans
•Electrical plans
•HVAC plans
•Plumbing plans
•Sectional Plans
•Roof plans
•Site plans
•And a few more as needed.

Besides needing the basic plans and a great exterior, you will also need commercial design plans for the interior of the building. This should also be given much thought because the building layout is important in making your visitors feel at home - and wanting to come back. The appeal needs to be inside and outside.

Adding into your commercial building plans the needed sizes and features for those with disabilities will further ensure that your customers are happy with your new building design. This may benefit both your visitors and possibly some employees, as well. Having these features will also enable your building to resell faster, too, because little upgrading will be required if that need should ever arise.

Once the architectural plans are complete, you can take a set of presentation drawings to potential lenders. They will need to see what you are planning on doing and these drawings from your architect or designer will be able to sell them on the idea. Most likely, you will want to take an isometric drawing and a floor plan.

Depending on where you live, your architectural plans for your new commercial building will need to be examined by the local planning commission. This group, as well as the building inspectors, will look over your plans and make sure that everything fits either into the local plans for the future, and for any potential problems with the design.

Selecting a contractor is the final major step in the procedure. You will want to find one that is familiar with commercial building construction and also has a solid reputation. It is also very important that you have the contractor agree to follow the architectural blueprints as given.

About the Author

Being a business owner who has decided to build a building for their business can be facing a very daunting task. Why not hire a design professional to help you with your new building? Tim Davis is a fully trained Architectural Designer with over twenty years experience who would be more than happy to help you with your plans. His website is at http://buildingdrawings.8m.com...

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Building Materials and Construction Estimation

Many new home owners preparing for the construction of a new home believe that when they buy a set of plans a materials list is included. The facts are that this is actually rare. Most architects, designers, and drafters do not supply these with their plans.

Which opens another profession called “Construction Estimation”. A construction estimator is a professional, not unlike an accountant, who is familiar with architectural drawings. With that knowledge they are able to calculate the different areas of the proposed homes or commercial structures from the completed building plans and then supply an accurate list of materials that will be used to construct a building.

The methods they use are like the following example:

Lets say we have a building where the back wall is fifty six feet. When we multiply this dimension by twelve inches which is how many inches we have in a foot, we find that we have six hundred and seventy two inches. Our two by four studs are sixteen inches apart, so we divide six hundred and seventy two inches by sixteen inches and we wind up with forty two studs.

The above example and similar formulas would be then used throughout the entire structure to find out how many floor joists, rafters or trusses, masonry block, sheetrock or wall paneling, roof and floor decking, etc., are needed.

Then each electrical and plumbing fixtures would be counted along with the wiring and their connectors and pipes for the plumbing and their connections. Wiring would be measured using the plan to calculate how far each receptacle, switch, and light are from each other giving just a bit extra to make sure there is enough for the job. The same method would be used for the pipe used in the plumbing construction.

Windows and doors would also be counted one by one along with any other special trims and fixtures.

About the Author

Tim Davis is a fully trained architectural designer who has created a complete course on creating a (BOM) Bill Of Materials called “Material Take Off From A Set Of House Plans” at http://101info.org/material. He has also created a course entitled House Plan Drafting 101 where you learn to draw complete house plans at http://houseplandrafting101.com.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

What is a Bill of Materials (BOM)

A bill of materials is a compiled list that specifies the materials used to build a building or residence. When a contractor or home builder prepares to build, they first use a mathematical process to calculate the amount of lumber, doors, shingles, windows, etc., will be needed to complete the project.

The process starts with the floor plan where studs and plates are calculated using the linear dimension of the walls. This process is used to calculate both the interior and exterior walls.

Afterwards, exterior sheathing and interior sheetrock is calculated by multiplying the height of the walls by the length which results in a square footage figure which is divided into the amount of sheets used. This process is also used for the floor decking and ceiling sheetrock. Then trim for the baseboard and openings is calculated using the length of the walls.

The foundation or basement is generally figured in the same way. In other words the wall area is calculated to square inches and then divided by the amount of square inches in a masonary block. Most masonry block manufacturers have the formula to tell how much mortar is needed to put the blocks together. The footings are calculated by the amount of cubic yards are contained in them.

Next the doors, windows, counters & cabinets, plumbing fixtures, are counted along with the electrical outlets, light fixtures, switches, wire lengths, receptacle boxes, and all other remaining items. These items are summed up by the number of times they appear on the plan. The wiring is calculated by length measurements from one fixture to the next.

There are specific formulas or methods used to finally end up with a list that can be carried to a building supply for pricing. Sometimes the building supply company will complete this list for you in order to insure your business.

About the Author

Tim Davis is a fully trained architectural designer who has created a complete course on creating a (BOM) Bill Of Materials called “Material Take Off From A Set Of House Plans” at http://101info.org/material. He has also created a course entitled House Plan Drafting 101 where you learn to draw complete house plans at http://houseplandrafting101.com.

Save Money on Commercial Building Design with an Architectural Designer

In more urban areas, and with larger commercial buildings, an architect may be required by law to make the architectural design and blueprints for it. In more suburban or rural areas, however, an experienced architectural designer is all that is necessary to give you the quality commercial building blueprints needed. This will enable you to save a lot of money in the process as long as your building doesn't exceed the legal square footage limit of the state you live in.

It is also possible that an architectural designer has worked at some time for an architect, receiving quality training and experience in all sorts of buildings. This enables them to be able to not only accurately provide you with the architectural building plans you need, but also to make recommendations about practical changes, too, so that the commercial building is more user-friendly.

What Is Needed for a Commercial Building Floor Plan?

A contractor has to have accurate building plans from which to construct the building. These come from architectural CAD programs, which are made after a building designer has made the initial sketches of the building layout.

From these early drawings, an architectural drafter takes them and puts together the drawings needed for the commercial building. These architectural drawings include the various views, foundation, elevations, sections, floor plans, and much more.

Detailed architectural plans of a commercial building are also made when further information has to be supplied because it cannot be shown on the larger building plans. These are made as needed to reveal precise details of construction and are often used to show methods of framing, the floor into the walls, rooflines, cornice, moldings, and more. Other areas requiring detail drawings may include stairways, doors, fireplaces and other places that may be especially decorative.

What Are the Advantages of Using an Architectural Designer?

The commercial building plans you need can be drawn rather quickly as needed. In addition, modifications can be added rather easily and clients often have the ability to work closer with a architectural designer than with an architect who may have a lot of projects going on at the same time. The best feature of using a general drafter is probably the price. They cost less and can give you the same quality drafting design you need for your commercial building.

About the Author

Tim Davis is an experienced architectural designer who has designed and drawn many commercial buildings and homes of all sizes for a number of satisfied clients. Specific questions and prices about your commercial design can easily be obtained by contacting his office through the Website at http://buildingdrawings.8m.com.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Economic Home Design and House Keeping

There is a definite relation between the work of the house keeper and that of the architectural designer. It is a part of the business of the designers to do what he can to make housekeeping easy. He or she can do a great deal. They should understand the principles and practice of good housekeeping. This knowledge is something which cannot be conceived from the architectural schools or offices, it must come from a home.

Newspapers and home magazines have had a great deal to say about the artistic and functional qualities of domestic architecture, a great deal to say about house decoration, and, altogether, has furnished quite a bit of valuable material on the subjects. Very little has been said however as to the relation of good architecture to good housekeeping. The artistic element should not be overlooked but there must also be consideration of the question of convenient arrangement, economy and ease, for the housekeeper.

Even if you have a dishwasher, washing dishes is nasty work, but the architectural designer can do his or her part toward making it easier for the one doing the cleanup. If we take a big mess of china, knives, forks, and spoons, pots, and pans, and bring them together on one small kitchen table, we lack everything needed to speed up the progress of the work and a situation quite different from when there is a roomy sink with ample counter space on each side of it to organize everything to where it can be cleaned in a reasonable amount of time with less mess. A designer can plan a kitchen so that all of these conveniences are possible. That is if he communicates and listens to the individual needs of the one doing the house keeping.

The floor plan layout of a house has a definite relation to house keeping requirements, which is not always fully dealt with. The difference between a good layout and a bad one may make the difference of a whole bunch of kilowatt hours of electricity used for the heating of a house during the winter. It makes more difference to a man who lives in a house that costs sixty thousand dollars or seventy thousand dollars as to whether he uses a bunch of electricity in warming it than it does to the man who lives in a one hundred thousand or one hundred and fifty thousand dollar house as to whether he uses a bunch more power. The cost of fuel is of more importance to a man of who lives paycheck to pay check than it would to one who has more money to spare.

More economical housekeeping can be better carried out in a compact house. To say that a house is compact does not necessarily mean it has to be crowded or that any of the conditions of comfort are ignored. However, if we avoid wasted space, such as is frequently used up in large halls and passages, we merely take away something that is not needed.

About the Author

Tim Davis is an experienced architectural designer who specializes not only in residential house plans, but also commercial.

Residential Home Design: http://customhouseplans.8m.com
Commercial Building Design: http://buildingdrawings.8m.com

Small Homes And Their Design

To design a small home possessing artistic and economic features where the construction can be completed for a minimum amount of money is not one of the easiest problems of the architectural profession. The best solutions are achieved by a process of elimination, resulting in a compact plan possessing the essential requirements of the average home builder, and arranged in such a manner that the total area is equally divided to best suit the uses for which each part of the house plan is intended to be used for. The success of an architectural design in a building of any description depends mainly on its proportions, scale and the arrangement of windows, and no amount of elaboration design features can make up for a poorly proportioned building.

Bearing all this in mind, we should plan our homes knowing that the people who will live in them would rather have their rooms as large as possible for the price they have to pay and to have the construction and materials of the best throughout the home. We know that buildings cost quite a bit more these days per square foot of heated area. That is just a fact of life in the economy of the twenty first century. When we attempt to build a small or medium sized house with extra rooms, such as libraries, game rooms, or family rooms, we must do one of two things: either reduce the size of all the rooms, or count on poor workmanship and cheap materials. If the building area is limited, these additions must necessarily occupy part of the space that actually should be devoted to the more important rooms.

The average family certainly cares more for a house with fewer rooms that are well proportioned and are built with good materials with quality craftsmanship, than for a house cut up into small or irregular rooms that is poorly built. Aside from the general proportion of the various rooms in relation to each other, another vital problem in home planning is proper circulation, which is the result of the correct position of the important rooms in relation to each other. The solution of this part of small house planning is far more difficult than in the larger residences where passages can be added to bring about direct access between various parts of the house without looking inconsistent or extravagant.

The living and dining rooms are usually connected by means of the main hall, which is a layout most people prefer because it eliminates the noise and disturbance caused by the clearing of the table and arranging the dining-room after meals, though with suitable doors, glazed or otherwise, and proper draperies between these rooms where they join, this inconvenience is reduced to the minimum.

The economical arrangement of the second floor should be considered just as carefully as the first, the corners of the house having been utilized as far as possible for bedrooms to insure cross ventilation and the greatest amount of comfort in warm weather even if there is a good and well sized heating system connected to the house.

Any closet space in connection with each room should always be sufficient to eliminate clutter. The bath and linen closets should be conveniently located, and the halls should be kept to a minimum so that space is not wasted.

About the Author

Tim Davis is an experienced architectural designer who specializes not only in residential house plans, but also commercial.

Residential Home Design: http://customhouseplans.8m.com
Commercial Building Design: http://buildingdrawings.8m.com