Becoming a Drafter

Before every product, building, or anything else manufactured or built is completed, drawings and models made by someone using the skills taught in drafting courses are created. Every consumer product we use and every building we live or work in started out as a design. And every design had to be represented by a drawing in order for the people who constructed the end product would know how to make it. This is true for toys, furniture, electronics, etc...

In a drafting course, you'll not only learn to draw plans on paper, You will also learn how to use CAD programs on computers. With Computer Aided Drafting programs, you can make changes and add detail to plans very quickly and with an accuracy that can't be accomplished on a drafting board. With the CAD you can also make realistic 3D images or models that make it easier to understand the drawings you create in 2D.

You also have to learn one or more of the fields that use drawings. For example, some courses specialize in residential or commercial architectural drafting. With this type of drafting course, you would also study architectural terms and the problems of design and engineering that architects and designers have to deal with. You would also learn how to do an estimate for building materials from the details that you have drawn. Not to mention how to generate renderings of the proposed finished buildings in three dimensions called a rendering.

As a survey drafter, you would learn the needed mathematics and drawing techniques to draw boundaries and topography of a piece of property. How to research deeds and plats at the courthouse and interpret the field notes of the surveyors who go out and get the raw data you need.

When learning mechanical drawing or drafting, you study the mechanics of materials, industrial products and manufacturing systems, furniture construction, structural parts of engines, Heating, venting, and air-conditioning systems, plant layout, etc.

Learn these online in a fraction of the time it would take to learn it at vocational schools. Please go to http://drafting101.com/ for more information on learning to be a drafter.

Draw Your Own House Plans

The concept isn't that difficult although it does take some discipline. If you are wanting to learn to draw house plans, here is what I suggest.

First, learn to sketch and draw on a drafting board. There is a free online course called "Drawing a Simple House Plan" at http://draftingservice.us/101boardlessons/ which leads you through the process of drawing a plan on the board.

After you have completed this primer, "House Plan Drafting 101" at http://homedesign.8m.com is your next step. At this web site, there are two courses in drawing complete house plans. The first teaches you how to draw a single story home using CAD or the board and the next teaches you to draw a two story home.

The author of these three resources has also created other drafting courses. "Mechanical Drafting 101" at http://draftingservice.us/m101/ where you learn to draw shop drawings to create furniture in a wood shop. Then there is the ebook he wrote on "Converting a Barn into a Home" at http://draftingservice.us/barnhomes/.

Finding a Suitable Barn to Convert Into a Home

There is a trend lately to find unique and affordable housing and many have turned to converting a barn into a home. In my area of East Tennessee, there are some fine examples of this including the one I converted.

It's needless to say that there are many barns in various shapes and sizes all around. A vast majority are in bad shape. Please don't make the mistake of buying one that is labeled a unique fixer upper opportunity. Don't fool yourself. If a barn has gotten into the shape where the siding boards are starting to fall off, unless you're buying it for parts, my suggestion is to leave it alone. By the time the boards start falling off the sides, there's major flaws. The main trouble would probably be that the horizontal beams are rotting and the fasteners are turning loose.

The best candidate for remodeling would be one that was painted on the exterior walls and roof. This means that it was at least maintained to a certain degree by it's owners over the years. If your barn has some age on it, it would probably be best to first find all the areas that have been effected by weather or urine from the livestock that was kept in that barn. Animal urine sometimes has a high acid content and anything that has been contaminated with it really needs to be removed from the structure.

Look especially in the loft areas where hay may have been stored close to the outside walls. Chances are there may have been some rain water that had soaked in through the hay bales. This is where you will find most of any rotting of the floor boards. Take a look at the underside of the roof. If you see pinholes and sunlight coming through, water can also seep in. You'll either have to replace the tin roofing where you find these holes or dab the holes with a tar patch and then coat the roof with a fibered aluminum paint.

Inspect the interior walls and see what types of columns are used in your barn. 99% of all barns in the US are post and beam construction. If your posts are buried in the ground, check and see if there is any type of rotting. Older barns will probably not have pressure treated wood in their construction. If your barn is built with a wide open floor area, you are most certainly going to have to build masonry piers inside to support your floors and walls and also find a way to tie the existing walls into the new support system.

Check to see that the horizontal beams are not loose or if there is rotting between them and the columns. Look at the top plates for rot from water damage. If your columns are mounted on a rock or cinder block, check the bottoms of the columns for rotting.

Consult your local building inspector to make sure you can get the proper permits if needed. In my part of the country, building permits for remodeling are not required if you are in the county but your local codes may be different. It would be a shame to buy the barn only to find the powers that be will not grant the necessary permissions.

When I first began my project, all I had to work with was the old, empty barn. Being an old structure it was necessary to examine the entire building to make sure there wasn't any type of structural flaws. Thank goodness there was only one place that had to be bolstered. The inside front left corner was starting to slide off it's foundation stone. I solved that problem by hooking the column to my tractor and winching it back into place with a come-along. Then I built a buttress beside the column to keep it from moving again.

Tim Davis is a veteran Architectural Designer who also teaches architecture and drafting over the internet http://houseplandrafting101.com . He has just released an Ebook entitled "How to Turn a Barn into a Home". The info page for updates on this ebook can be found at http://draftingservice.us/barnhomes

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_J._Davis

4 Reasons Why It Is A Good Time To Build Your Own Custom Designed Dream Home Now

Waiting to see what the economy is going to do is one way to waste your time. Another way to spend your time, though, is to take advantage of the situations around you and build your own custom home. Many things right now make it an excellent time and opportunity to enable you to be in your dream home before long.

1. Home Loans Have Great Interest Rates

By now, most everyone is aware of the fluctuations of the housing market. Those fluctuations, however, have actually brought about an excellent opportunity to get about as low of an interest rate as is possible. Not only that, but lenders are looking for people with good credit to extend a loan to. Even better may be the fact that the government is cracking down on loan companies that are less than honest. This could help you get a better deal. Altogether, it means you could get a really great financial package to start building after you select your custom house plans.

2. Many Custom Home Designs Are Available

Your custom made dream house does not need to follow the more traditional designs of everyone else's house. There are many different styles of homes that you can choose from, and many of them are much lower in cost than your traditional styles.

Custom home designs could include the straw bale home, the earthen home, barn conversions, cordwood, stone, and others, too. You certainly have the freedom to choose a unique style to match your own tastes if you want. You can also put into your home any special features you want, as well.

3. Building Material Costs Are Not Getting Cheaper

Building your own dream home now gives you a better opportunity to get the lower prices. While no one knows what will happen, things are rather looking like prices are not going down anytime soon. It will not be long before gasoline prices will drive building materials prices sky high.

Some custom homes may actually be far less expensive than you might think. One of these is the straw bale home. This design could enable you to save up to 75% of a traditional home and it will last much longer than one, too. This style can give you lower heating and AC costs, as well as lower maintenance costs, too, saving you money for years to come and keeping its value up, too.

4. Construction Crews Are Ready

Let's face it, there is not a lot of new home construction going on right now. This means that it should not be hard to get a good contractor to build your home. You could probably even get it built rather quickly because homebuilders are looking for new design homes to build. Even better for you, though, is that they will not be rushed to complete your job so they can go to the next house as quickly as possible.

Contractors will be glad to see you coming - and you may even get a better deal on your new custom design dream home than you thought possible. All you need to do now to get started on your dream home plans is to talk to a designer.

By Tim Davis. You are invited to learn more from an experienced home draftsman of over 19 years who has drawn many hundreds of custom home plans for satisfied clients. Visit his Web site at Custom House Plans and learn more about how he can design your unique dream home for you. http://customhouseplans.8m.com/

He also teaches a course on drawing house plans Learning to Draw House Plans in a No Nonsense Way. This is in Ebook format at http://homedesign.8m.com/101ebook/

Do You Want to Draw Your Own House Plan?

Great idea, it sure saves money. Also eliminates the middle man. Those architects and designers can get expensive. I've heard that some designers can charge up to ten dollars per square foot for simple drawings containing a floor plan and exterior elevations. Now that is a chunk of change. If you are going to do it for yourself, you're going to need to know how. Below are just some of the things needed to know to draw a simple ranch style home.

So what do you need to know to draw your own house plan?

1. You need to know how to lay out your Floor Plan. The floor plan is the template for your entire set of drawings. From the floor plan show where we want our electrical, tell how big our rooms are, note our window and door sizes, etc., so this is where we have to begin. Sure you could start with the exterior views but that would limit our interior of the home to what the outside looks like. Not a good idea! The house needs to be functional first and look pretty second out of necessity.

2. You need to understand the mechanics of a well designed kitchen. A kitchen is a place where the homemaker spends a majority of their time. It needs to be comfortable but functional. This area consists of a Sink area, Cooking area, & Food storage area. The best layout for a kitchen is one in which the least steps are taken to reach each appliance. This is called the working area or working triangle. A good working triangle doesn't exceed 12 to 14 feet all the way around.

3. The builder of the home would sure appreciate knowing where the walls, windows, & doors are located exactly. They would also like knowing door and window sizes, not to mention anything else special that is on the plan. That's where the dimensions and notes come in handy. You need to be able to create a dimensional string and groups of notes that are not confusing.

4. The Electrical Plan is very important to you as it gives you the opportunity to customize the home to your power and comfort needs! On the other hand, it is not always needed. What I mean by this is that any electrician who has taken a test for his or her license knows what is required electrical service by code. Chances are that they have already wired quite a few residences and barring any special needs or preferences can do the job without this plan. Always be aware though!!! Certain states require that you be a licensed Architect or Electrical Engineer to do Electrical plans. Be sure to check with your local building inspector to see what your limitations are! This will definitely save you some headaches down the road.

5. In standard construction, at least in the South Eastern United States, houses are built on Masonry Foundations or Basements. A foundation is the part of the home that anchors it to or keeps it from settling into the ground. This knowledge is a must in completing your plans.

6. What about how the exterior is going to look? It is no small matter if you are wanting to convey the idea of how the finished product is going to look when construction is complete. What is it going look like when its built? How to determine the best roof pitch, do we use brick, siding or rock?

7. Folks, I defiantly don't believe in mind reading! Neither does to typical contractor! If there is anything special you are wanting to build into your house, how is the builder to know unless you show them? You can make all the notes you want to on your plans and elevations but the message of how you want the house constructed may not always come across. That's why you need to understand how to draw details.

8. Then there is the task of finishing your drawings and not letting goofs and slip-ups get out the door. You need to understand the most common mistakes made by people who draw house plans so you can look out for them!

9. Last but not least in drawing your house plans is to know how to print them out and in what format and size.

My name is Tim Davis and I draw architectural plans for a living. I also teach others how to draw plans in a virtual classroom on the internet called House Plan Drafting 101 at http://homedesign.8m.com - And also in EBook format at http://homedesign.8m.com/101ebook/
Above are the basics I teach in that class.