Home design tips and advice

[buckeyefarmer]

Not meaning to offend, but a "draftsman" will typically draw up what an engineer hands them, they are normally not designers. Architects on the other hand are not engineers. Each has their place and function.
This chief architect software looks interesting to me for doing modeling. I have autocad and microstation cad programs for design. I have done some 3d rendering in sketchup but it is not the easiest. I'm thinking I might try the suite package or the next higher one for a project to see how it works out. thanks for the suggestion, I had seen this package before, but I usually ignore cheaper cad packages, had tried some before and was disappointed.

 

[saltman]

The " Draftsman" was a title I gave the guy. He advertised in the News Paper that he did home plans from start through final plan check.

I realize the differences in Architects and Engineers, Architects here work directly with the Engineers and you must get a stamp from both on all plans except really basic stuff.

I think I paid about 1800.00 for the Architect and about 800.00 for all the Engineering which was a real value when you factor in your time and computer programs. They stand behind their work and are available until the home is built.

My feeling was to save money on things I know and let the professionals do the difficult things.

 

[miramadar]

One more thing, Architects seem to have the flair that most of us don't have, they realize what looks good where and why. Mine added lights, av connections, moved entries and did other things to make the house flow. Things I wouldn't have even considered.

There is definitely an "art" in architecture. When I had my cousin, who is an architect, look over the plans I created on the Punch software, he really turned my "very-normal-looking" elevation drawings into something to be proud of. They know what works and how to achieve an aesthetically-pleasing final product.

I think I paid about 1800.00 for the Architect and about 800.00 for all the Engineering which was a real value when you factor in your time and computer programs. They stand behind their work and are available until the home is built.

When it comes to "time and computer programs", I didn't see it as an expense or a labor. That was the most enjoyable part of the whole process for me. I spent hours moving things, trying to make things work, maximizing efficiency, minimizing waste, making things interesting. Of course, not everyone finds that enjoyable...and might find it tedious. But I got a lot of joy out it. But by no means should you just go with your own drawings. Get your concepts incorporated into the floorplan and then let a pro architect work their magic. That would be the surest way to success. And many states require an architect's and/or an engineer's stamp of approval anyway. That's not the case in my state though.

One of the big reasons I wanted my cousin to look the plans over was because my CAD program (Punch) didn't tell me what will or will not work structurally. For instance, my cousin told me that I needed a particular size I-beam to span a section of the basement. The software didn't tell me that or even suggest anything. Had I not gotten his advice I would have had a trampoline for a dining room floor...or worse, it would have collapsed!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I ordered the architectural package today from amazon, will let you know how I like it. I'm working with an architect now on a project, I wish it was $1800, add a 0 and then a multiplier.

When I started my house design back in the early 90's, I bought a couple sets of house plans. One set just wasn't buildable with today's material. They were odd heights and odd sizes of things, lots of waste. But they gave me good ideas, especially on some of the structural issues.
When I designed my house I was working in an engineering office, so I had a lot of resources there also. I like to say that architects make things look nice, and engineers make the "look nice" stand up.

 

[AHNC]

I want to try and arrange bedrooms and bathrooms so there is more than one wall in between the master bathroom and other bedrooms- maybe a closet in between also.
Same deal with the other bedrooms trying to separate sleeping areas from flushing toilet noise.

I want to build a one story house 1800 ft2, next year I think I can start.

Among other things, I'm a plumber. If you want quiet operation of a toilet, pipe it in cast iron. It costs a bit more but totally dampens the sound attenuation. You can do your laterals in pvc or abs as well as your vents, but do the toilet completely in CI

 

[dave1949]

If you have any family heirloom type pieces of large furniture or the like (dogs playing poker in velvet?) floating around, some of those need to have a special place alloted in your floor plan.

I think the point made about the design programs making it easier to communicate ideas to a spouse or others is a good one. Visualizing a space works for the visualizer, but its hard to describe it to someone else or for them to 'see' what you see.

It is hard to over-estimate the amount of storage you might use. Make a list of what has to be stored and check that off as you design. Allow for future growth if you have children. You might be storing their stuff long after they move out.

If you wish to have a home safe, it's good to design in the location and type of safe. Consider fire as well as security. Many have floor bolts that aren't compatible with radiant heat plumbing
Dave.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

that home design pro looks to be slicker than snot on a door handle....

i watched the demo video on their site and started a download of their trial software.....

man, if it were only about $100, i'd order it right now....

i think i have it justified to the wife that i could probably save 500 in materials from the generated material list and from buying paint, fixtures, cabinets and many other things, from using the rendering.........and, if i knew exactly what we needed, i could start going to auctions, our two local seconds and clearance items, and using lowes/home depot % off coupons.....

yeah, that's it....

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Architectural home designer:

It came today, that was fast from amazon. I just loaded the Architectural home designer package and have been watching some of the videos to learn how to do it. This works pretty much like the architectural add on package to microstation, only a few thousand less in cost......

Very early review, one thing I found already I didn't like, is the outside wall dimensions and placement is based on the extreme outside of the wall object (the siding). When I design and frame, I use the outside of the sheathing as my outside dimension. Maybe I can size my siding as 0 thickness and solve this. There was an option to set walls by centerline or outside edge. It is still slick as can be, and I have a lot to learn.

There is a $250 rebate when you buy both Architectural home designer and Home designer Pro. This basically comes out reimbursing you for the first package, and you still get about $60 or so off the Pro package depending on where you buy it.

 

[sodamo]

....
i think i have it justified to the wife that i could probably save 500 in materials from the generated material list and from buying paint, fixtures, cabinets and many other things, from using the rendering.........and, if i knew exactly what we needed, i could start going to auctions, our two local seconds and clearance items, and using lowes/home depot % off coupons.....

yeah, that's it....

Great approach. We had a terrific surplus store close to where we lived in Atlanta and bought stuff for more than 2 years before we moved and started building. Most what we bought was new, but still saved big time. A couple examples, our SS kitchen sinks @ $25 each, ceiling fans less than 1/2 same item in store, french & Italian porcelain tile @ .50sf, cases of caulk @.25 tube, but my all time favorite is my Five Star SS 60 in kitchen hood, still $1100 today, but I paid $100. The blower ended costing more LOL.

What was fun was incorporating these bargains into the finished house - seemed to work quite well.

David

 

[Mudfarmer]

Designed and moved into the final house five years ago. Love the house, particularly the forty by 20 foot attic - has all those accumulations like grandma used to have.

Two things i would change:

1: Geothermal heat pump - put it in while you are building before you landscape.

2. Make sure you oriented the biggest slope of roof towards the south. I just added solar panels to my place and options were limited by the limited space i had on south facing roof. Had i thought about it before hand the same house with more southern pointing roof (rather than gable) would have been more versatile. Oh, and yes we do get enough sun in Western Washington to justify the install. Had a nice sunny day today and my 3000 wat system generated 15 kilowat hours - worth about $3.75:thumbsup:!