How many times have you visited someone else’s home and wished you could go back and make changes to yours?
Here are a few suggestions or caveats to consider before building or remodeling your home. Do your research to increase the odds that you won’t blow your budget and you will love your new home rather than see it as a sore spot for the next twenty years.
Site Location
If you have selected a house plan be very sure you find the proper site to build it on. If you already have the land, pick a house plan that suits the property. Don’t build a sprawling ranch on a hillside or a house designed with expansive glass walls where there is no view available.
Angles are important. Imagine you are in the house looking out each window; what do you see? Be sure and visit the site at different times of the day. By rotating your foundation just a bit you can drastically improve the views from windows or change what might be intense sun glare to wonderful filtered light. You may want to avoid full western exposures in your family or dining room in hot areas of the country.
Visualize Life in Your New Home
Look at the floor plan like a video game. Imagine it in a 3-D configuration. Walk through the house; what do you see when you turn a corner? What is the first thing a guest will see when they enter the house?
Some floor plans have a line of sight directly into a bathroom where the toilet is the focal point. Don’t be surprised by such arrangements. Pretend to stand in the kitchen and open the dishwasher door. Where will you put the dishes away? With the dishwasher door down, or refrigerator door open, are you blocked from access to cabinets and drawers?
If you have prized heirlooms or furniture you plan on keeping be sure you know exactly where each piece will be located in your new or remodeled house. Measure the piece including room to open doors to cabinets or extend tables to their full length. Will they fit in your plan or do you need to make changes now before your options disappear?
Make a list of what irritates you about your current place. What do you want to be sure and not repeat in the new one?
Visualize living in your new space by mentally walking through the plan. Where will you put the coffee pot? How do you get laundry to the washer? What is the first thing a visitor will see when they enter the house? How will you bring groceries into the kitchen? Where can you put the doggy door?
Originality Is Usually Expensive
Unique features always cost more. The more you customize the more you spend.
Using windows of unusual shapes or sizes not only cost more for the windows themselves, but also drives the price of window coverings into the stratosphere. Placing curtain rods so you can buy standard drapes will save you a bundle.
Architectural elements include columns, moldings, interesting angles or curves, arches, and similar unusual structural designs. All add to the cost to frame, sheetrock, or tile.
Standard wall heights and ceilings come with standard pricing. When you begin adding customization to ceilings or walls you begin adding bigger numbers to the builder’s bid.
Architects and designers can make anything look good in a drawing, elevation, or space plan. Be sure to ask your builder for input about bringing the concept to life. Most homes have open concepts today. Often the plans call for different ceiling designs to meet somewhere in the open area. How big a deal is it to bring two vaults and a coffered ceiling together? How much will it cost? Open areas need special supports. Special supports add to the cost to build. Special anything adds to the cost to build.
The Simple Truth About Remodeling
Remodeling is always messy and there will always be a surprise or an “oops.”
Try not to relocate plumbing if at all possible to save time and trouble. Be specific about your expectations. Changing walls can mean anything from cut and patch to gutting the space entirely. Be sure you and your contractor are on the same page.
Know what is in a wall or behind a wall before you take the sledge hammer to it.
Your home is your castle. Plan well, budget realistically, and enjoy.
Lynn Baber - Lynn Baber, Christian writer specializing in leadership, relationships, and all things equine.
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