Posts Tagged ‘brick’

Environmentally Friendly Architectural Home Plans

December 12th, 2011

Building an environmentally friendly home is a must for many people these days, not only do we want to be kind to our environment during the building process but we also want that to continue after we move in. Including environmentally friendly items in your architectural home plans is far easier that you might initially think.

The siting and design of your home is key to the environmentally friendly home, ensuring your architectural home plans include climate sensitive design where the position of the home is maximised to benefit from heat absorption from direct sun and minimising exposure to harsh winds. These two things alone can have a major impact on the heating and cooling efficiency of your home.

Once you have the orientation set then the materials you will use to build your home come into play. Concrete and brick are known for their high thermal mass which means they absorb heat during the day and release it at night, having a concrete foundation and block walls will greatly ensure the climate control of your home, if you don’t wish to build your entire house in block, perhaps include a few feature spaces that will benefit from maximum sun exposure in your architectural home plans.

Installing solar panels in your roof will also ensure you gain maximum benefit from the sun and this then flows through to savings in heating and power and if you team your solar panels with a heat recovery ventilation system you will maximise the climate control in your home.

Water efficiency can also be taken into account when you are designing your house, installing a water tank is a great idea if you are able to accommodate this on your property and there are many stylish designs available so you don’t have to be stuck with an eye sore. Installing water efficient appliances and fittings will also greatly benefit the environment. Ask about low-flow showers and ultra-low flush toilets and the use of grey water for irrigation.

Power is something that is not often thought of during the building process however including energy efficient ideas in your architectural home plans will ensure that when you are living your home you are not having to turn lights on unnecessarily due to an area not having enough natural light because of poor planning. Installing energy efficient lighting will also help and with the progress in design there are some stylish options to choose from.

Posted in Home Plans

New Home Design

September 1st, 2011

What is the process for designing a new home? What are the steps in competing a new home design? The answers to these questions vary from job to job, but generally include some of the same elements. The first step in contemplating a new home design is to interview and select a design firm. There are many choices and many different prices to choose from when selecting a design team to complete your new home design. Ask about their experience, ask for references, ask if they have designed homes similar to what you are looking for. Also, ask exactly what you will receive for the fees you pay.

After you interview and select a design firm, the first step will be to lay out your site plan. This shows how your home or building will be situated on your lot/land. Then the designer will help you decide on your floor-plan. The floor plan includes the locations of all the rooms, garages, porches, patios and more along with notes and dimensions. Once your floor plans are complete, you will move to the elevations stage of the design. This is where an experienced design team will help you to decide exactly what you want your house or building to look like on the outside from all four sides. These elevations outline exterior material choices, such as brick, stone or stucco, architectural details, and generally showcase the exterior features of the home. These pages will show whether the style is French country, Mediterranean, traditional, Tuscan, Victorian, English or another architectural style.

Once floor plans and elevations have been completed, then it is time to finish the plan. A finished plan will include electrical details, a roof plan, in some cases a framing plan, and also where required, sections. Sections are cut-aways that show different areas of the home from different angles as if you are looking at a slice through of that area of the home. Finally you will receive several pages of general construction notes. These notation pages are to help guide your builder in many different areas of construction. These notation pages are critical and careful attention needs to be paid to these pages as they will help tremendously during the construction process. Services such as space planning, land planning, interior elevations, artistic renderings and much more are usually offered by experienced design firms. Think carefully before you choose your design firm, make sure they are capable of delivering what you expect in a new architectural design, and happy building!

Posted in Home Plans