Houses

[RyanbabZ71]

Ok as of late i have really been thinking ahead in my life.  I always said when i started college i was going to start designing a house.  Well i have less than a yr left and i havent started.  What got me going again is working around windows/doors etc.  I was looking through a house plan book and got some ideas.

 

Anyone ever design their own house?  I think i would like this much better than buying an already built one.  Id love to build my own but i wouldnt have any time.  

 

Only stipulations so far

GF: 2 story house

ME: Pole barn (small one) so i can wash cars in winter and have room to park em and work on em hehe

 

Hopefully after college all my plans will go accordingly and ill be out of my parents home when i turn 25  :0

[Elwood]

Good luck.

 

Becky and I have a design for a house that we did, if we ever have the money to do it.  We won't be doing it anytime soon, but we hope to eventually build our own, with the designs we've done.

[bscottb]

We just moved into our fourth house. We found a plan we really liked and modified it to include all the things we liked about our previous houses. Building a house can be very stressful since it takes so long (6 months for our current house). You have to decide on things you have never given much thought to like doorknobs, stained wood or painted? cabinet handles, etc.   But the end result is worth it.

[RyanbabZ71]

You have to decide on things you have never given much thought to like doorknobs, stained wood or painted? cabinet handles, etc.   But the end result is worth it.

 

I have to think about that stuff everyday for other people.  I do have my preferences.  

 

Pella windows (only 1 front window, bathroom window, kitchen window, and bedroom windows)

skylights

Patio door (pella)

Front door (36in with 12in side lights on both sides)

Pine woodwork (oak is to expensive and pine looks nice)

Pine 6 panel interior doors

Thats all i can think of now

[carguru]

If it were up to me, I'd have a 100 or so acre spread with a 3 mile road course leading up to a brick warehouse type building with a corner that is living space (bedroom, small kitchen, home theater, etc).  Rest of the space will be all shop and auto storage Of course my wife won't buy into that.   Just keep one thing in mind--houses are moneypits too.

[carguru]

You have to decide on things you have never given much thought to like doorknobs, stained wood or painted? cabinet handles, etc.   But the end result is worth it.

 

I have to think about that stuff everyday for other people.  I do have my preferences.  

 

Pella windows (only 1 front window, bathroom window, kitchen window, and bedroom windows)

skylights

Patio door (pella)

Front door (36in with 12in side lights on both sides)

Pine woodwork (oak is to expensive and pine looks nice)

Pine 6 panel interior doors

Thats all i can think of now

Those Pella windows are really nice.  We have been considering changing the windows out in our current house to those crank out ones with the miniblinds built in.  Just did wood floors and working on kitchen right now so that will have to wait.

[RyanbabZ71]

Those Pella windows are really nice.  We have been considering changing the windows out in our current house to those crank out ones with the miniblinds built in.

 

Pella are awesome windows.  We have a huge basement window with two double hungs and mini blinds built in.  It cost alot.  Pella also supplies us at work with some nice high quality pens (pella rep screwed me and didnt give me a pen when he was in on tuesday.  Boy was i POed).

 

Also did you know pella is the only company that tests every window they make.  Thats some good quality control.

[carguru]

Also did you know pella is the only company that tests every window they make.  Thats some good quality control.

Yep, that is why if I had to change the windows out, they are the only ones I'd consider.  Big $$$$ though.

[chevy4x4trucks]

Ryan, let me know if you need some drafting or designing assistance.  I've taken a few architectural courses and layed out a few house designs.  

 

Just for some advice, you can pick up some magazines at the store that have about 100 house plans in them.  Just page through it and it'll help you to develop some ideas.

[RyanbabZ71]

Just for some advice, you can pick up some magazines at the store that have about 100 house plans in them.  Just page through it and it'll help you to develop some ideas.

 

The other day we had 2 at our desk.  When it was slow i was paging through them and got some ideas

[mac3897]

I am acutally in this middle of this process as I type this.  The wife and I bought a small plot of land and descided to put a house on it.  After looking though many house plan books we descided to have a modular house built. Basically they build it in a factory in PA and then drive the house up in 4 huge peices and then a huge crane stacks the peices like big Lego blocks. There were many floor plans to choose from so we picked the one closest to what we wanted then could customize pretty much any part of it, includeing combining rooms, moving wall and adding a 2 car garage under.

We had total control over all colors and styles of all rugs, floors, cabinets, vinyl siding, even down to the color of the roofing shingles.  So far the process has gone fairly smooth and should take only about 4 months from the time we place the order to the time when the builder hands me the keys to the front door.   A modular house may be something to consider as well, as the prices seem to be much better than having a builder build it from scratch or even buying a house that is already built.

[RyanbabZ71]

oh yea a few other things

 

has to have a porch

brick (with some siding either vinyl or wood)

#of bedrooms? # of bathrooms?

[MarkD]

I designed a house, bought land, and was about to sign a contract with a builder friend of mine when I lost my job.  Company went out of business (Color-Tex, Spencer, NC).  

 

We ended up moving to SC and buying a house.  We hope to build in 5-10 years (same plan)

 

I occasionally help this friend with houses when he builds in this area.  I do framing and trim.  We have collaborated on quite a few house plans for some of his clients.

 

Advice...Double-check your Architect if you have one draw up the plans.  You would not believe the numbers of errors I have found on some plans.(My favorite is a 6500 sq/ft. house that was 3 ft. wider in the front than in the back.

[Guest Friz]

I've been designing my house for years. I just keep changing things until we finally get to build.

There are a few design programs out there that are decent. I have "3D Home Creator" that's pretty decent.

One of the hardest parts of any house design for me is getting the plumbing designed efficiently. It's quite abit cheaper to design your kitchen and bathrooms all close together to avoid running all the extra pipe.

[MarkD]

I laid our plan out on paper.  I am thinking of trying it in Visio though just to have it digital.