Can You Design Your Own Home?

Most people have an idea of how they want their dream home to look. You may have sketched it out or even designed it on your own computer. The big question is whether or not you can use those designs to actually build your house. This is a somewhat complicated issue. Your contractor will not be able to build directly from your design since you will need to know the local regulations and building issues surrounding this. They are extremely strict and the average layperson is not familiar enough with the laws to design a house that will fit them all.

In addition to this, there’s far more to consider than just how you want the house to look or the way the rooms should be laid out.

What Goes into a Home Design?

There are so many different factors that are included in designing a house that it would be impossible to cover them all in a blog post. However, some of them include:

Electrical: The wiring throughout the house must be done properly and connected in specific ways to ensure everything is laid out correctly. There will be different routing of electrical wires to ensure the right amount of power is being directed to each area so that you can avoid overloading the circuits.

Plumbing: Before the rest of the house can be built, the plumbing must be laid out. Again, this is an area of speciality, so it is very important that it is properly designed. If you don’t have it well laid out, you could end up with water backing up in sinks and other drains.

Windows and Doors: You may know where you want the windows and doors to be placed, but they can’t be put anywhere. There are structural considerations, plumbing and electrical designs that must be routed around them.

Structural Elements: Do you know what a load-bearing beam is? Do you know where it should go? The structure of a home is much more than merely building walls inside a mainframe. You’ll need to ensure that the roof is properly supported and that the walls are strong enough to hold a second or even third level if that’s in the design. If it’s not carefully calculated, your entire building could come crashing down, literally.

All of these factors and more are necessary when designing a home. The best way to manage this is to take your design to an architect who can rework it to function for your needs. They will take your ideas and requirements into consideration, but then create a sound design for it.

Need an architect? At Integrated Designs & Associates, we have the experts you need. With over twenty-seven years of experience, we know what it takes to assist you with your project. To find out more about the services that we offer, then get in touch with our team today!