Creating House Floor Plans

Today’s modern house floor plans are also about creating warm and comfortable living spaces, and that utilize green building techniques to save on energy requirements.

When designing house floor plans you can use paper or pencil, or one of the latest home design software packages.

The home design software packages are great for providing fast 2 and 3 dimensional views, as well as elevation views of a house floor plan. They also allow for the easy integration of paint colors, flooring types, appliances, and furniture into the house floor plan so that you can get a real sense of the finished rooms. Whether you are using a home design software package, or paper and pencil, it is important to include dimensional information for the overall size of the new home, or home addition, and every room in it. In addition, every wall, door, and window opening should include dimensional information. Also, every aspect and feature of each room should be included in the house floor plans.

For example, in the bathroom you should include the location and size of the bathroom vanity, toilet, tub and shower unit. Likewise, in the kitchen you should include the location and size of all kitchen cabinets, appliances and even sink sizes. In addition, finished wall surfaces such as the use of wainscoting should be identified. By including this level of information, for example, the framing contractor can determine where blocking between wall studs is required.

Another must have in your house floor plans is the location of electrical outlets and switches. By specifying the location of these items you can make sure that they are appropriate for the home technology you have planned for each room. Who really wants to see that TV cable wire dragged along the edge of a wall because you forgot to specify the location of the outlet box in your plans? I know I personally don’t, yet I live with it in my current home, because I forgot to consider where the TV would be located when originally developing my home addition house plans. By creating house floor plans to this level of detail you are less apt to forget something in your new home. In addition, this level of detail is critical for getting accurate contractor bids for your new home, or home addition.

Finally, it is important to recognize the fact that designing house floor plans takes some time and effort. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself spending many evenings and weekends massaging the house floor plans. However by taking this upfront time, you will be much more likely to get the new home of your dreams. In addition, you will reduce the risk of causing cost overruns and schedule slips due to making last minute, or after the fact, change orders.