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Why customizing a ready-made house plan is more cost-effective than designing from scratch.
Resource Guide for eco-friendly home building, from awnings and solar power to low VOC paints and water conservation.
A guide to basic must-have DIY tools -- for small projects like repainting your skirting boards or bigger tasks such as installing a new patio or deck.
Four key steps to building your new home with a ready-made plan.
How Houseplans.com chairman Stephen Williamson and his wife Alexandra decided to build a new house from a ready-made plan.
The positioning of a house on a piece of property, called siting, can dictate the difference between a so-so house and a great one. Here are 10 important concepts to keep in mind when you are siting your new home.
Creating a house from scratch is on the short list of milestone lifetime events. Digging, hammering and painting may be part of your experience, but for most of us, the vision will be executed by an architect or designer and a team of skilled tradesmen. So what does it take to build a house?
The best way to get what you want when you build a new home is to really think through what matters. For most, creating a new home is a team effort. Before building your “team" wish list, try creating individual draft wish lists.
It is easy to take all of the fun out of building a home by looking at homes and features that are “out of budget.” A quick meeting with your local bank loan agent should give you a general idea of how much you can afford to spend on the new house.
Siting is one of the most influential decisions on a project. It affects the ‘ins and outs’ of your house…. It defines everything from where and how the sun and wind enters your home, to the views that you look out to (for example, you may want to face your big picture window towards the lake instead of your neighbors).
When you start with an existing plan – like Plan 888-8 shown here — all of your design dollars are applied to tailoring the plan to your unique needs and desires and the requirements of your site.
Building a house involves hundreds (thousands) of decisions. Selecting a new range or picking kitchen countertops may be fun but other decisions, like selecting trim rings for recessed light fixtures, are just work.
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