If you have purchased a section of land and enlisted the services of a custom home designer to design your blueprints it is very important that you spend time considering the following house design points before any construction begins.
Ensure that your sections boundary pegs match up with your blueprint plans or have a surveyor do this for you to be absolutely sure. This process will help determine if the size of your floor plan will fit comfortably within the constraints of your section and boundary. This process may also highlight better use of certain land areas within your section or show that certain parts of your blueprints can be extended / altered.
Will certain areas of your house such as the deck and living room receive the best amount of sunlight in the position you have planned? When thinking about the positioning of your future home note where the sunlight will be during the day. Look around your section for potential sunlight blockers such as trees and empty neighboring sections that may have buildings erected in the future.
Are there any building covenants on the site that could affect the draw up plans of your home? Have you invested in a new subdivision that requires the developers’ approval over your house plans? Does the site have restrictions in terms of building size, height and materials allowed? It is a wise idea to have your lawyer look for potential restrictive covenants before you get too far into the design process.
Find out where utilities such as electric, telephone, gas, sewer and water connections will enter your property; are they near your sections boundary or will you need to bring these services on-site? A Land Information Memorandum Report (LIM) from your local council will highlight these utilities and also make you aware of important environmental and land related information such as storm and drainage, likelihood of flooding, erosion risk, heritage and conservation classifications.
Be sure to have all your building consent forms organized and ready before starting any house construction, it is important that all your home design planning complies with your country’s building code, particularly if you wish to sell your home once completed. It can be a costly and time consuming mistake for new home owners / builders if the above house design considerations are overlooked.
