House Design and Home Construction

The factors involve in House Planning

The choice of construction and design in homes is based on multiple factors (aesthetic, technical, financial...) and very often they all involve a difficult compromise.Often certain constraints can complicate it - (forced town planning, constraints related on the configuration of the ground or the nature of the basement). Type of architecture selected must correspond to its needs (livable surface, a number of rooms), to be integrated perfectly into the house construction and to respect the financial possibilities.

The majority of home builders propose standard plans and designs, layed out generally well and personable, which allow them to have house plans drawn fairly affordabily. Some carry out only original projects and have a set of plans which is connected more with that of an architect.

It is also possible to draw your own plans, but the recourse to an architech is obligatory in many shires for any construction of which the floor space except clear work (SHON) exceeds 170 m2 (the manufacturers strictly respect this obligation).

Moreover the design of a house imposes a good knowledge of the techniques used in the construction of the building, the realization of the plans, requiring of the concepts of drawing of architecture (if there are several at the same time effective and inexpensive software tools avoiding the recourse to the traditional drawing board, the printing of plans of execution requires a A3 printer or even a tracer).

Construction Styles:

The style of construction (contemporary, traditional, rustic, Mediterranean...) is before any business, a matter of taste, but must on the other hand respect the provisions of town planning in force for each commune (these provisions take into account the architectural characteristics of the area).

On the other hand the choice of a type of architecture (of full footage, on floor, in L, on levels shifted, on basement or half basement...) will have a direct influence on the costs of building, the houses simplest to build will also be the most economic (on equal surface and for equivalent transactions of course). Thus shifted roof, the projections of masonry, or of the curved openings, appreciably weigh down the cost prices to m2. The costs of landscaping can also vary to a significant degree.

Lastly, architecture selected will have to be in conjunction with the configuration, the surface, the orientation and the environment of the selected ground. A sloping ground supports for example, the establishment of a house on basement or on shifted levels whereas this construction type, on a flat ground, imposes the creation of hillocks, or the burial of the basement (required of an approach ramp for the garage, problems of water run-off of rain). A villa of full footage will appear crushed well if it is surrounded of higher buildings. A terrace can prove to be unusable if it is exposed to the dominant winds etc..See Enviromental House design

Choosing Plans:

The number, the surface and the distribution of the parts of the house must correspond to your needs and your practices, which can evolve/move in time (birth of a child or departure of largest, lodging of a relative depending or, loss on autonomy of an occupant, need for an office...). The majority of the manufacturers propose architecture plans more or less adaptable to your desires and the natural layout of the ground.

Livable surface:

Surface arranged for the dwelling after deduction of the surfaces occupied by the walls, the partitions, the steps and stair-wells, the service shafts, swingings of the doors and windows. Floor space except clear work (S.H.O.N.) :

Is obtained starting from the floor space except rough work (S.H.O.B.) after deduction: - floor space except work of the roofs and the nonsuitable basements for the dwelling (height under ceiling lower than 1,80 m, nonsuitable roofs from design).

- surface of the buildings with use of garage, boiler room, storage of household refuse and more generally of any room in roof or nonsuitable basement from the use which is envisaged by it.

- surface of the cellars in basement in the condition which they do not comprise of opening on outside other than those necessary to their ventilation. - surface of the terraces, balconies and loggias, as well as nonclosed parts located in ground floor.

- of a surface equalizes to 5% of the overall surfaces assigned to the dwelling in compensation of the rough surface of floor, occupied by materials of heat insulation and acoustic Floor space except rough work (S.H.O.B.) :

Equal to the sum of the floor spaces of each level of construction including the roofs and basements (suitable or not), balconies, loggias, roofs terraces (which it are accessible or not).