| Introduction This is a guide to CUSTOM HOME DESIGN for those of you who are planning a new home but are not quite sure where to begin. In the following paragraphs we hope to give you some ideas that could make your custom home journey much easier and more enjoyable. The methods we will show you have proven effective for many clients that Noah Herman Sons has designed and built homes for. Hopefully they will help you as well. |
 |
| Where to start Many people who come to Noah Herman Sons for plans say the same thing, "We want to build a house but we are not sure where to start!" We say, take the ideas you have and make a list, room by room, of what you would like to incorporate in the design. Consider everything from floor finish to ceiling design Estimate the room sizes you will need, using the house or apartment you currently live in as a guide. Measure each room and note whether the room is too small, adequate, or too big. List any particular items you want each room to have. Using our Custom Home Planner will be very helpful to both of us. The more thorough you are, the easier it makes our job in creating a plan that works for your Personal Lifestyle. |
 |
Site considerations One of the first major things to consider in the design of your home is the site you want to build on. The shape of the lot, its’ slope, solar access, and any view that you want to take advantage of will affect your room arrangement. Taking advantage of site conditions and Solar Contributions will give you a better design that will result in a higher resale value should you decide to sell your home a few years down the road. Most plats have covenants and restrictions that regulate the house size, exterior finish, roofing type, and even building height in some cases. You will also have to abide by the building setbacks for the jurisdiction that you are building in. Because these restrictions vary widely from city to city and county to county it is a good idea if we research them before you get your heart set on a design that may not fit the site you have chosen. | |
| Creating a plan Now the part that most people find frustrating: Finding a plan that is close to what you want. I say frustrating because many people will look through plan book after plan book trying to find a plan that is exactly what they want, only to find that they’ve become burned-out without finding "The perfect" plan. The trick to custom designing a home is to find parts of the plan that you like. For example, look for bedroom layouts that are close to what you want. If you don’t like the rest of the plan - discard it. Now look for living areas that you like. To break it down even further, look for individual rooms that you like. Don’t worry about the exterior style of the house - we will cover that later. For now, concentrate on the plan only. If you find a plan that works for you with little or no revisions, consider yourself lucky. Once you have gathered together room ideas, you must decide how they will relate to each other. There are several ways to do this, one of which is a circle diagram. Draw a circle and give it a room name. Now draw another circle next to it with the room that you want there, and so on until you have a rough idea of where the rooms will be. Another example is the jigsaw method. Photocopy plans that you like and cut out the rooms that look good. Now start putting them together like a jigsaw puzzle, in an arrangement that you like. Don’t worry about getting too elaborate with the design, leave that up to whoever designs your house for you. Between your rough plan idea and wish list, it should be possible to come up with a Custom Design that is close to what you want. |
| Choosing exterior style Finding an exterior design that you like is the next step. Look through plan books or magazines for ideas that you like. With but a few exceptions, you should be able to adapt almost any style of exterior design to your plan. Another good place to look for ideas is some of the newer housing developments in your area, This way you can see the current design trends in use and not just a picture or artist’s rendering in a plan book. Take a camera along and snap some pictures of details that you would like to have on your house. If you would like to look for some plan ideas, you are welcome to stop by Noah Herman Sons, Inc. and take the time to examine our library of various plan books. |
 |
The major factor in custom design for most people is their budget. The problem many people run into is that they come up with a plan that is way out of their price range. Remember, the more elaborate your design is the higher the price will be. For example, adding corners that make the roof more complex is a big ticket added expense
You may want to go back to your wish list with us pricing specific items. You will find that in many cases, similar items will vary widely in price. You will often pay much more for a certain brand name even though different products may have features and qualities that are virtually identical.
Many people think that to have plans drawn they must hire an architect. If you have only a vague idea of what you want for your plan and the money to spend for their service, then by all means hire an architect. However, if you have a fairly good idea of what you want and would rather spend your money on your house instead of your plan, then hire a Design/Builder/Contractor. Take a look at examples of their work and find out what you get for your money. Ask for references, and find out where some homes they’ve designed are located so you can see examples of their work at full scale.
Since late l986 in the city of Peoria, many people have run into an additional cost that they weren’t expecting: Structural Engineering. The BOCA Building Code sets standards for construction which are spelled out in black and white. However, most homes have definite gray areas that the Code does not address. Because of this, many building departments have been calling for a structural analysis on part or all of a proposed residence. Building departments will generally accept plans with an engineer s stamp on the structural analysis. Usually an architect will have an engineer check the plans also, then bill you for it. Generally it will cost considerably less money to have Noah Berman Sons, Inc. draw your plan, and if needed have an engineer check the plans. Hopefully, we won't need to submit engineering calculations other than those available to us through our truss manufacturers.
We hope you can make use of some of the things we’ve talked about in the preceding paragraphs. Building a home is probably one of the most exciting experiences of a lifetime and the biggest step you can take financially. The more you know going into it, the better off you will be. Hopefully, with our Computer drawn plans, we can help you avoid some mistakes that other people have found, usually the hard way. If you have any questions that we can answer, please call 309- 693-4343 Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Or drop us an email at homes@noahhermansons.com