For most people building a new home is one of the most important things they will do in their life and a home is generally the largest expenditure an average person makes in their lifetime.

If a custom design is your goal, my suggestion is to think through the design as much as you reasonably can so that you are happy with it when you are living in it. Making changes during the design phase are a lot easier than moving walls after it is built.

Location, style and size are obvious factors which can influence the cost of building a home, but most homeowners overlook another important factor - how much you can do yourself ?


Doing it yourself

Many states allow the homeowner to also be the builder or general contractor. Check with your local building authorities (if there are any) in your area for details. You may be required to take a test - which you can prepare for.

Learning about construction can seem like an overwhelming task, it certainly did for me as I began to learn about all the various methods and techniques involved, but taken in bite-sized bits, it really isn't that bad.

To your benefit, there is an enormous amount of information you can access on the internet, through printed material and video tapes and most people involved in construction love to talk about it, so, ask questions.

No experience in construction ? There are a number of ways to learn about home building without going through a complete career change. Volunteer groups such as Habitat For Humanity recruit unskilled labor for construction projects which are generally overseen by construction professionals. You learn by doing and by helping others. This is often a good way to 'network'. Also, colleges and technical schools may offer building classes (some classes may be offered in the evenings) and there is a ton of stuff in print and on video for techniques like Straw bale construction - check with your local library or video store.

Some styles of construction lend themselves to organized 'building parties' wherein you work on someone else's project and acquire useful skills, building tips as well as new friends. Often the owner will provide meals and housing (or at least tent space) if you must travel to the project. This is an excellent way to meet people who have similar interests.


OK, so you've decided that you are going to build your own home or at least participate in some of the construction, so, what's next ? You are going to have to make some decisions like where to build, what to build and how much house you need and can afford.


Where

Ask any realtor what the three most important factors are in real estate and they will almost certainly reply: "Location, location, location." Almost without exception, the closer land is to a city, the more expensive that land is. Many people like the convenience of living close to a city and they are willing to pay for it through higher land prices. Undeveloped land just outside of those cities may sell for a fraction of the price. Your lifestyle may dictate where you build, but it helps to shop around. One factor to keep in mind here if you are considering building a solar heated house is that you are going to need unrestricted access to the Sun, especially in Winter when it is lowest in the sky.


What

The type of home you build may be influenced by where you build it. Not all styles of construction are allowed in all areas and this is especially true in larger cities. Again, check with your local building officials and building code authorities - or ask local contractors or real estate agents who may know what is acceptable.

Some areas require that homes conform to certain standards in terms of looks and placement and most homes are required by national energy codes these days to perform to a minimum standard.

If there is any doubt about what you can or can not build, this is the time to find out, not after the building inspector leaves you with your jaw on the ground or while you are holding off the local home - owners association lynch mob.

Not all materials may be available in your area and finding someone who knows how to work with certain materials may be an issue if you are contracting the construction. If you are going to do it yourself, ask yourself which material(s) you feel comfortable working with. Pouring a large concrete slab may be better left to professionals, but you may feel comfortable putting up the walls and roof and doing the finish work at your own pace.

Shipping straw bales long distances may be more cost effective than shipping heavier adobe bricks. In a similar way, not all designs work well in all areas. For instance, I would not recommend a flat roof design for an area with heavy snowfall, but a thoughtful design can save money nearly anywhere.


How Much

While I like larger homes myself, there is certainly something to be said for space efficiency. Most people understand this better after speaking with a mortgage loan officer.

Only you know how large a home you want. However, if you are going to pay for the construction with a mortgage, your lending institution will likely set a limit on how much you can borrow. In this case you may want to consult with them first to see what that limit is. Not all lending institutions give owner/builder loans, so again, shop around.

Contractors can often give 'ballpark' figures for construction based on the type of construction and square footage without even seeing a plan. If you are building it yourself, you can expect to save a significant fraction of that cost.

You should realistically consider just how large a home you really need and how large and complex a project you feel comfortable taking on. One tip in this sense is to consider doing a smaller project first (Shop/Garage) to boost your confidence and gain experience before biting the bullet, so to speak, on a much larger project.


Ideas

So, you're thinking about where, what and how much and you want to start planning the project, but you need some ideas. A good source for ideas are model homes - those which are built, for sale and occasionally open to the public. Realtors live to show homes, but beware that their job is to sell these homes. Another source are house plan magazines available in stores or through your public library. Or, if you are looking for something specialized, the internet may be a better choice. Just do a search using terms like home plans or floor plans.


Basic Layout

One of the best ways to go about the actual layout process is to think about the use of each individual room. What are you going to do in that room, what do you plan to put in it and when you would likely be there ? I tend to put bedrooms on the North side since when you are in them you are usually asleep and under the covers.

Relative placement of room will vary with personal choice, but some rooms like kitchen/dining and bedroom/bath have relationships in terms of accessibility. Rooms on the South side tend to be brighter and warmer than those on the North. Some rooms produce heat (kitchen/utility) and should not be placed where they are likely to overheat. Most cooks object to spending time in over-heated kitchens and most people don't like cold bathrooms. Air-conditioning and mechanical heating can be used to assist a less efficient design, but you pay for it, literally.

For reasons of egress in times of emergency, bedrooms should have access directly outside (a window or a door), building codes in most places insist on this. Building codes, where applicable, may also dictate that you have things like hard-wired smoke detectors in bedrooms, halls and kitchens. Building codes (state/local) vary widely, so it's good to know early on what affects you.

You can design each room separately and arrange them various orders until you see a layout you like. Use grid paper to establish a scale for the rooms. Playing 'paper-dolls" with sheets representing individual rooms is encouraged. Try making more than one floor plan layout. Eventually you will find a general layout which suits you or at least comes closer than another. Make notes about the general look of the house and/or specific ideas about the rooms. If you already have a building site, consider the views – good and bad. Careful window placement and landscaping can allow the best views and mask less desirable ones.

Keep the roof design in mind and keep it simple if you can.
Complicated roofs cost more to build and are more likely to leak.
If your going to do rain water catchment you need a metal roof... which means a sloped roof with a minimum 3/12 pitch.

Once you have some idea of what your floor plan should look like, make some sketches of the elevations (outside wall views). There are a few basic rules for good solar performance, so it helps to talk to someone knowledgeable before you get too far along.

Let me offer what might be the most important advice I can give here: DON'T RUSH IT. You may know exactly what you want and your beginning sketch could become the finished plan (I have never actually seen this), but far more often your sketch will evolve through sequential changes into the finished (and better) plan. Give it enough time to evolve and you will be much happier with the results.

I hope I haven't gotten too carried away here, but I wanted to give you some factors to consider. It will seem like a lot to think about, but the savings on time, labor and material later will be well worth time spent now.


Solar Design

Basically all of your solar gain comes from the South side of the house. East and West walls get some solar gain, but each side is in the shade for half the day, so the gain roughly equals the loss on those sides. The North side is usually colder since is doesn't see the Sun, unless you have something like a clerestory roof which will allow direct gain (the sun shining in) on that side. Here is an example of a clerestory roof: http://www.lxrdesign.biz/Clerstry.jpg

If the East/West axis is longer than the North/South axis, there will be more of the house in the Sun and, therefore, it will receive more solar gain. Unless you want to live in a long hall, there is a practical limit to how long a house can be and how wide the rooms inside can be. A good rule of thumb is to make the house about 1/3 longer East to West. Overhangs can usually be used to block the sun in the Summer and prevent overheating.

Construction materials play a big part in how a home performs in a solar sense. Denser materials (adobe/pumice/masonry) can act as heat sinks to store heat and release it later. Straw bales are excellent insulators, but they lack sufficient mass for good thermal storage. Too much glass and not enough mass leads to a greenhouse effect where temperatures can get uncomfortably warm during the afternoon and uncomfortably cold by morning.

To eliminate wasted time and material, think about the unit size of the materials you are going to build with. Standard Adobe bricks are 10"x14"x4", Straw bales vary some, but they are nominally 36" long, carpeting tends to come in 12' widths, dimensional lumber is sold in 2' increments.... and so on. Pumice doesn't care how long the form is, but you may if you have lift the pumice mix into forms yourself.

Access to the Sun is crucial for efficient solar performance.
If your neighbor's trees eventually block your solar access the largest windows aren't going to help you much. I can help you with the windows sizes and placements, so you don’t have to worry about their exact sizes.


What can LX&R Design do for you ?

Once you have some idea of what your floor plan should look like and you have made a sketch of what you like, send a copy to me. Your sketches don't have to be perfect, I'm just trying to get a basic idea of the look. Try to include some kind of scale or rough dimensions if you can.

I don't expect blueprints, but to begin your design I need to gain some understanding of what you would like your home to look like.

E-mail is preferred (have your drawing scanned to a JPG or GIF image if you can), but hard copies sent via snail-mail are OK too.

I will probably offer some suggestions on how to improve it, especially in a solar sense. At that point, you may choose to work on it a bit more yourself or I can do some variations based on your ideas for a small fee.


Fees & Drawings

I charge a modest hourly fee for preliminary (Floor plan) design work. Once we (notice I said "we") feel comfortable with the floor plan, I can begin to produce a set of construction drawings which are priced according to the square footage and complexity of the design. A down payment gets the construction set going with additional payments due as the plans progress.

A construction set usually contains: Site Plan, Floor Plan, Foundation, Exterior Elevations, Building Sections, Construction Details (walls and foundation), Roof Framing & Roof Slope (drainage), Construction Notes and Door & Window Schedules. Additional drawings may be included as required.

Finished plans can be supplied by E-mail or on a jump drive or hard copies (prints) can be supplied. Note that a small fee is added for prints to cover reproduction and shipping.

I may need some information from you on issues like local building codes, site terrain (photos of the building site are useful), weather patterns and such. If I do the research, I charge for my time. Also, if you want a complete Site Plan (usually required for permitting), I will need a current survey of your land.

Finally, though I do not generally get involved in the actual construction, I will want to see your new home get built just as much as you and I will do everything I reasonably can to help you get it built -like answering questions and helping you find suppliers.

There is nothing quite as rewarding as participating in the design and construction of your own home - but showing it off to your friends comes pretty close !

R. F. Alexander
LX&R Design