Also called blueprints, house plans are sets of construction or working drawings that define all the construction specifications of a house including layouts, dimensions, materials, installation methods and techniques.
House plans are mandatory for every home construction project as they help to ensure your specifications match the vision of your builder.
The plans enable you and your builder to create an estimate of the material costs and to plan for unanticipated building costs. If you think the additional budget is not feasible you can ask your builder to modify the plan to suit your budget budget.
Most house projects remain uncompleted due to the financial hardships encountered by the owners. It is therefore recommended to allow your contractor to create your house plan. This way, the contractor will be able to estimate the possible costs of the projects and match them with your actual budget.
A house plan will also ensure that a project complies with the building codes of the areas where construction takes place. The building code is meant to protect the occupants of the house as well as the nearby houses from harm in case of calamities.
Every area has a particular provision for construction projects to ensure that buildings are constructed only following a certain standard set by the Authority.
The principal information provided in a set of house designs are as follows:
1.) Floor plan – This is an overhead view of the completed house. Floor plans have parallel lines that scale at whatever width the walls are required to be. They also indicate rooms, all the doors and windows as well as any built-in elements such as water and plumbing fixtures. They include notes to specify construction methods, finishes, etc.
2.) Site plan – This is an overhead view of the construction site and the home in reference to the boundaries of the land. A site plan should outline location of driveways and walkways, utility services and topographical data that specifies the slope of the terrain.
3.) Elevations – These are non-perspective view of the house. They specify exterior finishes, roof pitches, ridge heights, the positioning of the final fall of the lot and other details necessary to give the house its exterior architectural styling. Elevations are drawn to scale so that measurements can be taken for any aspect necessary.
4.) Sections – A section cuts through the house and the location of this ‘cut through’ is noted on the floor plan. Sections describe (in detail) how the house will be built and they also discuss how the internal finishes will look like.
