What to know before constructing your dream home
Hiring the right people, communicating clearly what you want, or even using a design app can help avoid costly mistakes
There is no such thing as overplanning when it comes to your dream home. Planning entails more than just choosing the paint for the walls or the tiles for the floor. For most of us, it starts with talks with the architect and engineer.
For our family’s first construction project, we only hired an engineer to draw up the plans for the house. We also got a good foreman who was able to execute the design well. We didn’t have any problems with the electrical wires or plumbing for several years.
However, since the person we hired to draw up the plan was not an architect, we quickly realized that he didn’t pay attention to the windows. Some rooms had little natural light and air didn’t flow inside. An architect with years of experience won’t make those mistakes.
Right questions
The most inexperienced architect will ask what you want to see in your home, but still make it comfortable for the homeowners. At the initial meetings, he might ask how many bedrooms and restrooms you want, and if there are extra features preferred. Do you want a space for your plants on the terrace, a separate playroom or study room for your children, or an entire room for your shoes and bags?
Sometimes, even if you have an idea of what you want in your home, you may end up not expressing what you want clearly.
A simple miscommunication can end up becoming a costly mistake. You’ll end up paying for the additional workdays of the workers and the cost of the right materials.
Printing the inspiration
images for the design that you want will give your architect and foreman a clearer idea. Drawing the floor plans on paper will also help them. You don’t need to do anything fancy. Simple squares that are
properly labeled will help an architect understand what you have in mind.
You can also use an app to help you with your home design. There are many apps out there for hobbyists who find
it relaxing to design homes in their free time. But if you only need it for just one project, apps such as Planner 5D: Design Your Home might be enough for you.
The app is very easy to use
and navigate. There are two options in creating the design. You can see the measurements of every item you add in each room through the 2D option. So are the shapes of the rooms, windows and doors, and the type of furniture you want to add in your space.
Design app
For the free version, you can only use a prechosen item for each detail. All the other options are locked for premium subscribers. But if your goal is to really just make sense of the space that you have, what is available for free use will suffice.
Users can switch from 2D to 3D to allow you a virtual walkthrough of the space. This is its best part. One common mistake homeowners make is thinking trendy things they see online will automatically work for their space. They fail to realize that some furniture that look good in hotels or on Pinterest will look out of place or too bulky for their own homes.
The 3D option will show the bird’s-eye view and eye-level view of the rooms that you are working on. It allows you to feel the flow of the room before the concrete is poured.
The app has ready-made designs for users to play around with, to familiarize themselves with the interface. You can also check out the designs of hobbyists or other designers in the gallery; you can upload your own, too. Other users can’t comment on your work, so you don’t have to worry about critics, but they can send apps.
All the designs that users create can be shared via different apps including email, which in turn allows them to print it. An annual subscription costs P990, monthly is P312.
At the end of the day, it’s still cheapest to work with a licensed architect and interior designer. They will save you from mistakes that the local government might flag as hazards. Or you might end up paying for penalties, which could be more than what a licensed expert would charge you for.