Deciding to Build

When you begin your design, you will need a preliminary estimate to make sure that the scale and nature of your project conforms to the money and time available to you.

Money:

Sometimes people hesitate to specify how much money they can really spend. Make a real money budget, and refer to it often. We need to know the limits of the budget. It encourages everyone on the project to refine all these ideas into an integrated, tight, complete design; which is a better design.

Design Goals:

Your design goals include ideas about the size of the house, its look or style, and special ideas about space use; how you want to use the house. A few of these goals for the house should be: well built; low maintenance; well sited; sustainability.

Building Style:

Certain styles such as modern house with or without traditional or colonial features.

Size:

Ideas about the size of house you want, and about the type of rooms needed.