When to Call an Architect or Drafting Service to Help Design Your Home

If you're in the market for a new home, you can typically work with a builder who may offer a few limited designs, and which you might be able to personalize in a few small ways. However, working with an architect or drafting service means being able to completely design your home from the ground up. There are some advantages to this, as opposed to just working with a builder's designs; note when it's good to call an architect or drafting service to create specs or drawings of your new home.

Your plans may change the structure of the home

A builder usually allows you to personalize a home's plans in such a way that it doesn't change the structure of the home; this means not removing a wall or enlarging windows, as these may then require more load-bearing walls in other areas of the home, or might mean that the home's roof is not properly supported. However, an architect can design a space for you that allows you to have whatever plans or space you want, while offering options that keep the home properly supported. This might include the use of timber beams for the roof rather than standard joists, or a lightweight material for window frames that don't need added support.

You want an eco-friendly home

Many builders will include energy-efficient appliances and double-glazed windows in their plans, in order to cut down on your use of energy in a house. However, if you want a truly eco-friendly home, you might need to work with an architect or drafting service that specializes in this option; they may have suggestions that your builder isn't even aware of, but that can reduce your consumption of energy and natural resources. This can include a rainwater collection system that connects to underground pipes in the yard, to water the lawn with collected rainwater rather than fresh water. It might mean a grey water system, that reuses water from the sink and shower in the toilet tanks. It's often easier to have these included in the home's original design rather than trying to retrofit them once the home is constructed.

An architect can also note where recycled timber or other such materials can be used without compromising the structural integrity of the home, such as for studs in interior walls that are not load-bearing. Overall, this can mean less use of natural resources and energy for the home's construction as well as for when you move into your new home. For more information, talk to a residential drafting service like Stylewise Designs.


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