For many people, a country house is something like a cherished dream - the prospect of taking a break from the bustle of the city in a cozy corner seems quite rosy. Moreover, you want not only to purchase a ready-made building with a landscaped garden plot, but to create the estate of your dreams, in which all your wishes regarding design and layout will be correctly embodied. There is only one thing left to do - transfer your ideas to paper, and only then, having drawn up a house project and determined its location on the site, bring it to life (engage in the actual construction of the house). If regarding the second point, by definition, there can be no doubt about the need for third-party help - even if you are a professional builder, you will not be able to build the right mansion yourself, but the costs of hiring an architect can be eliminated. How can design and construction be made cheaper? Yes, it’s very simple - it’s quite possible to do the work yourself, even without any special skills in creating a private house project. Designing a house (drawing it on paper schematically) is actually not that difficult!
What should you consider when designing your own home yourself?
The most important thing is that the house construction project you develop is created based on the following principles:
- Multiple functionality - that is, the house built according to this project will be convenient and practical in all respects. A do-it-yourself house design should be no worse than an architect’s;
- Simplicity of design - it will not be difficult to design a house only if it does not involve any frills. The creation of some particularly complex project, the implementation of which will require a huge amount of creative delights, is highly discouraged for a person who does not have a special education, because some fundamentally important things may not be taken into account;
- Aesthetics - of course, a country house should look beautiful and please the eyes of its owners. The design of a reliable house should also be spectacular!
Remember - if the project is created taking into account these principles, then it will be very good in life. Again, we are talking about a rather primitive independent structure - an amateur would not design a premium-class cottage. Only an architect should be involved in designing houses of this level - beginners here very often make mistakes.
Geological exploration of the house site
Where does “do-it-yourself home project work” begin? First of all, when working on a house project yourself, it is necessary to conduct a geological exploration of the site - assess the nature of the terrain, soil and find out the groundwater level. The best time of year for this is spring, then their level is as high as possible and it is possible to determine this indicator with maximum reliability. It is very important to do this based on the fact that this indicator is of greatest importance when laying the foundation of a private house.
To determine the depth of groundwater, we recommend contacting a specialist
Internal filling
As for the interior and architectural appearance of a house based on an individual project, here you will be given a huge range of options to choose from, adjusted for individuality. The chalet can be made with a minimum of brutal elements, and the loft can be “diluted” with splashes of classical style. Imagine - this is what makes an individual house project so attractive. It allows you to calculate everything in such a way that in the future there is no need to hastily remodel, change the facade or move openings and doors.
And of course, one cannot but rejoice at the thought that in a couple of years a copy of your mansion will not appear on the neighboring plot.
Start designing a house
For a clear example, our editors used the free demo version of the Visicon program. But all the steps can be performed on a regular sheet of paper. For example, a simple project of a two-story house 10 m x 10 m was chosen
To design houses, you will need to “arm yourself” with an ordinary checkered notebook sheet and a pencil, while setting the appropriate scale. The most rational thing to do in this situation would be to do the following: ten meters of land should be designated by two squares. Thus, one centimeter on a ruler will equal 1 meter in real life - the ratio is one to one hundred.
Step 1: draw the outline of the house on a notebook sheet using a ruler and pencil on a scale of 1:100, i.e. 1 cm on paper is equal to 1 meter
Drawing on paper the outline of the site itself, as well as future buildings. In this case, all work must be carried out in strict accordance with the correct scale - by carefully measuring every meter on the ground and putting it on paper in accordance with dimensions one to a thousand, you ensure the reliability and aesthetics of the building being constructed. You can draw a project this way very quickly. It is imperative to take into account not only the contours of the site allocated for design and construction, but also all the objects located on the site that were there even before its planned construction, and at the same time there is no possibility of moving them. After this, it will be possible to begin designing the building itself - to simplify the task, we will assume that the designed house will consist of four rooms, a kitchen and two bathrooms (standard housing for a family of several people).
First floor project
We draw the vestibule and the hallway on the sketch - and from there there will be transitions to the kitchen and other rooms. The location of the premises must take into account the following points:
- The bathroom and kitchen should be placed in close proximity to each other - thanks to this location it will be much easier to carry out communications;
- It’s very good if the drawn up project implies the absence of passage rooms - this is an integral element of comfort;
- On the ground floor, it is necessary to take into account the presence of all auxiliary structures and premises - their location will be very important not only to ensure the functional suitability of the house, but also for the comfortable movement of residents.
Step 2: draw all the rooms and premises of the first floor with the required size
After this, we arrange and plan all the doors of our house
Step 3: designing doors on the first floor
Then windows, taking into account the desired lighting of the rooms and your budget
Step 4: designing windows on the first floor
As a result, we get this first floor:
This is how the 3D model of the first floor turned out
Drawing the second floor
Here everything will be much easier - after all, the rooms in the house can be located identically (the most important thing is not to change the relative position of the bathrooms - in order not to complicate communications). It will be enough to design the location of the front door (many architects recommend making two entrances to the second floor - at home and from the street) and windows.
Step 5: We plan the premises of the second floor in the same way. Don’t forget about communications - we place the bathrooms and bathrooms one below the other
Step 6: Place the Doors
Step 7: draw the second floor windows
We received this 3D model of the second floor
Attic and roof design
We decided to create a house project ourselves - there would be no need to try to draw some kind of too “abstruse” roof with a lot of bends. Remember - the roof is one of the most important structural components in the house, and trying to create additional aesthetics by questioning its reliability is certainly not worth it. All this will lead to leaks occurring at the bends. If you are drawing a project, please adhere to the principles of minimalism in architecture.
To design such a roof, you cannot do without an architect.
Dependency of designing a house with insulation
There is one very important rule - all auxiliary premises must be built on the north side. Despite the fact that thermal insulation performed using building materials is of paramount importance, the relative position of the rooms should also not be overlooked - if only because of the savings in energy consumption for heating the house.
Individuality as an absolute
By developing an individual home project, you can “tailor” the living space to your needs and lifestyle to the maximum, making your stay in your own home truly comfortable. Therefore, at the initial stage, specialists take a very detailed “interview” with the owner of the future building.
Every corner of the future building, from the attic to the basement in an individual house project, can be “populated” with its own specific content. After all, absolutely anything is possible in your own home, isn’t it? Do you want a gym? Please! If you like billiards, order it and they will arrange a place for it. A library or a mini-cinema, a Finnish sauna or a Russian bath, a greenhouse or a winter garden - whatever you want. Moreover, the rooms from the standard set may not be completely standard: a living room with panoramic glazing, bedrooms and children’s rooms with access to the south side, a kitchen that turns into a banquet hall, a dressing room combined with a women’s “boudoir”, and a full-fledged swimming pool may be attached to the bathhouse. Or maybe you will have a wine cellar or an underground tunnel, like in ancient castles?
Approval of the project to begin construction
The need to adjust the project. Even if you yourself were able to depict the house of your dreams on paper, you will still need to consult with specialists before starting construction of the house - the opinion of a competent foreman or architect will not be superfluous. At a minimum, the following points will need to be agreed upon:
- Carrying out electrical work;
- Conducting your own sewerage system;
- Carrying out water supply;
It is necessary to understand that all the above issues are not an artistic or architectural part of the project. These are all the most routine issues, a competent approach to solving which is provided only by professionals in their field. As a last resort, any oversight in independently drawing up a house project, which was made by a person who does not have a specialized education, can be corrected by a competent foreman who understands the practical side of any idea much better. Although even if the project is drawn up by professional architects, purely practical shortcomings cannot be ruled out.
Independent work on a house project and its advantages
You can create the design of your house yourself - in order to develop drawings of the relative position of certain rooms, as well as determine the place of the house on the site, you do not need special knowledge. A competent and responsible approach to business will ensure the success of your event. However, in terms of communications, it will be necessary to consult with professionals. This way you can properly plan a house that will serve you faithfully.
Read about the following stages of construction:
Types of foundations used in construction
Which is better to choose a foundation for the soil and type of house
Water supply for a private home
Watch also the video on how to make a house project yourself
Read about the previous stages of construction:
Layout of land for building a house
What do you need to know when planning to build an individual residential building (individual housing construction project)?
The construction of an individual residential building begins with the selection, inspection and acquisition of a suitable land plot.
It must be remembered that the type of permitted use of the land plot on which the construction of an individual housing construction project is planned must be one of the following:
- for individual housing construction;
- for running personal subsidiary plots (land in populated areas);
- for gardening.
If the type of permitted use of your land plot does not allow the construction of an individual residential building on it, you can go through the procedure of changing the type of permitted use.
You can find out the type of permitted use of a land plot by ordering an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate (USRN) or, if you prefer to rely on the expert opinion of professionals, the “PASSPORT OF THE OBJECT” on our website.
If you are planning to build on a leased plot of land, make sure that your lease agreement includes the right of development.
When deciding to start construction, remember the main criteria for an individual residential building:
- a separate building, does not imply division into independent real estate;
- number of above-ground floors - no more than 3;
- height - no more than 20 m;
- includes premises for housing, food and hygiene procedures, but cannot include various workshops, warehouses, production and other areas;
From August 2022, a permit for construction and commissioning of an individual housing construction project is no longer required - now you need to notify the municipal administration.
