Plan Dream Home Before You Hire an Architect

You want to build your own house. You’ve bought some land and you have an idea of what you’d like. Are you ready to hire an architect? Yes--sort of.

But there are a number of things you can do first to give your project a head start.

First, if you don’t already have a survey of your site, have a civil engineer draw one up--you’ll need it in any case. The survey generally should include not only the property’s legal description, but also the presence or absence of such utilities as gas, water, electricity and sewage. It should also show any rights-of-way, reserves or utility easements that might prevent you from building on certain parts of your property.

If your site has a slope, the survey should include contour lines--curving lines that indicate the lay of the terrain. Even properties that look dead flat to the naked eye usually have enough slope to cause construction headaches, so trust your surveyor’s judgment on this one.

Second, draw up a wish list--in architect-speak, a “program”--that spells out in as much detail as possible what sort of features you want your house to have. List the rooms you’ll (ideally) require, along with their relative sizes. Dimensions aren’t necessary--descriptions such as “the family room should be really big, but the living room can be small,” will usually suffice.

Then go into more detail about the attributes you would like each room to have, starting with the solar orientation. Think about what time you’ll use the room and how much sun you’ll want. The architect can take it from there.

Also add requirements such as storage, soundproofing, durability (for a child’s room, for example) and any special accommodations for computers, shop tools or other equipment.

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One caveat regarding your program: Because so many new tract homes are laden with showy sales gimmicks such as triple garages and cavernous master bathrooms, many people seem to feel obliged to have these amenities in their own homes. Don’t. If such features truly suit your lifestyle, then by all means include them; otherwise, put your budget dollars in a place where you’re more likely to use it.

You may also have some fairly well-developed ideas as to the style of home you’re after, but leave your architect plenty of room to make suggestions. Too often, people settle on whatever style happens to be in fashion, without considering other options first.

Lastly, come up with a firm, realistic budget, and then do your utmost to stick to it. In the last few years especially, building costs have skyrocketed almost beyond belief, but many people haven’t adjusted their expectations accordingly.

I still have clients come to me with budgets based on a cost of $100 per square foot; $250 is more realistic for new homes, and remodels are even higher. As unpleasant as it is to hear this news at the outset of a project, it still beats finding yourself penniless in the midst of building your dream house.

Do yourself a favor and come up with a cleareyed budget figure. Any architect worth his or her salt will be willing to work around your numbers; if not, look elsewhere.

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Arrol Gellner is an architect with 23 years’ experience in residential and commercial architecture. Distributed by Inman News Features.