Building a small house is a dream for many people. The reason for small home may differ but in all the cases it is always a better option to have a smaller home.
Reasons for smaller homes

• People may like to build a home without a large mortgage and smaller homes are extremely cost effective.

• They may have fewer family members and a bigger home would be useless.

• Many people have awareness for nature and environment. By building smaller homes they contribute their bit in conserving nature as smaller homes are energy efficient.

• A smaller home gives a cozy feeling and the inhabitants can have better interaction and communication.

• Small independent homes give more privacy and sense of pride than an apartment as these homes may be small but the owner can design it in his own manner and liking.

• The maintenance cost is very low for the small homes.

Home construction is a serious business. It is one of the largest investments a person does in his lifetime. The designing of the house remains the single most important job before the construction of a dream house begins.

The designing of the house begins with drawing and sketches. The designer sketches the dream design which may be his own or his client’s who wants to construct a house. The sketches are the first impression of the future house. Once the draft sketches and drawings are made according to the requirement, many changes are carried out before the actual construction.

Unless the drawings and sketches are made, it would be very hard for the builder as well the house owner to communicate each others’ needs. The drawings and sketches once made can let the house owner visualize what he will get as a final product.

The drawing and sketches of the floor plan is the most important part and it should be designed very carefully because once floor construction take place, it will be next to impossible to change it.

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If you are planning to design your own home soon, then you must heed the following five rules to avoid future disappointment.

Do a thorough research before designing your home. Find out the designs that are prevalent in the area where you are constructing the home. If you are planning to build at a site where it is very cold,

Mediterranean style may not suit. Similarly if your home is going to be in an extremely moist region, then slanting roof would be better than flat roof.

Start the designing from inside out i.e. first design the interiors according to the need and then come to the exteriors.

Use the same manufacturer for doors and windows as in your neighborhood as it may serve some important purpose.

Check if the other houses have security alarms installed or not. Find from the police department locally if it is required or not.

Design your home slowly by contemplating all that you need in your home. Once the construction begins, it will be very hard to change the design.

Cottage house for modern living is an apt solution to the problem of dwelling and cost. Most of the people prefer to live in big houses forgetting that the cottages are better option for the recession hit society.

The cottage house is a simply constructed house with attractive design and a white fence with creepers on it. These houses are pretty small with average size of plot being 800 square feet. The advantage of cottage houses:

The construction and maintenance costs are very low with less property tax to be paid.

These houses heat up easily and remain cozy thus the utility bills are also less.

The cleaning of the cottages is easy which cut down the time spent on cleaning. This extra time can be spent with your loved ones.

Though some people may have a cramped feeling due to the smaller size, yet they also start loving their cottage after the initial hitch. Cottages are constructed as per the taste of the house owners therefore they have a distinct personal touch to them.

The Mediterranean home plans offer a classical aura of the bygone days. Today as more and more people prefer apartments and flats, the builders are trying to give Mediterranean home plans to the people who can afford them.

The Mediterranean home plans are mainly one storey houses with slanting roof. The slope of the roof make wide overhang to protect from summer heat. These home plans are better suited for warmer climate with more rainfall. The Mediterranean homes have tiled roof with stucco exterior. There are big windows all around the house which allow breeze to flow continuously. There are verandas on the upper floor which are used for sitting purposes. The rooms are big and airy with a lot of sunshine entering into them. There are open arches which give the houses a neo-classical look.

The modern Mediterranean home plans use the clever mixture of modernity and tradition to offer the best planned and designed homes. The Mediterranean home plans in the colder regions would require an extra layer of insulation.

The traditional home construction has been going on since the first man settled in a house. There has been drastic change in the construction business and modular home construction has taken over the traditional home construction.

The modular homes are comparatively cheaper than the traditional homes. The reason being the modular homes are manufactured in the factory where they purchase all the items in bulk.

The modular houses are pre-fabricated in different colors, shapes and sizes. This gives the house owner an option to choose what he likes.

The modular houses are more stable and safe as there is more amount of lumber used in them. The screws and glue used are also of quite high quality.

The modular houses are built without the adverse effect of weather and other external adversities.

These houses can be constructed earlier than the traditional homes.

The traditional homes are constructed absolutely according to the house owner’s choice but the homeowner has to choose from the modular construction material. This sometimes may not be absolutely to his liking.

There are home construction grants that are awarded by different state authorities to encourage construction of homes which have specific benefits. Most of the states give home construction grants to the builders according to their efforts for better homes.

One of the construction grants is given for constructing veterans’ homes. Whenever a builder constructs a home for old people, they are given construction grants so that the builder doesn’t spend too much from his pocket as most of the veteran homes are sold on very less margin of profit. Secondly, this will help the builder to get recognition and repute.

The second type of home construction grants are given to the builders who construct green homes. The grant of $10,000 is given when the construction is more than 15% energy efficient than the existing green homes. There is a regular check on the construction procedure so that the green homes are effective. Moreover, many facilities are given to the builder for easy access to environment friendly materials to be used in construction.

The construction defects in your home can cause you a lot of money in repair. The repairing cost increases if the construction defects are not identified and rectified at the earliest.
The construction defects are mainly seen in three areas:

Building defects: the building defects are the most serious ones and they not only suck money but also can become health hazards. The defects can be rotting of the roof fascia, cracks developed on the roof and walls, fractures in the walls, wall crack that are narrower at the top, deflection of the beam and seepage at the window sills.

External finishing defects: these are seen mainly on the internal and external walls as surface crazing, spalling, blistering, peeling and wrinkling of the paints. These occur due to moisture in the wall and the painting done on unprepared surfaces.

Defects of the fixtures: the external and internal fixtures may be defective which can cause accidents and unnecessary troubles. The fixtures need to be checked regularly and repaired whenever there is even a minor problem.

Green home construction is a relatively new term in the home construction scenario where the homes are constructed to protect the environment. The green home construction follows LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications.

The green home construction depends on the following:

Using construction materials for building that are environment friendly. This causes least harm to the trees and the nature.

Site is selected near the existing consumer facilities like school; market etc so that less energy and fuel are consumed in transportation.

The buildings are constructed to get more sunlight and fresh air so as to conserve the electricity that otherwise would be needed for lightening and air-conditioning.

The water is conserved by using rain water harvesting and having smaller lawns.

Recyclable and recycled materials for building construction are used.

The houses are well insulated to prevent the energy loss.

Solar panels are used for heating and providing lighting solutions.

Soy based building materials for insulation can be used to make the homes more environment-friendly.

Now-a-days houses are built in haste. Earlier the builder used to construct the building or house slowly and it used to be more strong and problem free. But, today the construction defects leading to home repairs have increased by leaps and bounds. Some of the construction defects are:

The cheap and unskilled labors make many mistakes while constructing and then they just cover it up. This leads to home repairs later on, creating financial burden on the home owner. Some of the most common defects occur in the sewage line and the water pipeline.

The sand that is used in concrete can create construction defects. Many builders use sand or water which has salt content in them. This leads to an eternal problem of seepage in the concrete walls.

The third construction defect is in the fixtures. Many unscrupulous builders use low quality plumbing and electric fixtures which lead to home repairs later. These low quality fixtures can also cause mishaps.
Thus, it is important to check the builder’s credentials before the construction of the home.