Understanding and reading the blue prints of your new home

Understanding and reading the blue prints of your new home

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If you are in the process of constructing your home, it is likely that you will come across its blueprints at one time or another. In simple terms, blueprints are architectural drawings that show the design as well as size of buildings that are planning to be built. They are usually two dimensional and include the placement of features in the building and construction materials that will be used. There are three types of blueprints, namely section, plan and elevation which show a view of the proposed house in a cut-through, horizontal and vertical display respectively. However, for a non-professional reading these blue prints, understanding them may be challenging resulting in the need for proper interpretation.

Reading blue prints with understanding is an essential skill for soon to be homeowner as it makes it possible for them to make decisions from an informed standpoint in regard to the construction of their home. Some of the important basics that you need to learn to have a better comprehension of the drawing plans for your new home include:

• Begin with elevations

Elevations are basically drawings that will give you an overall view of the house’s exterior so that you can have an idea of how the house will appear when it is finished. These drawings are usually four in number and display the house from its front, rear as well as two sides. When looking at the flat view, that is common in elevation drawings, certain details are visible such as materials to be used in building the exterior and the height of the building. These details on the blueprint allow you to have a better idea of the final look of your home while giving you a chance to give suggestions for any improvements or changes.

• Look through floor plans

Majority of house blueprints provide a floor plan for every level such as the attic, basement and any other floors to be built in the home. In most cases, the floor plan view is designed in such a way it seems that the drawings are being viewed from the top. It is possible to see the room sizes, plumbing fixtures, walls, appliances and in some cases the furniture to be placed in the home. The blueprint of the floor plans gives you a chance to better understand the interior fixtures in the home, floor by floor, allowing you to make any necessary changes.

• Understand blue print symbols

When looking at blueprints, you will notice that there are a number of symbols displayed on them. These symbols are very important as they make it easier to identify drawing plans much better and also find it easier to understand various construction documents associated with your new home.  Nevertheless, these symbols are quite a number and may take you sometime to get them all at your fingertips. Fortunately, there are a number of online glossaries that you can refer to when reading blueprints to understand them better especially when interacting with other professionals at the construction site.

Article has been brought you by the leaders in building and construction, Uk, Bromley based company Obcbuilding. OBC was established in 1979 and operated by building guru Richard Patience.  He has been in charge of this family owned business since 2008.

Hiring the right Residential General Contractor isn't easy!

Hiring the right Residential General Contractor isn't easy!

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You are ready to hire a residential general contractor! You have looked at property, dickered on the price, got an estimate on the cost of getting the property in shape for a new home and you are the proud owner of a building lot. At this point you probably already have several copies of your building plan. If you don’t, you need to get them right away. You are now ready to begin construction on the nicest new home on the block. I am not sure what kind of a lot you bought. Is it a swamp? Is it all rock? Is it one of those side hill lots? Maybe it is the nicest and flattest lot, covered in maple trees that you have ever seen. It really doesn’t matter what it is, because we can make it work. Keep this attitude all the way through the construction period and you will do just fine.

You need three quotes from a residential general contractor. Bring in three contractors at different times and show them a copy of your building plan. They will probably want to keep the plan until they do up a quote for you. You want one contractor to do the whole job. The contractor will quote on all the excavating work, septic system, well, and of course the construction of the new home. Once all of these projects are completed you can hire a landscaper to finish or have the same contractor include the landscaping in his quote. Some residential general contractors may not want to be involved in the landscaping project. If this is the case get three more quotes for the landscaping.

When you are showing each contractor your plan and your lot, take notes of your conversation. Each contractor will have something different to add to the conversation. These notes will come in handy when it comes time to choose the right contractor. Pay close attention to what he says. Ask him questions with regards to the lot. Does the contractor sound professional? Does he look professional? When you decide on a residential general contractor, you must ask for recent referrals from previous customers. A confident contractor will give you the addresses of some of the homes he has built. When you buy a car do you take it for a test drive? A house is 10 times more important so make a point to look at the new homes he has built. In fact, make a point to talk to the home owners and get their opinions about the contractor.

Make sure the residential general contractor you hire has insurance before he starts construction. The risk of something going wrong is not worth it. You could lose your shirt should something happen. Ask your contractor about his warranties. What are the procedures if you have problems with the new home? Time can be an issue with some contractors and they may not be able to start when you want them to. Worse still, they may not start when they said they would. Building a new home takes a lot of careful planning, with so many things to consider. You definitely don’t want to be bothered hiring several contractors to do different phases of the construction. Hire one residential general contractor and let him worry about scheduling.