Isn't your needs and requirements ever evolving? Doesn't that mean you would need an ever evolving house to meet your requirements and needs?
Your dream house is all prepared and ready in your mind. But when it gets to reality, you cannot always afford what you dream of. So is there a way to keep your dreams alive? Read on if you want to find a solution.
Plan Better
I am actually saying not to push you dreams away; not to sacrifice them, but simply to plan better, so that when you actually expand your ever evolving house you would actually still have a seamless house, which is an original.
We have to own up one thing even before we start discussing this topic. Everybody who is thinking about building a house, has had to scale-down their dream house plan. How do I know? Well drawing floor plans is part of how I make my living. And guess what I even know why they have to do it. Well I realize that is no rocket science, its simple, we never have enough money. Our dreams are always bigger than our bank balances.
So, why have I been talking about our tiny bank balance and our enormous dream house? Its because I have a solution. What if we build our house in stages? Our finances will grow with time. Before you just brush this idea aside, consider this, rockets are launched in stages, aren't they? Lets take a cue from those scientists, you and me know they are really smart.
Build my house in stages. Does that mean I have to compromise on the functionality of my house? Or the space requirements of my family? Will it seem incomplete? A lot of questions does arise. But trust me when I say this, your ideas, your plans and your requirements evolve with time. So what you really need is a house that evolves and expands with you.
What we mostly plan before we consider the finance requirement is also actually our dreams. And after we look at our bank balances, we become practical, focused on functionality and requirements, pushing our dreams away, sacrificing them. What I am actually saying is to not push your dreams away; not to kill them, but simply to plan better, so that when you actually expand your ever evolving house you would actually still have a seamless house, which is an original and not an extra fitting. Affordable is not inexpensive, but rather what we can actually afford. Go full blast on your interiors, of your house, which is both functional and satisfies your current requirements. Your dream house is just a few stages away form getting into its orbit.
Now allow me to get into the technical aspect of 'Building your house in stages'. We don't want to dismantle and change a lot of the existing structure when moving into the next stage. Roof is a very common example of what usually requires dismantling and most changes. Removing all the shingles, change the design of the frame and then put them back again. Fact is, some things do need an overhaul after a few years. That's how you can update your house to the then current designs and styles. But how much change? Minimum changes is always good for your pocket and choosing a middle ground is the crux of this topic.
Interiors and exteriors would need a change for them to look fresh. But most of these jolt of freshness have to be added from time to time in any house, so that is not actually an extra expenditure because of building your house in stages. We will go through different aspects of a house so as to determine what are the necessary steps to minimize expenses and dismantling. Plans do need to be drafted for all different stages. For a house to evolve with each stage, each individual room has to change character and purpose, change the way it functions or may be entirely change the rooms function. Your once master bath might become a walk-in closet and some other room might become the master bath. These changes in the character of rooms is what should seam seamless for the house to actually be an original in all stages.
As said earlier, each rooms character would need to change. With addition in the number of family members, the kitchen that is appropriate now would feel smaller and inadequate in the next stage. So then you should be able to switch to a bigger room to function as a kitchen and the existing kitchen space be used for something that is still needed and not a forced addition. You may not require or have the budget for a walk-in closet or a laundry room now, but later on you may require it. It could be your current kitchen that gives way for these additions. For all this to be possible, you have to plan these aspects even before you lay a stone in the building site. It does take some time and a lot of thinking, but the money you would save is totally worth the effort.
The electrical distribution junction should be so placed, that you wouldn't need to run electric wires all around your house to electrify your extensions. Understanding plumbing requirements would allow you to leave points from where they would be easily connected to supply water to your new bathrooms and kitchen. Plan septic tanks such a way that they would be enough for a few extra members in the family and placed somewhere from where it would not have to be moved. Choice of materials like wood and flooring should be so that, those materials would be still available a few years down the line. Garden spaces and ventilation are what brings a house to life. With extension work, they will have to change. Windows will have to be moved. But make sure there is space on the wall for enough windows and space left on the plot for enough gardening.
It is best if you leave structural considerations for your civil engineer.
I hope that I have inspired you to bravely dream about your dream house. May be all that won't come together at once, but in stages it will. Just make sure that you plan it right so you don't spend a penny more than required. Its a big project guys, lets get to work.
Nice piece of writing