4 Things to Plan Ahead of Time When Building a New House

Construction & Contractors Blog

When you are having a new home built, there is a lot to think about. After doing the basic planning of the house, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, deciding on the home builder, and figuring out permits, there are some additional details to consider. Here are five things to think about when starting to plan the details and layout of your new home. You will be glad you thought of them.

Make Room For Wider Hallways

While this is optional and does depend on how much space you have in your new home, it makes a big difference. Even adding a few more inches to the hallways can make them much more comfortable. If you have ever lived in a home with narrow hallways, you know how dark and constricting they can be. More than one person rarely gets down the hallway at the same time and the hallways tend to make the home feel less comfortable. By extending the width of the hallways in your new home, you can open it up and make it feel more welcoming.

Give Your Home Enough Light

When planning a home from the ground up, there are two ways to increase the lighting; have ample windows installed in the home and have the electrician install lighting fixtures. You don't want to rely solely on lamps for the rooms in your home, so try to have a built-in lighting fixture in every room of your home. You will be so glad you did this later on! Natural light also makes a big difference, which simply requires more windows to be installed. You can also add a skylight to the roof to bring in more light to a living room or family room.

Plan For an Eco-Friendly Home

There are also some things you can do now during the planning stages that help you have a more eco-friendly home. For example, if you live in a cold climate, you want to get as much heat as possible from the sun. This is possibly by having plenty of windows on the south-facing walls of the home. Try to plan your home to where the biggest windows are on this side. Similarly, plan to have the garage and laundry room on this side of the home as well, as you can then install small windows in these spaces to reduce heat loss. Consider having solar panels installed by talking about the pros and cons with your home builder.

Put the Master Bedroom at the Far End

You want as little noise distraction as possible in your bedroom, so when working on the home's layout, keep it upstairs in a corner or at the far end of the home. Try to keep the master bedroom away from the garage, as this often has a lot of noise. It should also not be too close to common living areas if at all possible.

7 June 2016