Home Arcitect: Universal Design Home Plans

Evaluating which house plans best suit your family's needs can be overwhelming. Thousands of house plans are available on the Internet, in a variety of Architectural styles, which allow you to have almost infinite choice and the opportunity to save thousands on your house plans.

When you find a house plans design that fits your needs and you order the house plans, its generally helpful to know how to read the blueprints that you will receive.

Universal Design Homes By Charles M. Schwab AIA

In reviewing your house's blueprints, you can usually determine the general floor plan layout / how many rooms are included / and other general information. However, depending on the size/complexity of the home and the individual Designer's style, those lines on a page can start to give you a headache. There are a few tricks to help you read your house's blueprints.

First, you will need to determine the scale at which the home plan is drawn. In general, most pre-drawn house plans will have an visibile indicator on the blueprint such as "a quarter inch = a foot." Once you know the home plan scale, you can really begin to understand the spatial relationships of the rooms.

Secondly, if you have some beloved furniture pieces, you may also want to make sure that they will fit in the prospective home. Measure them and cut them out to scale. You can then move them around the house plans, and get a better idea of what the space will be like when you have moved in your furniture.

Finally, you will notice reference to various construction "detail call-outs" on the house plans, which basically refer you to a given detailed construction drawing for a particular item. For example, a typical wall construction detail and/or cabinet elevation drawings. These are utilized in the home construction process to build the referenced item to the Designer's intended specifications.