Skagit County Home Builders

Home Design

Working with Skagit County Home Builders gives you the opportunity

to choose from a large number of home designs. These are pre-engineered and can be customized to your specifications. Alternatively you can work with an experienced design team to create a unique design.

A true custom home incorporates site specific design features. This means it fully considers the characteristics of the property as well as meeting building code and permitting requirements. Your designer will be able to help you create an appropriate site specific design.

• Why Site Specific Design is Important
• The Design Process
• Input for Budget Preparation
• Advantages of Working with Professional Designers

Skagit County Home Builders can then help you make informed decisions for choosing the right building products and provide you with technical expertise and practical building options. Working with Skagit County Home Builders gives you all the design support you need to get your home completed.

Why Site Specific Design is Important

Site specific design considers how the home is placed on the property. It also looks at the characteristics of the building lot from a technical perspective to help get the best result on the property. Zoning and other restrictions are also taken into account as they may affect the design parameters.

The first consideration is orienting the home to take advantage of views and natural light. These factors will play an important role in determining the design characteristics of the home. Exposure to weather will also play an important part when it comes to choosing the right materials later on.

The slope and topography of the building site will dictate and sometimes restrict the type of structure you can build. Some of the technical issues include setbacks, which not only affect the placement of the home but also placement of wells and septic fields. Geotechnical and other site engineering issues may also affect design.

Typically people start with a look or an interior layout that they like. With modern construction methods most floor plans can be designed to match the desired exterior look. Once this information is available you can then turn your ideas into a preliminary plan, which can subsequently be used to develop blueprints and a budget.

The Design Process

The design process can be quite lengthy with more complex homes. There are a number of key steps involved and some important decisions to be made to get a good finished result. The decisions you make at this stage will affect every aspect of your project from concept to completion.

The design process starts by determining an exterior look or an interior layout that is attractive and suits your lifestyle. Most floor-plans can be designed to match the desired exterior look by using modern construction methods and materials.

The next step is to take your ideas and develop a preliminary plan, which shows floor plans and exterior elevations. These can then be used to generate a concept design. The concept is then turned into a preliminary plan drawn to scale. These working drawings are amended as necessary and, when finalized, are used to create construction blueprints. Blueprints are needed to obtain building permits and for construction purposes as well as the basis for creating a realistic budget.

In developing preliminary plans you need to consider how the home will be placed on the property. This requires looking at the characteristics of the building lot from both a features and technical perspective. Construction method, engineering, setbacks, zoning, placement of wells and septic fields also need to be taken into account.

Getting planning approval can be a lengthy process so you should apply for permits as soon as you have finalized blueprints available. It can take from 4 to 12 weeks just to get building permits. This is why you should apply for permits as soon as you have finalized blueprints available.

Input for Budget Preparation

The design chosen and resultant blueprints are the first critical step in budget preparation. An accurate final budget can only be produced when the information contained in the blueprints is available. Not only does this cover the size of the home and construction method, but also the type and quality of materials to be used.

Because of the nature of custom home projects, it is generally not realistic to use average per square foot prices to take the project to completion. The cost of decks, covered porches, garages, finished basements and main living areas need to be taken into consideration. The quality of materials used and the level of finishing will also make a significant difference. Therefore, any simplistic quotation of finished cost per square foot is totally unrealistic.

This is why you need to prepare a budget based on project specific information. Any other method of calculation can result in problems for the homeowner.

Advantages of Working with Professional Designers

A good design is vital to the success of your project. Homeowners will need to rely on professional designers to a greater or lesser extent to meet local permitting requirements. Permitting and approvals in the Skagit County area requires specific local engineering approval of the design. The design should also be optimized for best use of materials, construction practices and environmental factors.

It is essential to use skilled people when designing more complex homes and subsequently preparing blueprints. Some homeowners try to use standard designs, but these may not be suitable for their property. Skagit County Home Builders has access to professional designers who understand the permitting and structural requirements in the Skagit County area.

We can help you get a good quality standard design, modify your existing design concept or develop a unique design. If you already have a suitable design, we can provide you with high quality finalized blueprints that meet permitting requirements.