Category Archives: House Improvement

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Families are a dynamic organization. Whether your family is growing in number or becoming smaller; whether your kids are getting older or your parents are looking to age in place; toddlers tuning into teenagers, in-laws and parents aging, family pets, job changes…. nearly any change in life can alter the demands we place on our home spaces. As the years go by we are often in a position to rethink and retool the way we move through our house, adapting to the changing needs of a life affected by many elements.

When looking for a house plan to suit the needs of a family, many people are prioritizing flexible spaces as a way to ensure that the house they choose will continue to be functional for many years. And it’s not just extra bedrooms we’re talking about here, although that is one of the easiest ways to evolve your needs: a guest room easily converts into a nursery; the home office adapts into a craft/work space with ample storage. In addition to convertible rooms, these days there are often flexible spaces built right into the house plan. This gives the buyer the ability to imagine how that space could best be utilized by their unique family.

The country-style house plan is growing in popularity- in large part because of its ability to offer such flexibility. These house plan styles stand with one foot in each of two worlds: a modern interior with loads of flexible space housed behind a classic country-style façade. This style is often denoted by its ability to prioritize functionality over traditional needs, as seen by the lacking of a formal dining room in favor of a large eating space right off the kitchen much better suited to today’s modern, multitasking family. And yet the great room echoes the traditional dramatic space perfect for celebrating holidays and get-togethers. These rooms often boast vaulted ceilings and classically functional features like built-in book shelves flanking an impressive mantle.

No matter which phase of life your family is currently in, it is important to find a house plan that can suit everyone’s needs as they grow and change. This is, in fact, why most people would choose to build their dream house over buying something already standing: who better to predict the future needs of your dynamic family but you?

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Building your own dream house can be a daunting task. There are many details to see to and countless decisions to make and the whole thing can become overwhelming quickly without a good plan to guide you through the process. And when it comes to staying within your budget here are a few tips to keep your plan on track:

  1. Choose your builder carefully. This may be the most important decision you make after you purchase your house plan. This relationship will be very important through the building process and a good builder will be able to advise you on many elements of the project.
  2. Work with your architect to ensure efficient building proportions. Plywood and drywall come in sheets 4 ’ x 8’, and structural lumber often comes in 2’ increments. Consider this and other standard material measurements when fine-tuning the design of your house plan. Odd shapes and lengths have the potential to create a considerable amount of scrap- and thus wasted- materials.
  3. Utilize any discounts you can. Be savvy when it comes to purchasing supplies. See if you can use your builder’s discount. Look into remnants and left over supplies for things like flooring and countertops; a previous construction project might have created loads of left-over materials that could be perfect for your space and design.
  4. Keep the roof pitch to a maximum of the standard 8/12. The more dramatic the pitch of the roof, the higher the labor cost a construction team will be able to charge. Or, if a steeper roof is desirable, consider using more than one pitch to minimize the amount of time and materials used on these more decorative elements.
  5. Design your home for low maintenance. Consider that skimping on some materials now will cost you more in the future. Things like windows, doors, roofing materials, and foundations are places where it is advisable to choose quality over low-cost. The process of repairing or replacing these elements in the future can be prohibitively expensive; better to build your structure with quality from the start.
  6. Use fancy materials where it counts. A stonework façade is a stunning improvement to the curb appeal of any home, but can be quite costly to create. Consider that perhaps the back and sides of the house are not in quite as much need for the dressy stonework as the front. Utilize high-quality materials where they will be appreciated.

The key to a successful home building project is to stay organized and keep your visions in mind as you move forward. Taking things one step at a time and utilizing all of your resources can keep you well within your budget and minimize unexpected set-backs.

 

 

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When it comes to life in your dream home, your family’s experience reaches beyond the walls of your house. Thinking about the sustainability of your landscaping and outside areas is one way to expand your living space—and save money in the process.

No matter which region of the country you live in, building systems that harvest naturally occurring resources is one of the best ways to save money each month—without sacrificing a beautiful yard.

Collecting rainwater for landscaping use is one of the oldest and simplest ways to keep your utilities bill down and maintain a stunning yard. There are some things to keep in mind as you are building to ensure that these systems can easily be implemented but, beyond that, this may be the simplest way to stretch your resources for maximum benefit.

To collect rain water you will first of all need a good collection barrel. Look around before you buy one: there are many opportunities to get these at a discount or for free from industrial companies with no further use for them.  A good gutter system is also important. You will need to have some version of a gutter filter system in place to keep the rain water separate from leaves, moss, and other debris so your water is clean and filtered.

Most people will simply run a piece of gutter material down from a drain point on the roof into a rain barrel to collect the water as it falls. Having a barrel with a spigot towards the bottom will make harvesting this collected water easy, as you can simply affix a garden hose to the opening at the base and use the collected water to hydrate your garden or lawn.

Maintaining an outside space that is both beautiful and functional for your family’s activities does not need to be expensive or taxing. By utilizing some of our naturally occurring resources you can maintain even the most complex landscaping and save money at the same time.

Here at Monster House Plans, we offer a wide selection of house plans. We know you will find one you’ll be excited about.

Check out these links for further information and how-to’s:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/build-a-rainwater-collection-system-zb0z1307zsal.aspx

http://www.clean-water-for-laymen.com/collecting-rain-water.html

 

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It is a little-known fact that the air inside your house is dirtier than the air outside it. No matter what you do – how many windows you open or whatever – this will always be the case. This is true simply because of the amount of hiding places that your house has for dust and other particles, while at the same time having a limited amount of escape routes for the particles.
To go some way towards alleviating this problem, you might want to consider getting an air purifier. This will be especially useful to you if you have allergies or asthma that can be aggravated by dust or other particles such as pollen, as an air purifier can remove most of them from the air for you. If you smoke, you should definitely consider an air purifier, as otherwise all the pollutants in the smoke will build up in your house’s air over time, making it very unpleasant to breathe your indoor air.
Air purifiers come in all sorts of different types, each working in different ways. The most popular filter is a kind of fibre mat that goes inside a frame or housing, and can quickly remove 99.97% of pollutants from the air – this is known as a high efficiency particulate absorbing filter. However, these highly effective air purifiers can be expensive, especially as they need to be replaced quite often at a high cost each time.
If you just want your air to be cleaner, but not necessarily completely purified, you might consider a cheaper filter, or an air cleaner or air filter, all of which are terms used to describe cheap air purifiers. These devices may only remove 99% of particles from the air, but for most users, that will be enough. It is worth giving a cheaper filter a try first before you go all-out and buy the most expensive one, as you might be buying far more than you really need.

 

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Use of solar energy is becoming more and more popular every day. The price of electricity is rising and the best alternative that we have today is using solar energy. We all know that global warming is on an everyday rise today. The main reason for this being burning of fossil fuels like coal, which in turn is being used to produce electricity, so if we want our future to be safe, this is the time we step forward and start using solar technology.

NEED FOR ELECTRICAL POWER

Arguments that have constantly supported that electricity is of utmost importance and needs to remain are: Continue reading →

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One of the most common reasons people give when asked why they are improving their home is that home improvements increase house value. While this can often be true, it is by no means as universal as some people assume it is. When you’re about to pay out lots of money for a home improvement, it’s worth checking whether the value of your house will increase by enough to pay for it – or, worse, whether it might actually force your house value down.

Let’s start with bathrooms and kitchens. While well-maintained and nice-looking kitchens and bathrooms do add value to a home, there’s nothing to say that they have to be the very latest thing. An older room that is well looked-after and wasn’t a complete abomination to begin with can often help the value just as much as a newly-installed one. Continue reading →