Best House Floor Plans

Tips and tricks to finding a beach house floor plan.

As chilly climates creep into some of our realities, our attentions are distracted by the winter retreat. Most beach houses are a warm escape from the confines of urban or country living. But, unlike other house plans, the beach house calls for a little more meticulous planning. Unless you’re buying a home ready to move in, the choices of a beach house are a renovation or building a beach house from the ground up.

Original architectural designs tend to be exorbitant to say the least. The ultimate buy is the pre-designed beach house. Most house plans start at $500. Considering the normal copyright rates of a unique house floor plan, pre–made ones are just as functional.

If you plan to have your home built from the ground up, select beach house plans specific to the foundation type of your proposed site. Also, make sure that the materials used to construct your home are conducive for stability. Although certain beach houses are erected using stilts, every municipality has its own building codes. (Be sure to check your county’s guidelines).

If you plan to build your beach house from ground zero, you’ll need a comprehensive floor plan, including, but not limited to the features listed below:

Building Section – includes the roofline, footing, insulation, wall space, deck framing, and other specific details regarding the beach house plan.

Floor Plans – are comprised of the framing dimensions, locations, etc.

Roof Framing Plan – a composite of the roof, materials as well as other architectural considerations.

Foundation Plan – detailed renderings, from the posts, beams to the layout of the basement.

Electrical Plans – comprehensive blueprint of the electrical plans (i.e. light fixtures, light switch placement, outlets, etc).

Exterior Elevations – are sketches/renderings of the right, left, front and rear profiles of the house.

A number of resources feature beach house floor plans. One of the best places to start your research is at HGTVPro.com the site has more then 30 stunning and affordable beach house floor plans.

Stay tuned for our next post featuring a list of your most wanted dream house features. We’ll be discussing some of the latest trends in luxuriant dream house living.

Review what a floor plan is and what do know before you select your house floor plans…

In this installment of Best House Floor Plans, we’re talking basics. So, we are backtracking to the fundamentals of what defines a floor plan. Below are ten concepts to understand about floor plans:

A floor plan includes…
the interior and exterior designs schematics of a home.

Floor plans are developed by…
architects and home designers. Draftsmen can render modifications; however because copyright laws are applicable to floor plans, owners are required to purchase house plans.

Stock floor plans…
are less expensive than hiring a home designer or architect to customize a brand new floor plan.

Selecting the floor plan is…
the first part of building a new home.

Various companies offer home floor plan…
customization services. For a fixed price, they can take a stock floor plan and tweak it to the homeowner’s specifications.

Before deciding on a customized or stock floor plan…
be sure to check with your area’s local building codes, copyright laws as well as any other requirements. For instance, prior to homebuilding approval, certain municipalities mandate the review and approval of any house floor plan.

Redlining is a…
house floor plan term that means to amend the blueprints. To illustrate any modifications, homebuilders used to take a red pen to the floor plan. Today, red-lining is considered an affordable means of making changes to the house plans. But, again make sure the changes are within your town’s building codes.

Most designers recommend…
floor plans that merge comfort, contrast and texture.

When it comes to hiring a specialist to modify your house plans, select a local draftsman. The reason is that a professional from your area will know the building codes, hence incorporating municipal guidelines with your design specifications.

Here are some great articles on floor plans and finding the right one for you from House Plans and More:

• Floor Plans For Your Families Needs
• Open Floor Plans
• What’s the Right Plan for You?
• Why Buy Stock Plans?