Cedar homes can be built of logs or siding.
You can build a home made of wood using a variety of materials, but cedar homes endure weather well and look beautiful for years. Cedar construction looks great with brick and stone or more affordable brick and stone veneers. You can design a cedar home with either metal or asphalt roofing. Many cedar homes are built in forested areas, so metal is often a good choice to skirt off leaves and branches falling on the roof. Cedar siding absorbs various types of stain or paint extremely well, so the exterior is relatively easy to maintain.
Instructions
1. Talk with your banker and decide how much you can afford to spend on a new home. You will need facts on cost per square foot for a typical building project in your area. Decide if you can build a home that is closer to 1,500 square feet or 2,400 square feet, for example. Use this as a starting point.
2. Choose the basic shape of home you like. The roof is the most definitive part of the architecture of any home's design. Decide if you want an A- frame, a combination of roof angles, or a straight ranch-type roof, for example. Consider placing bedrooms in a loft to use attic space under the roof for extra floor space. Compare home plans you find in design books or on the Internet. Talk with a builder about costs of a one-story home versus a two-story.
3. Draw your basic design on paper. Use a sketch pad and then transfer the ideas to graph paper. Allow one space of graph paper for six inches of real space. Draw various floor plans with the number of bedrooms and baths you need. If your budget is limited, put most of your square footage into the kitchen-living areas. You can always build bedrooms in loft areas or build smaller bedrooms to allow for more living space.
4. List all amenities you'd like to have. Create this list so you can select what's really important. For example, every cedar home looks better with a brick or stone foundation versus cinder block foundation. A stone chimney, vaulted ceilings, hot tub and nice landscaping should be part of the house. Decide which amenities you can add in a few years, so you build the square footage you need and worry about unnecessary amenities in the near term.
5. Inquire about builders in your area. Talk to homeowners who live in cedar homes they've constructed on their own property, if possible. Talk to home design business owners or managers of home improvements stores to get names of builders. Check out your builder of choice with the Better Business Bureau. Ask your builder to help you make critical decisions and figure out save money on materials.
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