For many people, a country house is something like a cherished dream - the prospect of taking a break from the bustle of the city in a cozy corner seems quite rosy. Moreover, you want not only to purchase a ready-made building with a landscaped garden plot, but to create a homestead of your dreams, in which all the wishes regarding design and layout will be correctly embodied. There is only one thing left - to transfer your ideas to paper, and only then, having drafted a house and determined its location on the site, put it into practice (engage directly in building a house). If regarding the second point, by definition, there can be no doubt about the need for outside help - even if you are a professional builder, you will not be able to build the right mansion on your own, but the costs of drawing up an architect can be eliminated. How can design and construction be made cheaper? Yes, it’s very simple - it’s quite possible to do his work yourself, even without any special skills in creating a private house project. Designing a house (drawing it schematically on paper), in fact, is not so difficult!
What should you consider when designing your own home?
The most important thing is that the house construction project developed by you is created based on the following principles:
Multiple functionality - that is, the house built according to this project will be convenient and practical in all respects. Do-it-yourself house project should be no worse than an architect's;
Simplicity of design - it will not be difficult to make a project at home only if it does not involve any frills. The creation of some particularly complex project, the implementation of which will require a huge amount of creative frills, is highly discouraged for a person who does not have a special education, because some fundamentally important things can be ignored;
Aesthetics - of course, a country house should look beautiful and please the eyes of its owners. The project of a reliable home should also be spectacular!
Remember - in the event that the project is created taking into account these principles, then it will be very good in life. Again, we are talking about a rather primitive independent structure - an amateur will not design a premium-class cottage. Only an architect should be involved in designing houses of this level - beginners here very often make mistakes.
Geological exploration of the site of the house
How to start "working on a project at home with your own hands"? First of all, when working on a house project on your own, it is necessary to conduct a geological survey of the site - to assess the nature of the terrain, soil and find out the level of standing groundwater. The best time of the year for this is spring, when their level is as high as possible and it is possible to determine this indicator with maximum reliability. It is very important to do this based on the fact that it is this indicator that is most important when laying the foundation of a private house.
To determine the depth of groundwater, we recommend contacting a specialist
Home design start
For an illustrative example, our editors used the free demo version of the Vizicon program. But all actions can be performed on a regular sheet of paper. For example, a simple project of a two-story house 10 m x 10 m was chosen
To design houses, it will be necessary to “arm yourself” with an ordinary squared notebook sheet and a pencil, while setting the appropriate scale. It is most rational in this situation to proceed as follows - to conditionally designate ten meters of the site with two cells. Thus, one millimeter on the ruler will equal 1 meter in real life - a ratio of one to a thousand.
Step 1: draw the outline of the house on a notebook sheet using a ruler and a pencil at a scale of 1:1000, i.e. 1 mm on paper is equal to 1 meter
Drawing on paper the contour of the site itself, as well as future buildings. In this case, all work must be carried out in strict accordance with the correct scale - carefully measuring each meter on the ground and applying it to paper in accordance with the dimensions of one to a thousand, you ensure the reliability and aesthetics of the building being erected. You can draw a project in this way very quickly. It is imperative to take into account not only the contours of the site given for design and construction, but also all the objects located on the site that were there even before its planned construction, and at the same time there is no possibility of transferring them. After that, it will be possible to start designing the building itself - to simplify the task, suppose that the house being designed will consist of four rooms, a kitchen and two bathrooms (standard housing for a family of several people).
Basement / foundation
A few words about the design of the basement. It should be noted that it is not always necessary for it. For example, in the event that groundwater is high, then it will be a very expensive pleasure - it will be much easier to include another room in the project - as an additional room.
Ground floor project
We put a vestibule and a hallway on the sketch - and already from it there will be transitions to the kitchen and other rooms. It is necessary to arrange the premises taking into account the following points:
The bathroom and the kitchen should be placed in close proximity to each other - thanks to this arrangement, it will be much easier to carry out communications;
It is very good if the drafted project implies the absence of walk-through rooms - this is an integral element of comfort;
On the ground floor, it is necessary to take into account the presence of all auxiliary structures and premises - their location will be very important not only to ensure the functional suitability of the house, but also for the comfortable movement of residents.
Step 2: draw all the rooms and premises of the first floor with the required size
After that, we arrange and plan all the doors of our house
Step 3: designing the doors on the ground floor
Then windows, taking into account the desired illumination of the rooms and your budget
Step 4: design windows on the first floor
As a result, we get such a first floor:
This is how the 3D model of the first floor turned out
Draw the second floor
Here everything will be much easier - after all, the premises in the house can be located identically (the most important thing is not to change the relative position of the bathrooms - in order not to complicate communications). It will be enough to design the location of the front door (many architects recommend making two entrances to the second floor - at home and from the street) and windows.
Step 5: Similarly, we plan the premises of the second floor. Do not forget about communications - we have bathrooms and a bathroom under each other
Step 6: Positioning the Doors
Step 7: Draw the Second Floor Windows
We got this 3D model of the second floor
Attic and roof design
We decided to create a house project ourselves - there will be no need to try to draw some too “abstruse” roof with a lot of bends. Remember, the roof is one of the most important structural components in a home, and it's definitely not worth trying to create additional aesthetics by calling into question reliability. All this will lead to the fact that leaks will occur in places of bends. You draw a project - be so kind as to profess the principles of minimalism in architecture.
You can't do without an architect to design such a roof
House design dependency with insulation
There is one very important rule - all auxiliary premises must be built on the north side. Despite the fact that the thermal insulation performed with the help of building materials is of paramount importance, the relative position of the rooms also cannot be overlooked - if only because of the savings in energy consumption for heating the house.
Approval of the project to start construction
The need to correct the project. Even if you yourself were able to draw the house of your dreams on paper, it will be necessary to consult with specialists before starting the construction of the house - the opinion of a competent foreman or architect will not be superfluous. At a minimum, the following points will need to be agreed upon:
Carrying out electricians;
Carrying out own sewerage;
Carrying out water supply;
It must be understood that all of the above issues are not an artistic or architectural part of the project. These are all the most routine issues, a competent approach to solving which is provided only by professionals in their field. In extreme cases, any oversight in the independent drafting of a house project, which was made by a person who does not have a specialized education, can be corrected by a competent foreman who understands the practical side of any idea much better. Although even if the project is drawn up by professional architects, purely practical shortcomings are also not ruled out.
Independent work on a project at home and its benefits
You can create the project of your house yourself - in order to develop drawings of the relative position of certain premises, as well as to determine the place of the house on the site, you do not need special knowledge. A competent and responsible approach to business will ensure the success of your event. However, in terms of communication, it will be necessary to consult with professionals. Thus, it will be possible to properly plan a house that will serve you faithfully.
Read about the following stages of construction:
See also the video on how to make a project at home yourself
Read about the previous stages of construction:
Everyone who plans to build their own home thinks about drawing up a project. It's nice to feel like an architect and try your hand at creating a visual plan of the future home. Well, there are programs for designing houses, and you can choose free versions.
Sketch Up Make
This program is designed to create relatively simple three-dimensional objects, it allows you not only to draw up a project of the house itself, but also to work with interior design, furniture arrangement. It was owned by Google's SketchUp Make, there is also a paid version of SketchUp Pro, but we will talk about programs that you can use for free.
Users note that SketchUp is a simple program, there is a built-in crack, designed for beginners in the field of 3D modeling.
In addition to creating and editing 3D projects, the program allows you to work with landscape design, interiors, to engage in virtual archeology, that is, to model disappeared buildings, to master engineering design. There is a lot of reference information, SketchUp has simple graphic tools, such as "eraser", "brush" and others, it can convert created projects into various graphic formats.
Another plus of SketchUp is the ability to create statistics on the consumption of building materials. Structures are designed to the nearest millimeter. The program does not work with 2D drawings.
Another 3D building modeling program that you can use for free. You can make a detailed two-dimensional plan, which is then converted into a three-dimensional model. The program allows you to work with interiors, it is quite simple, you can change the viewing modes of the finished project from a transparent frame to the location of the building among the landscape. The finished project is easy to print and save in various formats. Envisioneer Express is less popular than SketchUp, but generally has a fairly wide range of functionality.
nanoCAD
This is a Russian development, there is a free version not for commercial use. NanoCAD has a fairly wide potential - the program allows you to work with various drawings and even allows you to create a complete package of documents that are included in the construction project. Files saved in nanoCAD are compatible with other applications from the AutoCAD category.
Home Plan Pro
A free house plan program that supports BMP, GIF, JPG formats. It has a fairly simple interface, can work with color palettes, different levels and layers, and has a large number of ready-made structures, such as windows, doorways, and furniture. The finished Home Plan Pro house plan can be printed in several projections. Designed specifically for beginners, not professionals in the field of architecture.
A program with many features that allow you to experiment with 3D images of buildings, landscapes and interiors. It is noteworthy that professional designers often work with FloorPlan 3D, which indicates its high functionality and advantages. Information is automatically created not only about the quantity, but also the cost of materials, levels and floors are designed, texts, roofs, windows and stairs, the library is very extensive. There are several versions. Works with effects such as snow and rain, the sketch can be viewed from any angle, and the design can be designed down to the smallest detail.
This program can be called shareware - you can use it only for 30 days from the moment of installation, after that, if you wish, you should buy a license. CyberMotion 3D-Designer 13 allows you to create three-dimensional models, animation, rendering. The program is used not only to create projects and house design, you can just do animation, making your characters.
Among the more specialized programs are Sweet Home 3D, created specifically for interior design modeling, as well as LIRA-SAPR 2013, designed to calculate the load on building structures.
The most positive reviews on the net about the program SketchUp, as a software product that is most suitable for use by beginners.
There are several free programs for designing houses. But first of all, expensive and complex analogues are known. Have you ever tried to work in ? Only the description of the possibilities of this program takes more than 1000 sheets of printed text. It is very difficult to master such a program without special courses. You will have to learn a number of specialized terms. It is advisable to use such programs only in design institutes.
But still, every person who starts the construction or redevelopment of their own housing has to face the problem of visualizing existing ideas. If you have the zeal and at least some computer skills, then you can easily solve this problem using special simpler house design programs (many of which are free or shareware).
Google SketchUp is a software designed for modeling simple three-dimensional objects (furniture, buildings, interiors). It has a huge number of advantages that make working with it easier and more convenient.
The working window of one of the most popular programs for designing houses Google SketchUp The main feature of the program can be considered the almost complete absence of windows with preliminary settings. That is, each geometric characteristic is set using the keyboard in the Value Control Box (parameter control field), located in the lower right corner of the working area, next to the Measurements inscription.
Another important feature is the presence of the Push / Pull tool, thanks to which any plane can be “pushed” to the side, thereby creating additional side walls as it moves. Using the special Follow Me tool, the plane can be moved along a previously defined curve.
You can watch the basics of designing and planning a house in Google SketchUp in this video
In addition, such programs for designing houses has a number of the following functions:
- The ability to prepare macros in the Ruby language with their further output from the menu. Macros allow you to automate actions that you have to repeat. The function of using many other macros developed by other users of the program is also available here.
- Support for various plugins for visualization, export and creation of physical objects (movements, rotations, interaction of created objects with each other, etc.)
- Tools that allow you to view models in section, as well as add callouts to models containing visible dimensions in drawing style.
- Support for creating model elements that can be used and edited an unlimited number of times (changes created in the used element will be reflected in all places of its application).
- Ability to work with layers.
- Possibility of preparation of sections of objects.
- A library of models, workspace styles, and materials that can later be uploaded to the Internet or supplemented with your own elements.
- The ability to use scenes that include camera position and rendering mode, as well as the ability to animate transitions from one scene to another.
- The ability to create various dynamic objects (for example, opening a cabinet door by clicking the pointer).
- Ability to create models of real buildings or objects:
- An indication of the available physical dimensions (in inches or meters),
- Possibility to install geographically correct shadows in full accordance with the given longitude, latitude, time of year and day,
- The ability to view the model in the first person,
- Ability to integrate with Google Earth,
- Possibility to add the ground surface to the used model and adjust its shape.
Read also
Simple house designs
SketchUp projects are saved in *.skp files. In addition, there is support for import and export of some 3D and 2D raster graphics formats (*.ddf; *.bmp, *.3ds, *.psd, *.jpg, *.dwg, *.obj, *.png).
Importing raster images has a number of possibilities, for example, inserting an image as a texture or a specific object, as well as as a basis for recreating a three-dimensional object from a photograph. Export in *.jpg format can be performed as a snapshot from the working area of the application window.
Additionally, many plug-ins can be installed in house modeling programs, thanks to which export in *.dae, *.mxs, *.b3d, *.atl, etc. formats will be possible. Further editing of the exported files in existing applications can be done without any restrictions.
Envisioneer Express
Envisioneer Express is software designed to develop three-dimensional models of houses and apartments. With this application, you can first prepare a 2D building plan, including walls, windows, doors, roof and stairs, and then convert it into a high-quality 3D model. Then, when the 3D rendering is complete, the house can be viewed from different heights and angles, and the view mode can be changed from a transparent wireframe to a photorealistic view. In addition to the "construction" of the walls, there is the possibility of arranging various elements of the interior design of the room.
The working window of the Envisioneer Express program It is also possible to change the appearance of the building materials used. The finished project of the house, if desired, can be saved in the "native" format of the program, which can later be opened by some other applications for 3D design.
Home Plan Pro
Home Plan Pro is another great tool to help with . Its base includes a very impressive number of windows, doors, various accessories, etc. If necessary, the finished project can be printed and sent by fax or e-mail (for which the built-in functions of the program are used). The program supports layering, various metric systems, a huge number of standard figures. The finished plan can be saved in various formats.
Home Plan Pro has a fairly large set of windows and functions CyberMotion 3D Designer 13.0
CyberMotion 3D-Designer 13.0 is a program designed for professional modeling, rendering of 3D models and creating animations. The peculiarity of this program lies in the huge number of all kinds of tips and templates, with which even a beginner can simulate a room and arrange furniture on it. Preparation of three-dimensional images is performed using drawings. After creating three drawings (top view, front view and side view), you can get a finished three-dimensional object.
Cyber Motion 3D Designer has a lot of tips and templates that will especially help beginners. The convenient user interface of the CyberMotion 3D-Designer program and a huge number of tools help to work not only with the modeling of apartments, but also with the modeling of any other objects and high-quality animation.
House-3D
Dom-3D is one of the free programs for designing houses, apartments and interiors. This program is used to create a three-dimensional visualization of the interior and houses, furniture design, house modeling, interior design, as well as three-dimensional design of all kinds of details. The scope of the program and its functionality is constantly expanding.
Floor Plan 3D
FloorPlan 3D is one of the most reliable and convenient tools for house redevelopment, apartment design, office renovation. Excellent graphics and easy-to-use tools provide great opportunities for designing in an interactive 3D environment.
