When working with an architect or designer on your building plans, it is important to focus on getting the little things right.
Elements that are typically concentrated on include room sizes, window designs and design flows. But there are also other smaller details that require attention.
Less important details are often neglected on building plans because people think they’re obvious or insignificant. But both you and your builder have to be certain about what you want. Otherwise, you’re more likely to get inaccurate quotes and exceed your budget.
Seeing as these small things often get forgotten, it is unsurprising that it is difficult to work out what parts of your building design they may be. So to help you make a detailed plan and avoid budgeting problems, we’ve come up with 6 features to get your architect to include in your plans.
1. Internal doors
At first, this sounds like a silly example. Even basic floor plans have doors included, so you may think that they’re not things that generally get forgotten.
However, while people tend to include door positions, they usually forget to detail things like door sizes and materials. How wide and high will the doors be? Are they going to be painted or have a wood veneer? And will they be solid-core or hollow-core? Specifying details like these will make sure that your quotes are correct and that you don’t exceed budget.
2. Flooring
Flooring material is also worth specifying. If you’re going to use carpet you don’t have to include details, as you’re likely to source it directly from a supplier. But if you’re considering using materials like wood or tiles you need to be clear about exactly what you want.
For example, wood flooring could mean a number of things. It could suggest that you are going to use wood laminate, bamboo or traditional strip flooring. These vary in cost, so it is crucial to make it clear in your plans what you’re going to use so your builder understands what you require.
3. Wall tiles
It’s also important to go into detail about wall tiles. You work out the cost of tiling by square metre, so it’s essential that you specify where precisely you want your tiling to be. For instance, is your tiling going to cover all the walls in a room or only some of them? And will it be full height, skirting level or somewhere in the middle?
You also need to be clear about what type of tiling you want. Different materials have different prices. So rather than assuming what you want is obvious, detail precisely which tiles you want and where they should be.
4. Woodwork
Wooden built-in cabinets are no longer just found in the kitchen. It is now common to see them in bedrooms, bathrooms and offices.
Wooden cabinets are a good example of a feature that’s generally in building plans, but not in enough detail. It’s often pretty clear where they’re going to be, but people typically don’t include information like colour, material and design. These can make a significance difference to how expensive the cabinets will be.
To be sure you get an accurate quote, ask an interior designer to produce some detailed drawings or make a note of your budget on the plans.
5. Cupboards
Built-in cupboards are also a common feature in modern properties. It’s a popular trend to make custom-built cupboards to suit your possessions and lifestyle. But cupboard designs can vary significantly, so it’s not a good idea to let your builder assume what you want. Rather than leaving it to chance, make it clear what bits of the cupboard you want building and what you’ll do yourself.
6. Lighting
You also need to go into detail about lighting. The price of light fittings vary dramatically and electric plans are hardly ever completed by the time you get a building quote. The outcome of this is that your quote will probably be inaccurate.
To be sure that you know exactly how much you’re going to spend, do your research in good time. If you know specifically what lighting you want you can put it in your building plans and get a precise quote.
Putting these 6 small but important details in your plans should make your building work significantly less stressful. Think carefully about what you want and get your architect or designer to put it in your plans. This way you will get accurate quotes and be more likely to stay in budget.