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Design Your Home
Design Your Home - Preparations for Renovation
Design your own home topic always comes to your attention when you have to choose between buying a new home or renovating the existing one. To design your own home (renovate or extend) you need to make a checklist. Designing your own home checklist must include:
- Non-negotiable home design plans
- "Would like" type home design ideas
- Best offers
- Rebates for green home designs
- Rebates for energy efficient home designs
- Estimated budget
- Items that save on bills
Designing Your Own Home Starts With Assessment
Designing your own home starts with looking around the house and assessing changes for obvious savings as well as structural obstacles.
If you see any warning signs about the structure of your home then seek the professional advice.
Further, any pre-1970 house may contain lead or asbestos. Both items, when disturbed during renovation, can be extremely harmful.
Look for the future potential when you design your home through renovation or extension.
Thus, ensure that home interior design blends within engineering of your home structure.
When designing your own home identify items you can reuse (doors, handles, skirtings etc.).
Above all, assess the design of wet areas and spaces which require plumbing.
Ideally, home design plans should place kitchen and bathroom centrally within the house.
This allows future outward extension without expensive plumbing works.
Design Your Home - Tips
In case you decide to design your own home renovating companies will try to scare you against owner-builder renovation and extension.
Although, there are strict rules about renovating and extending your house, the reality is not so gloom.
Generally, Australian government tries to discourage people to implement home design plans without professional help.
However, local councils, governments and building association are obliged to inform you about those building regulations
As a rule of thumb in designing your own home you should not attempt to erect structures with roof.
Home design plans which contain roof covering need to be available for future buyers and city council (for a period of at least 10 years).
However, when you design your own home interior design plans do have a scope for savings.
Here, materials used are from approved wholesalers and structure is seldom life threatening.
Exercise wisdom as to what you are allowed to do by yourself in designing your home.
However, structure, plumbing and electricity should be left to experts.
Design Your Home to Reduce Noise
Noise is the ongoing problem within housing estates as well as in high density areas. There are two types of noise:
- Airborne noise which comes from common sources like: cars, airplanes, radios, television etc.
- Structure-borne noises which come from the impact on the building structure (walking on timber, closing doors, closing windows etc).
Noise is the problem which can be resolved with good home design ideas and home design plans. Both city apartments and detachable homes can follow simple rules to reduce both: the structure-borne and airborne noise.
There are number of things to remember about noise reduction in designing your own home:
- You should always locate quiet rooms far away from the noise source.
Thus, bedrooms should be located away from the busy streets. - If possible, windows should be designed to face away from the noisy area.
- Acoustic deflectors, glazing and sound insulation will further absorb or reflect unwanted noise.
- Energy efficient homes can help to reduce the noise. Reduction in using mechanical cooling and heating will minimise noise and save money.
- Green home designs with landscape design is the ideal noise barrier. Vegetation facing streets and highways can absorb as much decibels as the sound barrier.
- Home interior design can positively contribute to noise reduction. Strategically placed furniture, curtains and blinds can offer as much noise cancellation as expensive noise-resistant material.
- Carpets positioned closed to noisy streets will reduce vibrations and impact.
Acoustics reflectors will further bounce the noise away from your home.