Home Construction Specification Planning

Spec Plan A: Home Style and Plan

what you need to do —

• Step 1: start your spec planning by defining your style
  
  

  ··	first, download our construction specification sheet use it to define your construction specs and building ideas as your move through this site. The spec sheet will be used by your builder to bid and design the home construction project view more information about spec planning
  ··	next, note the type and style of your home: — colonial — english tudor — cape cod, etc. link to our home styles for ideas
  ··	your style will define the number of floors: — one-story — two-story, etc. review our library of house plans for ideas
  ··	will there be a basement?
  ··	what are the ceiling heights on each floor?
  ··	what type of closets for the bedrooms and other: — walk-in — standard — other

  
  
  
• Step 2: identify your rooms
  
  

  ··	depending on the number of floors, your next task is to identify the rooms that will make-up each floor
  ··	you will have a kitchen, dining room, master bedroom, master bathroom, laundry room, etc. perhaps your would like to add a breakfast nook, sun room, rec room, etc. view some house plans for ideas: click here or quickly link to our Home Improvement Gallery for a view of a floor layout. Link to "upstairs", "main floor", and other floors for ideas
  ··	use the construction specification sheet (page 3) to list your rooms by floor note any finished or unfinished room additions for the attic and basement areas

  
  
  
• Step 3: arrange your rooms
  
  

  ··	how would your like to arrange your rooms? the construction specification sheet (page 4) has a worksheet to complete this exercise
  ··	the idea is to identify your primary adjacencies — rooms that must be adjacent: • master bedroom / master bathroom • kitchen and dining room • mud room, garage or outside entry • etc. identify those rooms that should not be adjacent: • master bedroom and child's room • kitchen and den / library • bathroom and foyer that leads to secondary adjacencies that basically connect the whole floor: • living room and dining room • master bathroom and laundry room • kitchen and sun room TIP: drawing a bubble diagram can help illustrate adjacencies. We will use the main floor plan for illustration: click to view adjacency diagram • start with primary adjacencies (in red), • then define non-adjacent rooms (in green), • connect secondary adjacencies (in blue) • now pull it together and view a sample plan

  
  
  

• Step 4: size your rooms
  
  

  ··	what are the size dimensions for each room? the construction specification sheet lists sample sizes for possible rooms Size A     Size B    Size C select the size desired (or specify your custom dimension) and enter the calculated square footage for each room (width times length) use our online footage calculator to calculate
  ··	note that you will calculate dimensions for the interior finished area, other finished our unfinished areas, and exterior home area these size dimensions allow the architect to customize or find a house plan that meets your dimension specifications
  ··	total your calculated square footage for each area note that for the interior finished area, you will need to add 20% to your subtotal for circulation secondary areas (for wiring, plumbing, venting, etc.) *your square footage can vary depending on your overall layout
  ··	your total square footage will give you an estimated size requirement for your house you can then use these dimensions to: — search house plans: see plans — save on your construction costs: view saving tips — work with an architect: find an architect