Designing your dream House - part 1

Okay I have a new client so we are going to go step by step with them!

The first part of the process once you have a lot is to think about your design and what you want to accomplish. Is this a vacation home or is a full time residence for you?

How often do your friends and family visit? What are your hobbies? Do you like to BBQ often?

Spend a week writing down what you do every day of this will be a full time residence. You will begin to see a pattern for what your rooms will need to be. Think about what features your current residence has that you like.

Then the big one - think about your realistic budget. At this point, don't think about square feet. Think big picture. Do you have $100,000 to spend? $500K - a million or $50,000?

Find that number that you will be comfortable with, whatever it may be. Do not over extend yourself at this point. Be conservative! You will have plenty of opportunity to be broke later on!

Now take that number and divide it by 1.33 - yes 1 and 1/3. This is the real budget. So on $100K = $75,000. there is your real budget. Dont worry we arent throwing $25,000 - that is for the changes you will make, your siginificant other saying "oh but it is only a $200 difference ...." etc.

Okay so now you have $75K as your budget - okay take that # and divide it by 150. That number - 500 - is the total square footage you can afford if you have $100,000 to spend. Yes that is right 500 square feet and this includes decks, lanais, carports, garages. No wif you say I am going to do alot of the work myself (How many times have I heard this???) drop it down to 125 so 600 square feet. I dont want to hear "oh but a deck is cheaper".... not by much. In Puna, where we have average 60+" in Kapoho to 160" in Glenwood, you need a covered deck. So now you have foundation, wall structure to hold roof up, roof structure. More than 70% of the structure even in a deck. So just count the sqaure footage straight up. See above where you will end up spending the money.

Okay so now we have 600 square feet because you are going to do lots of work yourself. So you need a kitchen, a bed and bathrooms, and a lanai? Remember small is not comfortable. The bedroom at the minimum should be 12 x 12 and the deck should be at least 12' wide so now you have a 24 x 25 square so using part of your 30% above, lets right off the bat bump that up to 24 x 30 ft.... (see we are using the 33% and material hasnt even left the lumber yard yet!)

For anyone who is doing the gable kit house roof - check out fib0nnocci principle and adjust your length appropriately.

Okay enough for today! I will try to follow this process so that I can help you make your dream house into a reality.