Synopses & Reviews
Every new house begins with a dream—and a home plan. But it can be terrifying to commit a lifetime of savings to a two-dimensional drawing that's difficult to interpret and visualize. Will the space meet your needs? Is the plan well-designed? Will it really turn out to be your dream house, or is it a potential nightmare?
In Home Plan Doctor, Larry Garnett makes basic design principles accessible, explaining in clear language how to navigate every stage of the planning process, from selecting a plan to evaluating the suitability of the design, room by room, and requesting needed modifications. Using sample floor plans and illustrations from readily available plans, this book is a practical guide for everything from placing the kitchen island to evaluating the effect of the roof pitch on the proportions of the house. And Garnett doesn't overlook the basics; he includes sections on what to look for in a building site, how to read a basic floor plan, and what to expect when you order the "blueprints," or construction documents.
Whether you're purchasing a stock plan or working with an architect, and whether you're buying a design for am entire house or an addition, you'll find this handbook to be an indispensable guide.
Review
"If home plans and blueprints look like hieroglyphics to you, this book is the Rosetta Stone."
Kevin Ireton, editor, Fine Homebuilding
"Clear and practical advice from a veteran designer. If you're building from a stock plan, this book could save you from a lot of mistakes."
Kevin Ireton, editor, Fine Homebuilding
"If you're building from a stock plan, read this book first. You'll get a better house, and you'll like likely save money too."
Kevin Ireton, editor, Fine Homebuilding
"Like a Consumer's Guide for electronics, this book gets 'under the hood' of what makes a space into a workable, functional, happy house, translating arcane architectural language into everyday language. Not just for house plans -- anyone who is looking to buy a home, and to shape the where and the way of how they live, needs to own this book." Melanie Taylor, Melanie Taylor Architecture & Gardens LLC
Larry Garnett's Home Plan Doctor provides a powerful dose of preventative medicine for those who wish to avoid the headaches of homebuilding. This comfortably written, ultra-informative book is absolutely loaded with often-overlooked details that are essential to consider before you build. I guarantee you'll find yourself saying "I never would have thought of that" - but you'll be thankful Larry did.
Synopsis
Building a new house begins with a home plan, but the two-dimensional drawings used by contractors are often difficult to interpret and challenging to visualize. In easy-to-understand language, Larry W. Garnett explains construction terminology and basic design principles, enabling you to expertly navigate every step of the home-building process. From selecting a plan to judging its room-by-room suitability and requesting modifications, Home Plan Doctor offers cost-effective suggestions and encouraging guidance so that you can create the house of your dreams."
Synopsis
Every new house begins with a home plan. But the two-dimensional drawings that represent an entire house can be difficult to interpret and challenging to visualize. Home Plan Doctor makes basic design principles accessible to buyers, explaining how to navigate every stage of the process, from selecting a plan to judging its room-by-room suitability and requesting modifications.
Synopsis
Every new house begins with a dream and a home plan. Garnett, a home plan designer for 30 years, makes basic design principles accessible to buyers, explaining in clear language how to navigate every stage of the process, from selecting a plan to evaluating the suitability of the design.
Synopsis
You can't build a great home without a great home plan. How will you know if you have a great home plan if you don't understand how to read the designer's drawings? Larry Garnett, the home plan doctor, takes the mystery out of home designs, walking you through every room of your plan---changing a window here, the length of a hallway there---to create your dream house.
The Home Plan Doctor Helps You:
*Avoid costly delays by getting the details right the first time
*Visualize and interpret sample floor plans
*Ask all the right questions and make the proper adjustments
*Develop a house plan that makes sense for your building site
*Decipher the work of design professionals
*Tailor your home plan to suit your family's needs
*Modify existing plans to meet local building codes
*Apply your knowledge of home plans to remodeling projects
About the Author
Larry W. Garnett has designed homes for 30 years and won numerous design awards. His designs have been featured in Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and House Beautiful. He has been a featured speaker at housing design seminars, including Harvard's Graduate School of Design. In 1997, Larry was inducted into the American Institute of Building Design's College of Fellows (FAIBD). He lives in Texas.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Part One -- Making Plans
1 What Comes First?
2 Finding a House Plan
3 Defining Good Design
Part Two -- Exterior Design Elements
4 The Right Style for You
5 Approaching the House
6 Cladding and Windows
7 Roofs and Porches
Part Three -- Interior Design Elements
8 A Space of Your Own
9 Practical Considerations
10 Come Inside
11 Kitchen and Dining
12 Bed and Bath
13 Hardworking Rooms
Appendix
*Design Criteria Form
*Stock Plan Customization Form
Resources
Acknowledgments
Conceptual Plan Index
General Index