Blog

What is the most used type of energy in the home?

The most used type of energy used in a home is natural gas and electricity. Since elecricity is used in almost all homes it can account for almost half of energy consumption. Electrical energy accounted for 44% of household energy in 2017. If electricity is being used in homes consider ENERGY STAR or similar products for a more energy efficient home.

How do I make my house more cost effective?

Try to have all of your rooms that use plumbing such as your laundry room, kitchen, and bathroom close to one another. This will allow for more centralized plumbing which reduces the cost of laying pipes all over the home. Another idea is to build a two-story house where you can double the floor plan while reducing the square footage of the home’s foundation.

Are 2 story homes more energy efficient?

With a two-story house, you’ll have better fuel efficiency per square foot since there is less outdoor walls and roofing areas that are exposed to the weather. Money will be saved with plumbing and wiring as there will be less distance for utilities to travel. 

What direction should a house face for energy efficiency?

For a more energy efficient home an east or west-facing lot should have the long side facing south. The ridgeline should be oriented east-west which could mean that the narrow side of the house will face the street.

Can the color of your house reduce your energy footprint?

The color of paint or roofing material that you choose can make for a more energy efficient home as it can affect the amount of heat or cold air that comes through. More energy efficient colors can help lower energy bills as there is less mechanical heating being used to try to work with fluctuating temperature changes. Essentially lighter roof colors will allow for less heat being absorbed into the home. Roofing materials such as metal can block UV rays and allow for cool roofing.

What is the most energy efficient flooring?

If flooring is taken into consideration for a more energy efficient home consider vinyl or hardwood. Vinyl is not only energy efficient but is eco-friendly as well. It’s also affordable and can be manufactured into different textures, shapes, and colors.

Are windows energy efficient?

Installing energy efficient windows will make for a more energy efficient home as they are designed to prevent heated or cooled air from leaving the home. There is increased insulation with them so HVAC energy won’t have to be overwrought from changing internal temperatures.

How can I improve the thermal efficiency of my house?

An energy efficient home will be better achieved with proper insulation. Insulation in the loft, attic, basement, and cavity walls will allow for cool and heated air not to leave a home. This allows for better energy consumption with the HVAC system as it won’t work as hard. Another point is to upgrade your boiler as gas can amount to 60% of carbon dioxide emissions in a gas-heated property. Finally, consider using solar panels as this will completely allow you to produce power and heat from natural means.

Contact Your Local Roofing Company

When you’re looking to have a more energy efficient home get into contact with your local custom home company for assistance. They will be able to customize a floor plan with you and implement energy efficient materials and technology for a more eco-friendly end result. An energy efficient home is a great way to save on costs in the long run and have materials that will last for a long time. If you have any questions about how you can have a more energy efficient home start your custom home project today.

If you’re interested in a more energy efficient home in Weatherford and Aledo, TX call (817) 736-6323 with Open Prairie Custom Homes!

Another distinct advantage of a custom designed home is that you’ll only be paying for features you want. For an existing home, you’ll likely pay extra for interior or exterior features you may not want. If a custom home sounds worth considering and you’re ready to discuss custom projects in Weatherford and Aledo, TX, you’ll want to reach out to the experts at Open Prairie Custom Homes. We offer a full range of solutions for home design. Give us a call at (817) 736-6323.

How can I design my own house?

The custom home design process can be stressful and complicated, but can also be a great and educational experience. The first step in the process is to find a builder that fits with your personality, one that you feel confident you can work with. Builders will have a variety of plans available and can walk you through the whole process from initial sketches to the moment you open the doors. But, before you go to a builder, you’ll want to do some initial planning yourself.

Some initial planning advice includes:

• Starting simple: Do some pencil-and-paper brainstorming, listing features, making rough sketches and working out ideas.
• Thinking about the future: Take into consideration the future like whether you’re going to have children and how many or if you may have to take care of aging parents at some point. 
• Making considerations about the lot: If you have a lot already, take in all the considerations about geography and topography when it comes to considering features and locations of rooms.
• Prioritizing the features: As you rough out your ideas, begin to prioritize your features to know what you want more and how it will fit in a budget.
• Considering function and flow: Begin to narrow down the design with the designer to get a feel for the function and flow of the different features.
• Reflecting on light: Throughout your design process, always keep in mind your natural light and how rooms will be affected by natural light.

Who makes blueprints for houses?

For a custom house design, one essential person you’ll need is an architect. The architect will develop the blueprints for your new home. This is key to the design. An architect and engineer will often work together on the blueprints to make sure the design is sound.

How can I design a house online for free?

With the Internet, custom home design ideas aren’t hard to find. While you can find paid sites, there are many sites online as well as apps for your phone that can aid you in your design efforts. These sites and apps are great tools to use in the planning stages to design your new home. The plans can be saved and printed to share with your builder or architect. 

What is the best website for house plans?

With so many sites and apps available to create custom house design plans you might have trouble finding a site with all the features you want. Below is a list of some of the best sites online:

• Architectural Designs
• Builder House Plans
• Dream Home Source
• House Plan Shop
• The House Plans Guide
• Floorplanner

Some, like Architectural Designs, provide an archive of house plans that can be customized to suit your needs. Others are more hands-on, giving you the opportunity to play around with the design yourself. Open Prairie Custom Homes also has some basic floor plans that you can use and customize to your liking. For us, the sky’s the limit when it comes to designs.

How much does a custom home design cost

Costs will vary for custom home design. A significant factor that will impact the price is location. But you will also have to budget in who the builder is, as well as architect and engineer fees. On average people pay anywhere between $200 and $400 per square foot. Smaller homes may be less. Some custom home builders will not design homes under $1 million while others are happy to design any size home. This is another reason why you want to find the perfect builder for you, and what you have in mind. 

So, when it comes to having a custom home built, where do you start? Do you know how to find one out of all the custom home builders in the area that you want to live in? Do you have your own house plans, or do you want to choose from custom home plans that are offered by custom home builders with floor plans already designed and just waiting for your final touches?

With having a custom home built and choosing the right one from all the custom home builders are around today, how do you know you’re getting the right one for you? There are so many concerns and questions, and it is understandable because this is your home. It is an investment. You will spend a lot of time here and a lot of money.

How do I choose a home builder?

When you make that decision to travel the road of having a custom home built, the first decision is important: Choosing the right custom home builder FOR YOU. Just because your sister and her husband loved theirs, that doesn’t mean that is the right one for you. It also doesn’t mean that because a co-worker has had a horrible time with any of the custom home builders, they’ve used, it doesn’t mean you will too.   

You want a builder that will be a partner in this venture, a partner that will bring your dreams to life. A partner that will ultimately hand you keys to the house that is your forever home. This is not the time to settle for less.  We offer you these 5 tips to consider when you narrow down the right one out of the many custom home builders: 

Quality

For the money you’re paying, this isn’t a temporary place to rest your head. This will be your residence, your home, where your kids will grow up and the grandkids come to visit. You will entertain here; you will spend quiet nights and hectic days here. There will be birthdays and holidays celebrated and a place to relax on a rare Saturday afternoon. 

Repairs are the last thing you should need to be concerned with, especially with any of the structural systems critical to a home. The quality of a builder’s work should be the first thing you check into. Ask to take a tour of a completed past project and ask for a reference. As about the structural materials that are visible. 

Having a solid foundation throughout your home is key to the longevity of it, and experienced quality custom home builders use nothing less than high-quality products. From the framing in the beginning to the finishing touches like countertops and flooring. Ask all the custom home builders you’re considering what materials they use, so you’re getting the quality-built home that you’re paying for. 

Research

It’s overwhelming to narrow down the right one out of the many custom home builders out there today. Start your journey by researching where your future home will be located. Custom home builders stay in certain areas, so you can find out who is building in that area and browse their portfolios and floor plans. While we stated earlier that your sister and brother-in-law’s builder may not be for, it doesn’t hurt to get recommendations from others about local custom home builders. 

Transparency

Most custom home builders are fully transparent and will happily answer your questions right from the beginning. They will promptly provide a comprehensive estimate and timeline and share their philosophy. They will talk about the products that are used in their homes and the different people they work with, including contractors like electricians and plumbers. If any of the custom home builders you interview can’t provide you clear, straightforward answers, move on to the next one. 

Questions

If this is your first time to have a custom home built, you will have questions. Every custom home builder of quality shouldn’t have any problem with that. Remember, this is your money, and this will be your home. You may ask questions and be informed of the whole process. The only stupid question is one that isn’t asked. 

Communication

You want to find a custom home builder that you can connect with, including their design team. The ideal customer home building team will ask you questions AND listen to your answers, learn your goals, and see your vision. They will strive to understand what design and products will fit your lifestyle the best and connect your needs and wants early on so that headaches are avoided. 

Any custom home builder that takes too long in responding to you could be the sign you need to find another one. Custom home builders worthy of their reputation will always respond promptly, making you feel that you are the only customer they have.      

What questions should I ask a builder?

When you’re choosing one from the many custom home builders in this area, there are important questions you need to ask, and you need to get answers for them. The following questions can help you choose the custom home builder right for you and the home you want to create:

What is the most expensive part of building a house?

The framing of a house is the expensive part of building a home when good quality wood is used, and framing a house takes a lot of wood. For an average 3-bedroom 2 bath house of average size, farming can cost upward of $25,000 or more. This includes framing studs, sheathing, and trusses.

It can be exciting to know your next home will be a custom home design and build. There are so many custom home designs within different builder’s wheelhouse today. Then there are builders that work with a client’s own custom home design ideas, creating the ideal home of their specific liking and avoiding their specific dislikes. 

What are the types of house designs? 

If you will have a house built with your ideas, likes, and dislikes, the design is all you. There are builders that focus on specific styles though, and the ten basic home styles are:

• Cape Cod
• Country French
• Colonial
• Victorian
• Tudor
• Craftsman
• Cottage
• Mediterranean
• Traditional Ranch
• Contemporary

What is the most popular house style?

Since 1876, in the United States, the Colonial-style house has been the most popular overall. They typically have several fireplaces throughout their two or three stories and were built with either brick facade or wood facade. Custom home designs were not thought of at the time, but each home may have an owner’s special touch.

What is modern house design? 

Architecture described as “contemporary” and “modern” are often used interchangeably, and they are totally two different styles, actually. Contemporary architecture is constantly changing and is hard to give a firm definition because it is “the style of the moment”. A contemporary designed home may have some custom home designs to it by borrowing from other styles and frequently the different styles are used in the same house at the same time. 

 “Modern” architecture is a very distinctive style that originated in the early 1900s and continued into the 1950s. It is a defined style all its own, never borrowing for any other style, and it never changes, it will always be considered as modern. 

Can I design homes without being an architect?

Each state regulates the practice of being an architect, there is no federal law governing architecture.  You must be an educated, trained, or licensed architect to design a house in many areas of the world to offer custom home designs.  The consensus is that without architectural education and training, your design most likely won’t be good, but anyone can draw up a house plan, many home builders do just that. 

You can purchase custom home designs house plans from other that do that, there are books with house plans. People have created their own house and had a structural engineer stamp it, which if you will have a builder build the house, they may require that stamp. 

In some states, architecture falls under “title” laws and some are considered “practice “laws. In a state with “title” laws, not just anyone can call themselves an architect unless they have somebody with a title stamp their plans. In a state with “practice” laws, you must be a licensed architect. 

How do I design a house plan? 

This list can be so long and will vary from person to person! There are so many facets to be considered and we all have our different “must-have” and “wanna have” things. That list will change with the years too, because of our lives changing, like getting married, having kids, grandkids and pets, our hobbies and passions change. 

Still, there are the basics, and this list will include those basics, plus many things that people who have gone through custom home designs before and wish they had thought of it after the fact.

With so many things available in the house building industry today,custom home designs are limitless in its offerings. Even with the most basic of house plans, the roofing, the walls, the flooring, can all have an owner’s private touch, thus providing custom home designs. Dial (817) 736-6323 today for your custom home design in Weatherford and Aledo, TX.

Paying more for material and labor equates to a better finished product. This leads to a longer lasting home free of maintenance and upkeep for quite some time. I tell my clients you won’t have to do anything to the home until it’s time to start updating appliances and equipment in 10 to 15 years. This makes for a worry free and durable home that stands the test of time.

More Location Choices

Next, your choice of location with a production builder is which lot in the subdivision do you want, if you’re lucky. Custom builders will build on your land, or a piece of their land, or they can help you find land to build on.

Customized Floor Plans

There is very little customization to floor plans available with production builders. You can choose between one of their floor plans and make some minor changes, but you can’t typically change the footprint. With custom builders, your possibilities are endless. We make several visits, sitting down with the architect and designer, if necessary, to design the perfect floor plan for your needs and budget and contour/slope of your land.

Pleasant, Stress-Free Experience

Finally, the experience with production builders is just that — production. It may seem like you’re just a number on the assembly line. As a true custom home builder, I make the experience as pleasant and stress free as possible, giving plenty of time to make finish out choices, and making changes as we go.

In my opinion, the biggest difference between production and a true custom home builder is a builder that doesn’t take on too much work, so that they don’t have time to devote to each client, individually. This ensures not only a perfect home but a perfect home building experience.   

Call Us Today

Are you looking for a custom home builder in  Weatherford and Aledo, TX and surrounding communities to build your perfect dream home? For great quality and dependability, the reliable choice is Open Prairie Custom Homes. Call us today at (817) 736-6323 to find out how we can help you.

Level of Quality

Think about it – your custom home is one that you and your family will most likely be living in for a very long time. The first thing you want to make sure of when selecting a custom home contractor is the level of quality they offer. You don’t want to have to be faced with costly structural repairs just a year or two after your home is completed so it is of the utmost importance that you consider quality first. One of the best ways to check for quality is by asking for references – preferably projects that were completed at least a decade ago. Talking to homeowners that have had their homes built by the contractor you are considering is the best way to gain insight on the level of quality they offer. You can also ask them what kinds of materials they normally work with. If you are talking to someone who sounds like they are going to go cheap on materials or cut corners, you may want to consider someone else. While lower costs for materials may sound enticing at first, you will be spending a lot more in the long-run on future repairs.

Keep It Local

You will want to work with a contractor that is local and has some accountability in the area in which you want to build your home. Let’s say for instance that you are ready to build in the Weatherford and Aledo, TX area. If you hire a company that is nowhere near that area, they don’t stand to lose a lot of face if they do shoddy work because their base of operations is elsewhere. Working with a local company that has some status in your area is a good way to ensure a quality job. Asking friends and neighbors in the area could help select the right candidate.

Communication

Building a custom home from scratch can be a long process so before you even start, ask a lot of questions. Ask about materials used, timelines, past experience estimates and anything else on your mind. The contractor you choose should be communicative because building a custom home is a collaboration between owner and builder. When your partner isn’t good about being available to field your questions and listen to your ideas, the project may not come out so great.

Tours

Does the company you are considering offer tours of previous homes that they have completed? Some will and some won’t. That is not to say that ones that don’t are not high quality but they should at least be able to provide you with a comprehensive portfolio of their past work. If they do offer tours take advantage of them. They are a great way of gauging the quality of the company and getting an idea of what they are capable of building.

Consultation

Initial consultations are key to successful collaboration with a custom home builder. Be prepared before your initial consultation. Be sure that you have at least a general idea of what you want your home to be like. Bring pictures if you can too. Pictures of what you have in mind (either physical pictures or digital images from the web or your camera) will give the contractor a visual of what you are looking for and help them determine whether or not they can handle it. Ask a lot of questions at the consultation as well and be sure to get estimates.

Here When You’re Ready