Home & Family Facts and Notes

When building a summer home, there are many things which you must consider. Not only should your beach house designs take in to account the size of the available lot, but also the more specific things about the location. For example, when you buy beach house designs, they never tell you how your house will stand up to a hurricane. How about flooding? Earthquakes?

Your vacation home might be where you get away to, to dream a bit, and escape your everyday life, but you shouldn’t be dreaming when you are planning its construction. Take account of the surroundings and protect your investment!

Research the area well to see what type of structures have suffered little damage when Mother Nature turns nasty. What about the type of surface, its ability to support weight and if erosion is a concern?

With the changing environment, there are only going to be more and more natural disasters, and you are more and more likely to have to discard the low, sprawling beach house designs so currently fashionable, to build something more staid and solid - a fortress against the elements.

Before you even get in to the beach house designs, you would do well to do some good research about the area where you are to be building it. You should look at tides and available breakwaters, insure an adequate distance above sea level, and try your best to insure that you are not building in a region of the world which is frequently beset by storms.

If you don’t want to be paying an arm and a leg to build your dream cottage, you should also research what local materials are available, and then buy a beach house design which can employ these materials in its construction.

Post a tender or job request and interview local builders who show interest in the project. You are looking for someone with whom you can communicate well, and who was able to address any issues you have noted after completing the above research. Now, from your short list of prospects, dig through their references and interview other owners of beach property who they have helped.

During this planning process, try to keep emotions out of any major decisions, as most of these decisions need to made based on the current facts that are available. Your skills at interviewing and financial costing will be challenged during this process, however the final result will be the beach house of your dreams.

Tags: home, family