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Posts Tagged ‘dream home’
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
So, what is a structural engineer, and what can one do for you? KADTEC has both a structural engineering license for the state of Utah, and a civil engineering license for the state of California, which means they can handle structural drafting. Most people don’t pay attention to this issue; they look more for a highly qualified architect. However, being sure your engineer is certified to operate in the state where you want to build is important. Structural consulting engineers have to pass a state examination in the state in which they operate, and take what are known as continuing education classes in order to renew that license. That way, you know that that they are knowledgeable about the latest structural engineering formulas. After all, if your engineer is an older lady or gentleman, you want to be sure that they know about green technology, the latest in energy efficiency, and so on. Most states require that an engineer display their license prominently. Look for that when you meet with them. With KADTEC, you can be sure that they are board certified in both structural and civil engineer. They can handle structural steel engineering, which many homes use today.
So, what is a structural engineer going to do on the home plans for your dream house? Well, the blue prints have to be drawn up to meet the building code of the municipality in which you’re going to build. That’s why you need licensed professionals, and they have to be the right professionals for the job. This is where structural consulting engineers may be needed. Architects can sign and affix their seal to some plans, but not all of them. As their name implies, they handle architectural matters. But, when it comes to plans for something heavy duty: what’s known as load-bearing members or something heavily structural in nature. Well, that’s the answer to what is a structural engineer; he or she has to oversee the structural drafting, and sign and seal some of the plans. This is where KADTEC has got you covered. It doesn’t matter what type of plans your dream home requires; KADTEC can either take care of them in-house or get an appropriate sub-consultant. We can handle all types of engineering calculations, energy and Title 24 calculations, and analyze your project to see how rough terrain and varying soil conditions will affect it. There are structural engineering formulas that are quite complex; our staff know how to handle them, and do the structural engineering calculations!
The virtue of a firm like KADTEC is the variety of their services, and that they have connections in the industry to handle whatever kinds of plans you need. When you ask us, what is a structural engineer, we’ve for the answer. You might wonder why we don’t have an architect in-house. You don’t want that. Architects are really quite the artists, but they have the weakness of their own virtue – their individual style. If you don’t care for that style, what are you supposed to do? With KADTEC, they can work with any architect you choose, thus freeing you to select the right one to design the perfect dream home for you. After the plans are prepared, KADTEC can walk you through the difficulties of getting a building permit, by making sure that the right sorts of plans are submitted to the appropriate review agency. By focusing on being civil and structural consulting engineers, we can meet the needs of your individual project.
Tags: dream home, eco-friendly, energy efficient, green home, Structural Engineer, structural engineering
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Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
When building a home, it’s often said that one thing is the most important: location. If you’re looking to draw up your luxury home plans, you probably can’t build in a major metropolitan area. Let’s face it, even with the depressed housing market, areas like New York City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Austin, and so on are very expensive markets. Unless you’ve got a hefty building budget, you’re going to need to look in a more modest area to build.
That’s where rural and mountain areas are best; land is cheap, and building codes are more flexible. It doesn’t matter what sort of luxury mountain home you want to build, KADTEC is an expert at ranch home design, Victorian home design, German architecture, contemporary, and even such things as solar home design, gingerbread house designs, and even whimsical house designs. Our staff uses the latest in 3D home architect software to create any sort of luxury home plans you can imagine. Then, when the floorplan is just right, you can take a virtual tour of your home, and make sure that it’s just what you want.
If you love the idea of mountain view luxury homes, KADTEC are the experts you want to come to. True, we don’t have architects in-house – yet, but the firm is preparing to get an architectural license. We’re certified in structural and civil engineering, which can both be critical in luxury home plans. Do you want a high entryway, or a porch that doesn’t have a lot of columns spoiling the view? You’ll need a structural or civil engineer to design that. If your property is especially steep, we can lay out the grading of the land so that water doesn’t rush across it too fast. Too much of that, and you’ll get erosion! You may need a retaining or stemwall for your luxury home plans; are staff can handle those as well.
We can also coordinate your luxury home plans with any architect you want to work with. The power of CAD luxury home plans are that they are easy to share. It doesn’t matter if your architect is around the corner from our offices, or across the country; we can work together to create your dream home plans. When you consider the dual issues of the environment and the remoteness of some areas, you may want to incorporate solar power, biofuels, and all manner of green architect resources and building materials into your luxury home plans. Just because you’re building a luxury home doesn’t mean it can’t be an eco-friendly home.
Tags: dream home, dream home design, luxury home, mountain home plans, ranch home, Victorian
Posted in Projects | 1 Comment »
Friday, April 30th, 2010
When you decide to draw up some mountain home plans, KADTEC is the expert in the field you should come to; we know the subject inside and out. You might think that all you need is a good architectural drafter to draw up some plans, but there’s a lot more to it. Building in a mountainous region has some unique aspects to it, and we know how to deal with all of them.
First off, many people building the area for the view. Mountain view luxury homes are very popular. When you’re able to look out a window and see the Rocky Mountains or a mountain lake, that’s one incredible view. The air and water tend to be cleaner, and rustic mountain home plans can add to the natural beauty of the area.
Once you settle on a location, you need to consider several aspects of your site before getting mountain home plans drawn up. Is your land very steep, which is common? We can handle grading the property so that rain water doesn’t cause erosion. Once your dream house is built, and the landscaping laid out, you don’t want a thunder storm to wash everything away! Now, you can build any sort of dream home you want: a Victorian home design, any one of some great contemporary home designs, and even something with German architecture. But if the ground you build on is very steep, you may want to consider a split level home, or the house design may require a retaining wall. These are the sorts of things our staff of civil and structural engineers can help you with.
The members of our staff are experts at custom home design. We can create an architectural 3D rendering of any home blueprints we create for you. An architect is sometimes needed to sign and seal construction plans, but we can create any mountain home plans you need. Then we can coordinate with the architectural drafter to create the plans needed for the building permit.
While we’re not landscapers, we have a number of excellent ones – who know mountain home plans, and they are experts at creating landscaping plans for any type of terrain. This can be important because you want hardy plants that can survive in the mountains, and not die during your first winter.
Another thing that appeals to people about mountain home plans is the idea of incorporating eco-friendly products and green house plans into the design. We can help you go low-tech – like some passive solar home designs, or maybe a full solar house design. The idea of green mountain homes has a lot of appeal, and we can help you with every aspect and help you design your own house. No matter if it’s wind power, solar, energy efficient home plans, or green appliances; we’re the experts to help you create the perfect mountain home plans for your dream house.
Tags: design your own house, dream home, dream home design, dream home plans, eco-friendly, energy efficient, luxury home, mountain home plans
Posted in Projects | 1 Comment »
Sunday, March 7th, 2010
When looking to create your dream home, there are a ton of different home design ideas to consider, and KADTEC is eminently qualified to help you deal with all of them. Starting with ideas about where you want to build, we can handle coastal home designs, rustic mountain home plans, and everything in between. If you have some home landscape designs and ideas, we can refer you to great landscapers that we work with on a regular basis.
After that, there’s the layout of the lot. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a flat lot or one that’s very steep, KADTEC has home design ideas that can help you grade it so that a flat one drains properly, and a steep one doesn’t get a lot of erosion from too much runoff. Sometimes, a steep lot requires a retaining wall to support your dream home. If that’s the case, KADTEC has structural engineers that can handle the calculations and permitting.
When it comes to the interior, you name the feature, and our design team can use 3D interior design software to draw up anything you like. Do you want to go with something classical – Tuscan home design, Victorian home design? If you want a southwest home design, northwest, a ranch home design, contemporary, French architecture, Spanish style, minimalist architecture, ultramodern, or even an eco-friendly home; we can work with you on home design ideas for your dream home design. If you want something completely different, we can even do a round house design.
In terms of home interior design ideas, there are a plethora of add-ons we can help you with. Do you want that perfect rec room, home office design or library you’ve always dreamed of? Do you have some home theater design ideas, complete with the latest sound system? If you want to stay fit, we can add a home gym design. Whichever member of the family loves to cook, we can layout the home kitchen design to be perfect for you.
And, let’s not forget the environment. Lots of people are concerned about Global Warming these days. Also, if you build out in a remote location, getting standard utilities can be problematic. So, you can incorporate many types of energy efficient home designs into your house design ideas. That can mean everything from a solar-powered hot water heater to a full solar home design and energy efficient home designs. When it comes to eco-friendly products, recycled building materials, and green home building techniques, we know how to make use of them all. So, no matter the home design ideas you’ve got, we can handle them.
Tags: dream home, dream home design, dream home plans, home theater design, interior design, landscape design, rustic, Tuscan
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Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Many people like the idea of creating green home plans. They look around and see Global Warming getting worse, pollution on the rise, and natural resources being depleted. So, if you want a great house, yet one that is eco-friendly, KADTEC can help you create green home plans you can be proud of.
Yet, some people worry that “going green” – as they say – is going to entail a high cost to their dream home plans. That does not have to be the case at all. These days, you can create just about any type of green home building you want. Here again, some people feel that to be truly green, you have to go with log cabin home designs. But, there are alternative building materials that will allow you to create any style of home you want, and still make them green home plans.
So, what sort of home do you want? Whether it be a Victorian home design, a modern home design, and even ranch house plans can be turned into green home plans. The key is using the right green technology, having a green architect, and making use of the green appliances and green products available in the marketplace. I know, that’s a lot of green! And you want to make sure that you don’t waste a lot of your own green – your money – in carrying out your dream home plans. This is where affordable green homes are important, and where having an engineer who’s an expert can help you. A high efficiency washer and dryer might be slightly more expensive now, but over their lifetime, they’ll save you money, and be less of an impact on the environment.
It’s said that Civil Engineers are unique in that they pay attention to the bottom line, to the cost of something. When creating your green home plans, this is an important point. Sometimes, architects – even green ones, can get carried away, and it’s up to the engineer to essentially rein them in. Green technology doesn’t have to be expensive; it can be as simple as using passive solar home designs. The right sort of green technology can put efficient insulation in your walls and roof, a solar-powered hot water heater in your house, and maybe even a wind or solar electrical system to provide some or all of your home needs. If the cost of such measures is outside your means, there are still green products that are affordable. By making use of recycled building materials, you can save money, and help the environment.
If you’re familiar with the lingo of the environmental movement, then you know that a person’s carbon footprint is how they contribute to the amount of greenhouse gases are dumped into the atmosphere. Reducing that footprint is the aim of green home plans. By utilizing all that technology has to offer, and hiring an engineering firm skilled in implementing green technology, you can have the most energy efficient home design possible. At KADTEC, we’re experts at doing just that.
Tags: alternative house design, dream home, dream home design, energy efficient, green home, log home, modern, passive solar, solar home designs
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
There was a time when people pooh-poohed solar home design as the stuff of science fiction. Today, we see Global Warming, pollution, rising energy costs and depletion of our natural resources, and realize that solar powered house designs are no longer fiction. And, you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to do it either. We can walk you through the process of passive solar home design, and use technology that won’t bust your budget.
There are several key factors to consider in solar home design, especially when going the passive route. Where are you planning to build? What are the wind patterns in your area like, and what’s the terrain? In passive solar house designs you generally use windows and what’s known as thermal mass to help heat and cool your home. By having small windows on the summer side of your home, and large on the winter, you can help keep your dream home comfortable. Thermal mass refers to things like the masonry used in your walls and/or fireplace chimney. In this type of solar home design, the stones absorb heat during the day, and give it off at night; thus your home stays about the same temperature at all times. Here again, positioning your home and the stonework depending on your location is important.
The virtues of passive solar house designs are that they’re simple, require little maintenance, and have few moving parts. In initial costs can also be minimal as only a change in building material is needed. Now, stepping up to a full solar-powered home can entail a lot more work and investment. Yet, some people see it as important to reducing their carbon footprint. Also, if you’re building a rustic mountain home, you may be miles from the nearest utility, and running power out to you can be problematic, at best.
If you want to go fairly low-tech, you can install a solar powered hot water heater. That simple feature can reduce your electric bill quite a bit. If you have a pool, and want it heated as well, there are solar powered pool heaters. Depending on where you, if you have good sun exposure, a full solar home design may work for you. By installing photovoltaic (PV) solar-power panels on your roof, they will convert sunlight directly into electricity. During the optimal times of year, you can completely power your home this way.
In fact, some electric companies will buy the excess electricity that your solar house design generates! Just think, the dials on your electric meter running backwards. Or, you could say: running the right way. Not only can you be proud of having a completely solar powered home, but you’ll actually be helping your community. For some people, that’s a source of great pride.
No matter what kinds of solar home designs you want to use, we can help you work them into any style of home you want. And, if you’re unfamiliar with all the solar-powered technology that’s out there, we can help you pick out the best systems for your dream home.
Tags: dream home, dream home design, mountain home plans, passive solar, rustic, solar home designs
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Sunday, December 27th, 2009
These days, people love the idea of going over their own small home plans, getting them just the way they want. Well, at KADTEC, we’ve got you covered. Utilizing the latest in 3D CAD software, we can create a 3D architectural rendering of any home you can imagine. Why look at flat, boring blue prints when you can take a virtual walk through any of the efficient home designs you can conceive of?
It doesn’t matter if you want a big home or a small home design; the key to KADTEC is that we specialize in unique home designs. These days, small modern house designs have many benefits. Given the state of the financial system, small home plans are easier to build; they are more affordable, and they can give you a mortgage that is easier to handle. Also, if you do your own small home design with an eye to the future, to expanding, you can have your efficient house design, and still build it for a reasonable price. Down the road a piece, when you can afford it, you can add on those additional rooms.
KADTEC can handle the civil drafting for your small home plans. A small home design also has the virtue of being faster and easier to build. The bigger and more complex your dream home design is, the longer it’ll take to build. Also, you want to keep the future in mind. What sorts of energy efficient house plans are going to be coming available? A large house could take extensive renovation to make use of any breakthroughs in energy technology. Along those same lines, small home designs are more energy efficient. Right now, the future is very uncertain. You don’t want to get yourself into your home only to find it’s too expensive to maintain. You want to make sure that your utility bills are manageable. Going with an energy efficient home design, you can save money over the life of your home.
For that matter, there’s the simple issue of architectural styles. How many times have you looked at a home and instantly known when it was built because of the tacky style of the place? Home styles are like fashion styles – they change. What’s stylish today may be downright hideous in five years, and then home remodeling becomes an issue. A large home presents the problem of being hard to change and update when styles change. For that matter, you can change your mind about your home. The layout you love today, you may find it really doesn’t work for you, as you settle into your dream home. Even if you don’t want to expand your house, you may find that you want to remodel certain aspects of it. With small home plans, they are also easier and cheaper to implement.
When building a house, keep this in mind: it’s not like a haircut! If you don’t like your small home plans, it won’t grow back. That’s why getting a good design right from the get-go, viewing the home in a 3D rendering, and keeping the layout small and simple is the best way to get your dream home.
Tags: dream home, dream home design, dream home plans, eco-friendly, energy efficient, modern, small home design
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Sunday, December 13th, 2009
The idea of log home designs has a lot of appeal for some people. Maybe it’s the idea of going back to nature, or you’re thinking of how Abraham Lincoln grew up in one. They can be beautiful, but they also have problems associated with them. Rather than going with a log cabin home plan, there are great mountain home designs available that are much better.
Log cabin home designs look quaint and pretty from the outside, but they’re fraught with troubles. Termites are everywhere, especially out in the wilderness. Unless you want to go to the expense of getting the logs for your log home building and cabin treated, those little buggers can literally eat you out of house and home! And, if you do treat the logs, now you’re putting chemicals into the environment, not very eco-friendly. Then there’s properly sealing the log home designs so you get a nice tight seam between the logs. Yes, modern chemicals and sealing compounds are good, but getting the log cut so that they fit together close enough for a firm seal is labor-intensive, and expensive. And finally, there’s the issue of getting through those walls. A plus of log home architectural design is the insulation that the logs provide. But, that’s a double-edged sword. Anytime you want to run a utility line, a pipe, or anything else in and out of the house, you have to do some serious drilling!
Instead of log home designs, take a look at the great mountain home designs that KADTEC has to offer. Step one, meet with the staff to look over our portfolio of previous works. From them, you can get some ideas as to the perfect dream home for you. If you have an architect already lined up, our staff can coordinate with them in your mountain home design. If you don’t have an architect, KADTEC can help you find one. Also, the company is in the process of getting its architectural license. No matter what services you need to design your home, we’ve got you covered.
Once you have a basic layout, KADTEC can advise you on making your rustic mountain home plans as eco-friendly as possible. These days, there are lots of green home construction methods available. How do you know which ones are right for you? The staff at KADTEC are experts at green house design, and can guide you in the process of selecting the best elements to work into your mountain home plans.
So, before you let some builder talk you into a log home building plan; check out the better alternatives that KADTEC has to offer. Remember, this is your home, the place you’re going to want to stay in for a long time. Log home designs may seem quaint, but you want the best design possible; that’s what KADTEC can do for you.
Tags: dream home, dream home design, dream home plans, eco-friendly, green home, log cabin, log home, mountain home plans, rustic
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Getting your home designed the way you want it is really only half the battle; you’ll want home landscape designs and ideas to finish it off. We at KADTEC don’t do landscaping, but we have a great bunch of landscapers that we work with regularly. When you find just the right lot for your dream home design to be realized, you’ll want to get a good home landscape design to go with it.
Landscaping can be as varied as the styles of homes that we can design for you. These days, there are landscape and home design software programs that allows you to review a plethora of home landscape designs and ideas before you ever stick a shovel in the ground. That’s an important feature of any landscape architecture design. As we’ve all seen from recent events, times are a bit tough these days. You do not want to waste time and money on a lot of different full sets of blue prints, only to find just the right home landscape design. That’s the virtue of landscape architect software; you’re landscape architect can create a variety of virtual layouts for your home, and then you can select the one you like.
You have a number of issues to consider when reviewing the home landscape designs and ideas for your dream home plans. First off, where are building? Are you planning to on a coastal home design, or maybe a mountain home plan? Each of these is a unique environment that will impact your home landscape design. A home built near the beach means that the soil is sandy, and the air is very salty. Plants that are very sensitive to salinity won’t thrive in such a situation. You need to be sure that your landscaper knows about such things. If you’re building in a northern clime and/or the mountains, you’ll want to avoid tropical plants. If your landscaper doesn’t think of that, your plants will wilt in the first winter’s frost. Then there are what are known as invasive or nuisance spices of plants. If your landscaper has home landscape designs and ideas that include such spices, your landscaping plan won’t be approved! Those kinds of plants are damaging to the environment.
Then there are other home landscape designs and ideas related to green home plans and being eco-friendly. It’s no secret that, these days, more and more people are concerned with the environment. That concern can extend to your garden and landscaping. A really good home landscape design can incorporate hardy plants that don’t need a lot of care. Desert plants can survive on much less water and fertilizer than other plants. For that matter, you can get a garden composter so that you use organic matter to create natural compost and fertilizer. If you can avoid putting chemicals into the soil, the local environment will be that much better for it. For that matter, if you or any of your neighbors use well water for drinking, you’ll want to minimize dumping chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides into the water table.
Tags: dream home, dream home design, dream home plans, eco-friendly, green home, landscape design, mountain home plans
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Friday, October 16th, 2009
There’s no denying that we live in “interesting” times, shall we say? Making sure that you have energy efficient house plans is of critical importance these days. Gas prices vary widely, and sometimes getting enough home heating oil is tough, especially if you live in a remote location. This is where energy efficient home designs are vital.
There’s a lot of debate as to the causes of Global Warming, but no one can deny that the world is warming up, and greenhouse gases are the driving force behind it. So, if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, energy efficient house plans are the way to do it. Maximizing your insulation, putting good shingles on the roof, and installing high efficiency appliances can be the key to achieving all of this. Many times, the construction methods used by the builder can be critical. It’s important that, when building a green home, it gets built right. Here’s one example: some builders will cut a notch out of the wall insulations when installing an electrical outlet. Each of those notches is a tiny hole in your insulations. If they do that for every outlet, it can add up to the equivalent of an open window in lost energy! Do you want to leave a window open all winter and all summer? What affect is that going to have on your energy efficient home design? Not only is your money essentially billowing out the window, but you’re pumping still more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This is where KADTEC can help you by insuring that the energy efficient house designs outlined in your home blueprints are carried out properly.
Today, there are a variety of energy efficient house designs you can choose from when laying out your dream home plans. It doesn’t matter what architectural style you want: a Victorian home design, some cottage home designs, and even something as different as German architecture. All of these types of homes can benefit from eco-friendly products. Building a green home doesn’t mean having to sacrifice anything, if your engineer knows about all of the green architect resources available.
Energy efficient house plans can incorporate something as simple as passive solar home designs – the windows oriented to get plenty of the winter sun, and little of the hot summer sun. Then there are full solar home designs you can look into that will give you maximum energy efficient house plans. There are solar hot water heaters, and solar panels to go on your roof to supplement your electrical system. Depending on where you live, your energy efficient house plans could include a windmill. Placed in the right location, one of those can generate a lot of electricity. You can also check with your local utility, and see if they have a buy-back program with people who generate their own power. Some municipalities require their electric companies to buy power people generate themselves. As a result, if your energy efficient house plans prove very efficient, you may end up selling your excess power!
Tags: cottage, dream home, dream home plans, eco-friendly, energy efficient, green home, passive solar, solar home designs, Victorian
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