- How much does design cost?
- How long does design take?
CUSTOM HOME DESIGN vs. STOCK HOUSE PLANS
Quality, personalized custom home design compared with economical stock house plans & catalog home designs.
VALUE vs. COST FOR CUSTOM HOME DESIGN
High-quality home design requires professional knowledge, experience, skill and diligence.
With these fundamental ingredients, your home building project will proceed smoothly to successful completion.
It is natural and common for property owners without building design or construction experience to view home design services primarily as a commodity that is to be acquired at minimum cost.
The initial home design procurement questions are commonly:
Significant hazards exist in maintaining these questions as the primary focus in the process of choosing an Architect or home designer.
To correctly evaluate home design service alternatives, it is necessary to compare the Value that the property owner can expect to receive through the design process, rather than to compare the Cost to be paid for the design service.
The essential question that must be answered when planning your home construction or renovation project is:
- Do I want to build a great home design?
CUSTOM HOME DESIGN
Learn more about Classic Muskoka Homes' custom home design service for Great Homes in Muskoka!
DESIGNTHE BENEFITS OF CUSTOM HOME DESIGN
High-quality custom home design services are available in Muskoka through Architects, Engineers, Home Designers and Interior Design consultants.
Custom home design results in a high-quality residence that offers benefits that include:
- Suitability for high-end Luxury Custom homes
- Building location & geometry responsive to site
- Appropriate building scale for neighbourhood
- Captivating views from the interior
- Solar shading (summer)/ solar exposure (winter)
- Building geometry to suit wind exposure & airflow
- Space planning specific to lifestyle
- Design for retirement & aging in-place
- Harmonious interior design
Classic Muskoka Homes recommends that an Architect be engaged to deliver custom home design services for high-value, landmark properties in Muskoka.
We also offer custom home designs that capture landscape views, incorporate unique building site opportunities and conform to your design priorities while delivering a complete set of construction drawings for building projects in Muskoka.
START DESIGNING
Make an investment in high-quality custom home design that frees you to live in Muskoka!
EMAILFrom the moment we contacted Ben, we were highly impressed by his professionalism, integrity and dependability. Ben completed the design, obtained all the necessary permits and completed the construction of the building on time and on budget.Muskoka River
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PHOTO GALLERY
THE BENEFITS OF STOCK HOUSE PLANS & CATALOG HOME DESIGNS
Stock house plans & catalog homes can deliver simple construction drawings at a low initial cost with benefits such as:
- Minimal design cost
- Pre-priced building materials packages
- Fast design process (can be less than 4 weeks)
- Early construction start
- Designs suited to Average/Custom-quality homes
Despite these benefits, building your home from stock house plans may expose you to risks due to missing or incomplete quality requirements in the construction drawings that your builder must depend on when pricing construction work for your contract.
In this case, your choice of a knowledgeable, skilled & trustworthy builder may be your only assurance of reasonable construction quality.
Review our detailed comparison of Custom Home Design vs. Stock House Plans as design process alternatives for great homes in Muskoka:
START BUILDING TODAY
Take the first step to plan, design, cost & build your great home in Muskoka.
EMAILBen is a true professional and it's obvious that he takes great pride in his work. Our boathouse looks great (we've had numerous compliments from friends and neighbours) and we are satisfied knowing that it is structurally sound and built to last for many years to come.Lake Rosseau
CUSTOM HOME DESIGN FOR A GREAT HOME IN MUSKOKA
Choosing professional design for your home in Muskoka will give you the benefit of the design professional's academic training, aesthetic sense, and the knowledge & skill in construction detailing and specification that derive from years of specialized building design and construction experience.
As the property owner you will remain directly influential in high-priority design decision-making on your home building project, while profiting from the guidance offered by the professional's specialized training and experience.
During Architect-led design, Classic Muskoka Homes offers Pre-Construction Consulting and may serve as a cost & scheduling consultant or as a constructability advisor for challenging sites and complex buildings.
We also offer our services to support the evaluation of alternative products and systems for quality & value during design, and to serve as a local administrative point-of-contact to the Architect, interior design team and property owner.
Our Pre-Construction Consulting service delivers construction quality & value to property Owners.
HOME DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION PLANNING RESOURCES
THE CHARACTERISITICS OF A GREAT HOME DESIGN
When deciding which home design service is appropriate to your project, remember that the construction cost (85% to 95% of your building project cost) will be determined primarily by the quality of the design work that is incorporated into and captured by the construction documents for your home.
Any construction-related information that is not documented unambiguously in the working drawings for your home's construction is effectively delegated to the discretion of the general contractor, the craftspeople and the specialty trade sub-contractors that will build your home.
If you accept compromise in the quality of the design service provided to your home building project, you may need to accept the risk of unforeseen construction costs and low-quality, or low-durability finished construction.
When evaluating the decision between Custom Home Design and Stock House Plans with a focus on design service cost, consider offsetting the cost of a quality custom home design with rental income generated through short-term vacation rentals with the help of a cottage rental agency or website like “airbnb.”
You may be surprised by the financing power you can generate using a rental income strategy.
Research rental rates local to your neighbourhood and inquire about the experience of other property owners to validate your expectations.
Custom home design produces the high-quality Luxury & Custom homes that property owners seek in Muskoka's real estate market.
In renovation design for an existing home or cottage, custom design is the only option that can ensure a well- integrated and consistent design.
Catalog homes and stock house plans are an appropriate home design choice when housing affordability must be uppermost among a project's many design priorities.
Even where affordability is a high priority, custom home design offers the potential to avoid costly surprises during site preparation and construction by properly considering the property and building site conditions.