Prior to putting out any money on land for your new home, you should check the area after a heavy rain or following periods of bad weather to see if your floor plans will fit into the environment. You may have selected the perfect plans, but if the lot will flood after a rain you will want to either make special drainage plans or consider another location on which to build.
Most home floor plans include methods to prevent your basement from getting wet in typical weather, however they make no allowances for severe storms. While preparing for all contingencies can be expensive when building your home, it can be even more expensive repairing water damage.
Although you may not be in a flood plain, certain factors may contribute to damages and sudden storms creating excessive runoff may leave you with a home that cannot be salvaged. You should also consider other weather patterns when selecting your floor plans.
Some parts of the country experience frequent periods of heavy wind and selecting floor plans that put the wind in a vulnerable position may prove to be unwise. Since in the northern states most prevailing winds approach from the west or northwest, large glass doors facing that direction can be an insulating nightmare. Solid walls with smaller windows facing the windy side of the home can help reduce heating and cooling costs through the windy seasons.
If possible, plant trees as a wind break to help protect your home and if you live in a climate prone to snow storms, consider trees as a snow fence to help protect your home from severe weather damage.
By thinking ahead of all potential issues that weather can cause, choosing your floor plan as well as lot lay out can help you avoid many of the weather related problems you could encounter.
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Christine Cooney
Christine has over a decade of experience as a house plan and floor plan expert. Outside of providing her expertise to customers to help them find and build their dream homes, her passion and knowledge of the home building industry allows Christine to guide families and builders through all of the important steps from finding plans to building custom homes that meet the expectations of today’s new home owner. Christine’s years of knowledge of the diverse trends and needs of the modern homeowner has made her into an authoritative and trusted voice in the online house plan community..