Residential Designers
Written by No Doubt Marketing
Residential designers can help you when planning your home
and the overall architectural design, as well as the layout of the rooms. These
designers often go by a variety of different names like home planners, home
designers, residential construction designers and even registered or certified
residential designers. There can be a world of different between all of these
designers, so be sure to check the credentials and experience of any designer
carefully.
Unfortunately, anyone can legally call himself a designer or
a residential designer. There areno legal or educational requirements that
must be satisfied for him to do so. This is in vast contrast to someone like an
architect, who has had a minimum of 3 years of formal education and 5 or more
years of interning with a degreed architect before they can claim that title.
An engineer, who can also design residential homes, also has a professional
degree.
But a home designer or residential designer may be someone
who took a few graphic arts and drafting classes in college, so finding out
their background is important before you hire someone. Someone who uses the
title certified or registered residential designer is more likely to have
better credentials, but this is no guarantee.
In many areas, a registered residential designer has been
certified by a state program which allows them to draw up building plans that
will qualify for approval for building permits. In those areas, someone else
calling herself a designer will likely have her building plans rejected by the
housing authorities.
A certified residential designer may have excellent
credentials. But it depends on where the certification comes from. There are a
variety of organizations out there that offer certification for things like
professional interior designers and professional designers. Those certifications
offer no guarantee that the person is qualified or skilled enough to design
building plans.
If you can use a certified residential designer in your area
and have no problems getting plans approved, then at least check into the
organization or trade association that has certified them to see what their
requirements are for certification.
While you can work directly with a construction contractor
to have building plans drawn up, a residential construction designer with good
qualifications is more apt to spend more time on the design side of the
equation with you than a contractor might. The designer will ask lots of
questions about how you'll use the rooms to help you come up with the right
layout for your lifestyle, in addition to just determining the architectural
style and elements of the house.
Some residential designers may even work with an architect
to come up with the initial design based on your budget and desires and then
have the architect add the final touches and make sure the plan is sound. You
may find such designers have completed the college training to do architectural
work but are still in training to become a licensed architect. Regardless of
whether you choose residential designers or other professionals, make sure of
their qualifications and their ability to listen to your wants and needs when
designing your home.
