A country house is the dream of almost any family person. To make your life comfortable in it, you need to take into account many nuances. For example, let’s take a family of two adults and three children who decided to get their cottage.
Of course, you can build your own home or see some good houses for sale on sites like janefischer.com. Clean air, plenty of space, and a swimming lake near the house. An ideal life for a large, close-knit family. But first, you should check the house’s condition; this is the most important thing when buying. What should I pay attention to?
Advantages of a private house
- Unlimited freedom of action. You can listen to music loudly, run around the house, play the violin.
- Lots of space. There are enough square meters for storing twists, equipment, bicycles, sleds, and other things. It will NOT fit in the house-feel free to hide in the garage, shed and other buildings located on the site.
- Animals. You can have chickens, geese, and anything that is raised for food. You can afford a big dog and ten cats. There is enough space for everyone in the house and on the plot.
- Parking lot. There is enough parking space in the courtyard of a private house; you can build a garage.
- Earth. In the property of the owner of a private house, there is always a plot of land where you can equip a vegetable garden, break flower beds, put pavilions, and a barbecue.
- Organic vegetables. You can grow vegetables and fruits all year round on your site while ensuring their quality and naturalness.
Disadvantages of a private house
- Repair. In a private place, you have to monitor the wear and tear of structures and communications yourself. The cost of repairs exceeds similar expenses in the apartment.
- Maintenance of the surrounding area. When staying in a private house, it is carried out on its own. The owner of the household completely bears the costs of resources and finances.
- Land tax. As a rule, it is costly.
- The Internet. Not everywhere it is; many private homes are content with ADSL.
- Transport accessibility. Not always public transport stops are within walking distance; sometimes they may not be at all.
Materials
Country houses can be divided into two large groups: wooden and stone. They all differ in energy efficiency (thermal insulation), construction speed, environmental friendliness, and cost.
In the construction of country houses, wood is used since stone ones take much longer to build. Plus, wooden materials are more affordable. Here you can choose a beam or a log. This category also includes frame buildings – buildings with a wooden frame, sheathed with unique slabs.
Square
First, you need to ask yourself the question: how many floors do you want?
If the plot is large, then there is no point in making the second floor. You can divide the house into two zones: in the first, there will be bedrooms, in the second-all the other rooms.
Of course, if you want to make a two-story house for the sake of aesthetics, this is another matter. But usually, two floors are chosen if the plot area is small. It also saves on the foundation.
Here it is worth considering the age of people. If the family is under 30 years old, then a two-story house will be convenient for them. If the residents are already under 50-60 years old, it is better to make a one-story building so that in the future, climbing the stairs does not become a problem.
The minimum area of the house for a family of two adults and three children is 150-200 sq. m.
Design features
If you plan to live in one house for several generations at once, you need to think through all the nuances so that everyone is comfortable. First, it’s about personal and shared space. Be sure to think about the location of such areas as the living room or dining room, as this is where the entire family will gather and meet guests. Therefore, it is most convenient to place such rooms on the ground floor or in the part of the house closest to the entrance, as this will additionally allow you to separate private rooms from outsiders.
One of the significant nuances is the size of the house, as if you violate them, you can go beyond the limits of acceptable norms, which can cause demolition by a court decision. It would help if you remembered about the margins from the road-5 meters, from the neighboring plot-3 meters. But also do not forget about fire safety: between the houses made of wood-15 meters, for the rest-10 meters. Based on these measurements, you can choose the size of the house; then, you need to decide on the number of rooms and their size.
If you live with elderly parents, it will be more convenient for them to have a room on the first floor not to climb the stairs once again. At the same time, you should be guided by the approximate size: for one person, the size of the bedroom is from 9 square meters, for two – from 14.
Children’s rooms should be made equivalent, that is, of the same size and on the same side. If you plan to settle young children together, it is better to think about their settlement later.
One of the most popular solutions is a two-family house. It is a cottage that combines two independent houses under its roof. This option will be cheaper than two separate buildings. It will also be a good solution for living together for several generations at once. At the same time, each part of the family will have a separate personal territory.
This is not all you need to know when buying a home. In some cases, there is a need for additional checks. An experienced realtor can feel all sorts of tricks, so it makes sense to entrust this work to a well-established real estate agent when buying a property.
