When buying a long-awaited land with the intention of building their own housing, a person should be familiar with the rules and regulations that govern such work. He also needs to delve into most of the procedures and activities that precede or accompany construction. The property owner must understand what architects and builders are talking about in order to make the right decisions, control their work and get their dream home as a result.
Planning and design
Faced with the need for individual design of buildings, many understand that in this matter it is impossible to do without a specialist who knows how to develop and design project documentation, its coordination, correction and approval.
Even the simplest one-story house must be erected in compliance with the norms adopted at the legislative level. In addition, modern housing has many requirements regarding comfort, convenience, style and prestige. Working documentation and project documentation, developed at a professional level, allow you to build beautiful and functional houses, equipped with high-quality heating systems, provided with water and enough electricity.
However, first of all, cooperation with specialists at all stages of construction makes the facilities safe and durable.
What you should know about "ideal" projects
Project documentation is not only a plan of how the house looks. This is a combination of requirements for residential buildings with the wishes of the owner (text and graphic materials). The development of project documentation requires a huge amount of theoretical knowledge and practical experience from the specialist who is involved in it. Failure to comply with the proportions of the premises, a mistake or omission regarding the location of electric wires, gas pipes or a water supply system can turn a future home into an uncomfortable or even life-threatening structure.
Therefore, architects and builders are so ironic about dreamy customers who want a perfect home. Of course, the owner’s opinion on how rooms, doors, windows and openings should be located is important for them, but expanding a nursery, moving walls or an additional window may be contrary to the rules. The architect knows better about the possibility and expediency of using new engineering systems, about what is the permissible load on the floors, how pressure should be distributed on the foundation, and about other similar nuances.
What is custom design?
The development of design documentation for the construction of atypical or non-standard residential buildings is considered one of the most optimal ways to build comfortable housing. Do not think that individual designing is too expensive a service. Most often, thanks to this approach, owners get the opportunity to save on basic and decorative building materials, as well as on the performance of many types of work.
The individual project documentation compiled with the architect is the ability to bookmark certain materials (cost-effective, delivery or installation), miscalculate their interchangeability and rationality of use. However, if a person is independently engaged in the development or alteration of the project, he runs the risk of making mistakes. For example, if the material is selected incorrectly, a phenomenon such as a “cold bridge” may occur, resulting in increased operating costs when heating a finished house.
Stages of designing residential buildings
First of all, the owner of the land should start checking its purpose. The possibility of development must be documented by the village or district council.
Having this document in hand, as well as the state certificate (confirmation of the right to dispose of the land), it is necessary to take “in kind” its size and area. Only then can design documentation be developed. This is a sequence of several steps. The first of these is a sketch, which should contain three main components:
- Landing the house on the site. This is done so that it is possible to form an opinion on the most important factors: the location of the cardinal points and panoramic views, the presence and nature of buildings on neighboring lands, the direction of the prevailing types of wind, the availability and quality of access roads, the ability to place auxiliary structures in the future (garages, parking lots, baths, wells).
- Image of the internal layout of the building. It matters the number of people who will live in the house, their age and way of life. Based on these data, the architect plans the necessary number of floors and the size of the main functional areas (living room, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, wardrobes). In addition, balconies, terraces and verandas, if any, are indicated here. This procedure contains requirements for project documentation.
- Type of decoration of the building facade (materials that will be used for exterior decoration, as well as the type of roof).
What you need to get a construction passport
After the preliminary drawing is ready, its visualization is carried out and the design task is completed, the owner of the site receives the following drawings:
- The plan of the house, which shows each floor, the size and area of the rooms, the approximate arrangement of furniture, as well as the total area of the entire building.
- The facade of the house from various points of view, as well as perspective views on which the types of finishing materials, color schemes and the number of windows should be indicated.
- The main section of the building. It indicates the height of the ceilings, the shape of the attic space, the rise of the stairs.
- The outline of the master plan.
Often, such design documentation is a sufficient amount of information to issue a construction passport. The submission of this package to state authorities is becoming one of the most important and most difficult stages of building a house. Coordination of project documentation and receipt of the relevant document is the basis for the development of a working draft.
Do not neglect the importance of this type of work, as a detailed discussion and rational planning allow you to create a truly comfortable, energy-saving home.
What is the working documentation and project documentation
Working documents (texts, drawings, specifications) are based on the decisions set forth in the draft. Decree No. 87 “Composition of project documentation” does not prohibit the parallel development of both types of documents.
Getting down to working design, specialists usually deal with the following issues:
- They choose building materials for all structures that are part of the building (load-bearing and external walls, partitions, floors, roof, foundation). Their choice depends on how convenient and rational the delivery, storage and installation of mixtures, wood, brick and other elements will be.
- The load on the foundation is calculated: the maximum weight of snow on the roof, walls, floors, furniture and equipment (approximate figures). Calculation of the parameters of the foundation, as well as other critical structures: load-bearing walls, lintels above doors and windows, reinforcing belts for laying under floors, staircases.
- They design systems for supplying and discharging water (those areas that will be in the building), indicate the type of connection to the septic tank and well, calculate heating and ventilation, and also deal with power supply (indicate the power of lighting devices, sockets, switches and their location).
- Combine the wishes and calculations provided by engineers and designers into a harmonious architectural design.
In fact, the design documentation (GOST 21) differs from the working design in fewer technical details and nuances.
The value of savings for the construction and future operation of the building
Properly and competently drafted working draft can significantly reduce the costs of the owner of the facility for the purchase of materials and payment for construction works. In addition, the amount of residuals is reduced: boards, tiles, bricks and other items purchased “with a margin” do not accumulate.
Also, this document will avoid unnecessary costs for electricity and other resources in the future. Of course, in order to achieve truly tangible savings, you must follow the rules of installation and installation of materials.
The structure of the design documentation
In general terms, the sections of the working draft are listed in the corresponding document: Decree No. 87. The Decree (the composition of the project documentation) provides for more than ten sections. These include:
- Explanatory Note.
- The scheme of how the plot will be built up.
- Architectural decisions.
- A system of constructive and space-planning solutions.
- Systems of heating, ventilation, water supply, electricity, ventilation and others.
- A plan of how the construction work will be organized.
- Activities for the demolition or dismantling of the facility (if it comes to redevelopment or reconstruction).
- List of actions to be taken to protect the environment.
- List of fire safety measures.
- Solving the issue of the mobility of groups with limited mobility (people with disabilities, senior citizens).
- Estimates for the construction of each object and other documents.
The decree on project documentation serves as a guide for experts who analyze and verify the papers provided to them. This event is required, for which they turn to public or private specialists. By and large, they are engaged in reconciling the developed projects with the current standards and technical regulations.
Private and state examination of design documentation are considered equally legitimate. Projects approved by a specialist must be accepted by Stroynadzor.
How does it begin and how is the approval of project documentation
The beginning of cooperation between the owner of the site and the developer (contractor) is the conclusion of an agreement listing all the rights and obligations of the parties.
The contract document includes two parts: legal and technical.
The first is directly a text and briefly describes the essence of the relationship between the parties. It includes:
- Introductory part.
- Description of the subject of the contract.
- Planned stages of construction.
- Indication of the cost of services and work.
- Specific deadlines for the implementation of construction and repair measures.
- The list of rights and obligations of the parties to the agreement, as well as an indication of their responsibility.
- Terms on which payment will be made.
- Enumeration of force majeure circumstances.
In addition to the text part, the contract must necessarily include design and estimate documentation, otherwise it may be invalidated. The technical section describes which building codes will be applied in the construction of the house, as well as the type and scope of the work itself.
When the customer and contractor have come to a common denominator, and the project has been developed, it is given to experts and specialists for study.
Procedure for documenting construction
The very first and most important stage of approval becomes the submission of the developed project (more precisely, its architectural and planning part) to the local city planning authority. If the chief architect signs the documents and approves the appearance of the future building, then we can assume that this part of the project is agreed.
Then, each subsequent section of the design documentation is submitted to the appropriate authorities:
- Placement of external networks.
- Environmental section (when planning the construction of an industrial facility).
- Section of design documentation on traffic (in the case when it comes to a motor vehicle).
When the stage of approvals is completed and all permits are received, the project is sent for a comprehensive examination. This is the name of the state examination of design documentation. Here they check compliance with all norms and requirements: fire, environmental, sanitary-hygienic, as well as those related to labor protection and energy conservation. The decision is made by representatives of several authorities:
- Expert Council under the Government.
- Glavsekspertizy.
- Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense and Emergencies.
- Ministry of Natural Resources.
- Ministry of Health and Social Development.
- Ministry of Industry and Energy.
- Federal authorities.
In the case when the construction is financed by budgetary funds, the examination also includes a thorough check of the estimated, base cost. When approved, this figure appears in tendering and drafting contracts.
If the funds belong to a private person, the customer may refuse to evaluate the estimate.
The specifics of negotiations
In the process of approving the project, the customer or contractor turns to the experts for a positive opinion that would confirm the legality and safety of the future building. Often between designers and specialists there is a misunderstanding due to different views on current legislation. In this case, to clarify, you have to involve developers of regulatory documents.
This is the procedure in accordance with which the issuance of a building permit takes place. The owner of the real estate must go the same way to carry out its reconstruction, restoration or major repairs.
Among the owners of houses there is an opinion that it is almost easier to legalize actually performed work (construction or redevelopment) than to get approval in the usual way. In practice, this leads to a delay in the procedure, litigation, fines or, in extreme cases, the demolition of illegal construction.
Today, there are a large number of specialized firms that play the role of intermediaries between customers (owners of land and buildings) and government agencies. As a rule, contacting such specialists can significantly reduce the time for collecting and submitting documents, and also increases the chances of their successful approval. This is due to the fact that professionals are always up to date with the latest news, they know which laws are repealed or amended, and how to circumvent one or another rule.