The best part about building a custom home is that you get to make it to what works best for you and your family! Your preferences, style, and lifestyle are at the forefront; you don't have to worry about upgrading or changing because it was built for you. 

In addition, you get to choose the type of house, if a bungalow is your style or a two-story townhouse. The number of floors and square footage you have can significantly affect the cost to build and how much you'll pay for heating once your home is complete. 

As well as how easy it is to maintain and move around in, and so much more.

But how do you know if a single-story home is right for you?

What is a Single-Story Home?

Single-story homes are homes that have one level on the ground. Most homes in Canada have a basement. However, the basement level often does not count as a story on its own as it is below ground level; though, single-family homes don't always need or have a basement level.

Advantages of a Single-Story Home

If you have small children, are looking to build a vacation home, or build a home that you can retire in, single-story homes can have significant advantages to a two-story house.

Here are five advantages of a single-story home:

• More per square footage living space
• More energy efficient
• Simpler to design
• Safer to navigate
• Perfect for any and every stage of life

Disadvantages of a Single-Story Home

With any that's great, there is always a downside. The downside doesn't have to be a big one. Still, when it comes to thinking about your dream custom home, it is always essential to have all of the information to make the best and informed choice!

Here are three disadvantages of a single-story home:

• Cost for per square footage
• Less privacy 
• Potential lack of space

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If you choose to build a single-story home, we know that you won't regret it! There are so many advantages, that it truly could be the right kind of house for you and your family.

Fine Point and Prairie Cedar Homes offers custom built homes, where you work with Barb and Doug Pocha, our exclusive design process  will have you working with our architects! Your home will have all included materials in your home package. 

Custom built homes are the way to go! You get a home that is built to your preferences, turn-key ready in the truest sense of the word!

In recent years, open concept homes have once again been all the rage! More and more new homes and custom-built homes choose to have an open concept floor plan over the traditional floor plan.

This isn't for everyone, though! New home buyers and home builders often think that they should choose an open concept layout, but you don't have to have it because it's in vogue. 

When building your custom dream home, you should choose a floor plan that is not only your style and to your liking, but one that will fit your family and their needs!

Open Concept Floor Plan

Open concept homes became very popular in the 1970s, and by the 1990s, most homes were being built with this style. But the open concept has evolved during this time, as everything does.

An open concept floor plan is essentially a floor plan where no walls exist to separate the living room, dining room, and kitchen. They all become one large open space, where the way one tells each room apart is by the differing furniture.

This floor plan has many benefits:

• Making a small space appear larger
• Promote everyday living
• Spread natural light
• More modern
• Resale Value

However, as with most things, there are downsides to an open concept floor plan:

• Lack of privacy
• Cooking smells travel
• Hard to keep clean
• Resale Value

You may have noticed that resale value is both a benefit and a downside when it comes to this type of floor plan and may wonder how that is possible. While vastly popular right now, this type of floor plan is still a trend, much like sliding barn doors or heated entry way floor. This means that the trend could go out of fashion. It also means that not all home buyers want this. 

Traditional Floor Plan

A traditional floor plan is one where the home has different and distinct rooms that are usually sectioned by walls, so there is a separate living room and kitchen, and sometimes a dining room. This type of floor plan is most often seen in homes built before the 1990s.

As with the open concept floor plan, there are many benefits to this floor plan:

• Privacy
• Sound control
• Mess containment
• Reduced heating and cooling costs

Downsides to a traditional floor plan:

• Large gatherings can feel split up
• Safety (more challenging to keep an eye on the kids)

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When it comes to choosing between a traditional or open concept floor plan for your custom home, it truly depends on what your needs and the needs of your family are, as well as what your preference is. If you know that this home will be a forever home or retirement home and that you'll never sell, choose the floor plan that you like most.

Maybe you want to cook with your family and/or keep an eye on the kids as your cook; then, an open concept floor plan is for you!

Barb and Doug Pocha can help you when it comes to the floor plans of your custom dream home. With the help of their architects, they have build many a dream home for their happy clients. Each Fine Point Cedar Home is built to meet the clients' needs, and each house can have changes made to them.

There is so much that goes into building a custom home. The easy part is choosing a company to build with! Choosing Fine Point Cedar Homes as your builder will be the easiest part of your custom dream home journey.

Before choosing a company to design your home with, you should scout and find an excellent location for your home to be built on.

Location is everything as the saying goes, location, location, location! 

Here are three things to consider when searching for a location and plot for your custom dream home.

1. What kind of Home are you Building?

Is this home going to be one that you retire in? Do you want to vacation in it? Or is this going to be your forever home, the home where you start a family, and grow old in?

Depending on your answer, your location and plot of land may differ. What you look for when building a family home is vastly different than what you would want when building a vacation home.

2. Research Your Preferred Location

This and the first point can go hand-in-hand. When you think about where your home is located, do you picture a suburb with many children and families, a secluded country road, or maybe in a picturesque historic part of town? It would be best if you were thinking about the community you want to live in as much as the plot of land you'll build on.

Research whether where you want to build and live is near schools, a community center, or even close to bus routes. Does the plot have easy access to the grocery store or recreational spaces? These are essential things to consider. You don't want to build your dream home only to realize the closest grocery store is 30 minutes away.

Don't forget to take roadways and your commute to work into account!

3. Sunlight

One thing that can be overlooked when choosing a location for your custom home is its exposure to sunlight. 

As Canadians, we know how important sunlight is, especially during the winter! Seeing the sun can help to cope with our cold winters!

When you start to build, don't ignore the effect that the direction a house faces can have. From utility costs to soaking up the sun in the summer, the direction your home faces is truly important!

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Barb and Doug Pocha of Fine Point Cedar Homes will help you ensure that your dream home is exactly what you want. Helping design homes in Western Canada, they have the expertise and experience to help you; whether you want to build in British Columbia or Saskatchewan or in between, they can help you and your family!

To learn how to build a Custom with Fine Point Cedar Homes, call us at 1-855-554-6325 or register your interest here: Register with Fine Point Cedar Homes.