If you’re planning on designing your own custom-build home, then you’ve probably considered a wide range of factors - from materials and costs, to suppliers and timeframes. But for eco-conscious individuals, building an environmentally friendly home is at the top of the list. In the UK, the best way to go green with your home is to build it yourself – allowing full control over a range of different factors and elements to make your house more ‘eco’.

Drawings are the first step taken towards making your construction project a reality - they're the foundation on which everything else is based. Naturally, if you have poor quality drawings it's going to result in an unsatisfactory final build.

There are several knock-on effects to consider when it comes to bad drawings.

Space can be limited in the average UK home. Whether it’s down to a growing family, your interior aspirations or simply catering for your tastes, a bigger house or property is the goal for many homeowners. But while moving into a pre-existing, larger property is a solution for some, for others leaving your first home – or ‘forever house’ – can be a challenge. That’s where extensions come in, providing an ideal way to expand your space while keeping all your comforts close to home.

When planning any build, it is important to maximise the use of available light. This needs to be an integral part of the planning process, taking into account the use and placement of windows, doors and skylights, alongside the design of the internal layout.

With winter firmly established and temperatures plunging to sub-zero, you may have noticed cold draughts tickling your ankles at home; if so, be reassured that you’re not alone, as Britain’s homes are amongst the least well-insulated in Europe. However, reassurance won’t warm you up and turning up the heating is only a temporary solution that will cost you.

A wraparound extension can add much-needed space to your existing property. These L-shaped extensions essentially combine a front or rear extension with a side return extension.

Wraparound extensions are typically more complex to construct than standard side or rear extensions, although they offer greater volumes of space and complete flexibility. With a wraparound extension, you’ll find it much easier to re-order the layout of your entire home to suit your requirements. With a bit of clever engineering, you can even remove entire corners of current space to breathe life into your home with an attractive and vast open-plan living space.

An extension can provide numerous benefits for you as a homeowner, such as creating a more spacious and intuitive living environment for your everyday life. One of the most important questions that many people wonder, however, is 'does adding an extension add value?' It's true that building projects can very often serve as a creative way to raise your property price, but the degree to which this is true will depend on a number of factors regarding the home itself and your exact extension plans.

Drains often cause concerns for people considering building an extension.

It's late-January and winter shows no signs of ending. Most of us are feeling the cold, and with fuel costs rising every year, it's no surprise everyone's feeling the pinch. If you want to make your pennies go further, it's worth optimising your home to ensure you're not paying for heat which goes right out the windows. Follow these top tips to ensure your home is designed to keep the heat in this winter.

If you’re considering building your own home or adding an extension to your existing property, you need to hire architectural designers.