Civil engineers are trained to handle all types of projects, from simple to complex homes. With the right knowledge and expertise, anyone can design their own house in terms of appearance, design, and more. However, architecture is an important part of the design process and should not be overlooked, especially when it comes to custom homes. Architects, engineers, building designers, or a combination of the three can usually design buildings.
Although the careers are similar, there are significant differences in education, salary, and the licensing process. The requirements for designing a house depend on the state in which you intend to build. If you want to open your own design, development and property management company where you can design a building in a general way and define the design concepts for that building, you need to be aware of the regulations in your area. In all drawings other than civil engineering, use the title designer and refer to the sets as building plans or residential plans. It is important to check the requirements of the jurisdiction for which the project will be designed before designing it. When it comes to designing a home or residential space, you may want to start with floor plans and purchases.
You may be able to design a house without being an architect, but it depends on the size and scope of the structure. What many do is make the design for a client, who then takes it to a GC and gets an in-house technician to copy the plans in exchange for a building permit. What can really be cost-effective is to know the common areas where contractors cut costs and inspect the house yourself (in addition to a regular home inspector who can analyze objects you're not familiar with, such as MEP) as it's being built (assuming you have experience designing homes).It seems that a structural engineer could design most of his own house with the contribution of MEP and minimal contribution from an architect. A chemical, civil, electrical, forestry, geological, mechanical, metallurgical, mining or structural engineer who designs or supervises the construction, alteration or repair of a structure generally designed or supervised for these purposes by an engineer may also be able to design a house.
