Whether building a home or renovating an existing dwelling, the reality world of computers makes life very easy, eliminating mistakes and bad choices before the first hammer blow is struck.

Computer aided design, or CAD, can take you from the bare ground of your section to a finished product, complete with exterior and interior painting and cladding, right through to kitchen and bathroom fittings, furniture and colour scheme, all at the click of a mouse.

You can move walls, expand rooms, add a floor, and even wander into the garden you wish to have in the future.

There are a wide variety of software packages available and on the Internet, there are many companies offering on-line designing solutions.

Colour schemes are a particular area where CAD can take you through a multitude of colours and fabrics. If you change your mind
a dozen times, it costs nothing.

Kitchens can shrink and expand, change format, and you can add or subtract appliances and locations at will.

Outside your proposed building, you can even simulate lighting and weather patterns to experience how your home will be best positioned for sun and prevailing winds. Want a swimming pool perhaps?

Just a move and a click of your mouse, and it’s there. Should the garage be here, or there? Stand alone, or perhaps it should be part of the building? And what will the place be like when some trees have grown?

Then it’s off to the architect and the builder!