I can’t tell you how man people I’ve worked with who fought against skylights in the bathroom and thanked us afterwards for being persistent about putting them in. There is no comparison between light from above and light from the sides. It’s a completely different experience. You can put a relatively small skylight in (~20" x 27") where heat loss is going to be minimal. Just be sure to flair the light well so it appears bigger.
Granite prices vary all over the place, depending on the type. So-called “quartz” (stuff like Caesertone) is usually about $1500/slab but the newer, fancier stuff can be much more pricey. Quartz doesn’t need to be sealed. Natural stone should be sealed at least once/yr. But a typical quartz slab is a bit smaller than a typical granite slab.
If you can afford it, I’d go for quartzite in the kitchen. It’s a natural stone that is pretty much like glass. Very difficult to stain.
From what I’ve read, the latter is true, which is why the former is not. But they both have a large range, so I’m sure there is top end granite selling for more than low end quartz.
I’m leaning toward quartz. If what I’ve read is correct, you still have to seal quartzite, and it is hard to find in dark colors. I am not in charge of color selection, the boss is, and she wants black or almost-black counter tops.
It will probably come down to whether I can find quartz that’s not much higher in cost than granite. I would think that stains won’t show up much on black granite, and anyway an hour a year isn’t that much work to keep it sealed.
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What is the advantage of having a separate subpanel, as opposed to dedicated circuits on the main panel? I do plan to have the main panel indoors, rather than in the garage.
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The big one is that a subpanel only needs two breaker spaces in the main panel vs what could easily be a dozen spaces for separate circuits off the main panel. This may not be as significant in a new build, but it could be a critical issue for a kitchen remodel if you don’t want to install a new main panel.
The other advantage is you run one mongo cable to the kitchen subpanel rather than 15 runs of romex for each of the 15 code-mandated separate circuits all the way from the main panel to the kitchen area.
Lotsa good ideas upthread. My suggestion: Since you intend to install an aux generator soonish, do the house electrical with that in mind. Definitely have them install the cutover switch between grid power and generator power now.
Also consider laying out the circuits and panels such that all the generator-powered loads are in one panel and the rest of the house is on a separate panel. This sorta ties your hands about how big a generator you’ll eventually get. But it avoids concerns when using the generator of needing to turn of these 7 randomly numbered breakers to kill the circuits the generator can’t support. This is definitely a two-edged sword, so check with experts on the pros & cons vs your situation.
Lots of the ideas here are pretty high-end. Be careful you don’t build an ultra-custom feture-heavy snazzy house in an area where absolutely nobody like you will ever move there and want to buy such a house. Yes, you can and should build to make you happy, not the next owner.
But many a white elephant has been built in a place it doesn’t fit. Which turns into a financial millstone when you need to move for old age, family, or whatever.
Remember also that the kinds of people who can afford a high $ / sf house with all the goodies is probably the kind of people who’ll build their own. After all, that’s exactly what you’re doing.
In all, this sounds like a real fun (albeit expensive) project. lease keep us updated on your progress. With pix of course.
More garage/storage space. If you are into outdoor sports and thinking of a home shop of some sort AND you want to park 2 cars inside the garage you could easily use 800-1000’ of garage space. I’m a contractor so have more tool storage needs than most, but our 2 car garage and 300’ of storage now holds only one car and all our crap/tools/toys…
Depending on how technically inclined you are, having a rack closet might be a good idea. Have all your ethernet terminate in a closet that is sized to fit a standard rack mount. That way, it’s very easy to flexibly expand your technology needs over time. Want to add a beefy media server? Easy. Want a nice gaming machine but don’t want to deal with the noise? You can chuck it in the closet and use steam streaming to play on any TV/monitor in the house.
We went with porcelain floors that look like wood and quartz counter tops.
High ceilings is something I didn’t see mentioned here. They really make the interior look much larger and open. We ran a roof top cupola along the ceiling which lets in a lot of natural light.
Also didn’t see Solar water heater mentioned. Once its installed, long hot showers are “free”, but you might be too far north for them.
We went with steel framing and a high density form type wall construction. There isn’t a single piece of wood in the house. Termites and wood rot were a concern that we don’t have to worry about now.
Plan on having the construction take a lot longer than planned and the costs to go significantly higher when all is said and done. Good luck!
Here’s a look at the home. (We rent it out when we are not there. Just click on the viewphotos button to see the interior.)
I’m afraid that ship has sailed. I plan to stay in this house the rest of my life, and I’m building it accordingly — no steps at all, not even from the garage to the house, or at the front door. Grab bars around the toilets and showers. Stuff like that. It’s in an older neighborhood, but an absolutely perfect location for me — everything I need is within a safe, low-traffic, five-minute walk. So I’ve already reconciled myself to the fact that I’m not going to get my money back if I sell it, because it will cost probably $100K more than any other house in the neighborhood.
But with any luck, I’ll live there 40 years, so it’s only about $10K a year. Can’t find a 1-bedroom apt for that where I live now.
I would have loved to do something like that, but as I said in the OP, I didn’t want to take the chance on somebody screwing it up, and nobody to fix it. At least I think I’m too far north for termites.
Solar power is definitely in the future, when it becomes more efficient. I have a space in the back yard reserved for panels.
Thanks for the photos. I remember a thread you started asking about non-wood alternatives for kitchen cabinets and wondered what became of the house. One question, though; you said no wood in the house, but I see tables some rooms. What are they made of?
No wood in the structure of the house itself, but some of the furniture is made from wood. Wood furniture is less likely to be attacked by termites, but if it even were, its easily replaced. Termite damage in the structure of the house, not so easy to repair.
What a beautiful home, and obviously well thought out. I lived in Hawaii (Oahu) about 40 years ago, and termites were a big problem, but as you said, you have no worries with your construction.
Your prices are way less than I would have expected, too. The boss will be very interested in this.
Once you’ve made your major decisions, have the contractors leave you any excess material. For example, when I’m tiling a kitchen or a bathroom, I’ll leave whatever is in the last box I opened but didn’t use, along with one unopened box of tile. That’s for widely-used tile - stuff like decorative trim, etc. gets the “leftovers from the box” but not necessarily a whole unopened box. I also like to tile wall-to-wall and then have the cabinet guys set their cabinets on the tiled floor. That way if the client ever decided to rip out their cabinets, they aren’t staring at a piece of raw subfloor and going “So, what do we do about THIS?” Here is a sample of my bathroom work. That one happens to be in a mobile home, oddly enough.
I’f I’m the customer, the same thing goes for the other trades - leave me a couple bundles of roofing shingles, etc.
I recently toured a custom home, and the shower had…no walls at all. it was a free-standing shower in the bathroom, no wall, no door, no curtain. Showerhead and drain. on the other side of the room was a Jacuzzi tub.
My first thought was, where do you put the soap, shampoo, conditioner, but there was a place right next to the control knob. After the shower, no glass to squeegee, no tile to spray down with Clean Shower, no shower curtain to get moldy (they always do). I liked this idea more and more.
