Building a new house - tips and tricks please

In My Humble Opinion
21

We moved into our house a year and a half ago, and these are two things that we will probably end up changing. I have no electrical outlet in the front of the house, so I have to run an extension cord from the back to mow the front lawn. We do have water taps outside back and front, which is very nice. You might also consider an electrical outlet up high on your house for plugging in Christmas lights and not having a cord drooping down.

My laundry room is in the basement and bedrooms on the main floor of our bungalow. At 44, I’m noticing that it’s a bit of a strain to haul the full laundry basket up and down - that’s only going to get worse. I really like laundry facilities in a bathroom close to the bedrooms - you don’t have to worry about too much extra plumbing or moisture in a room that’s already built for it.

One other thing that we might add to this house is a proper mud room; I would love a space big enough for everyone to have room to take off and store their heavy coats and muddy shoes without bumping into each other.

22

Just so you know where this is coming from, I have never nor will I ever live in a house.
I currently live in a hotel room. I know crap all about building a house.

I believe you live in the Seattle area? Make sure your new home is built to the earthquake code or better if at all possible. Seattle isn’t as seismically active as California is but it doesn’t take a big quake to shift the foundation much. As I understand it a few relative minor things done now can make a huge difference **when **a quake does happen.

The Nisqually earthquake was just 10 years ago.

23

We just had our house built three years ago. Since this is Tokyo, it’s tiny and we had to fight for every inch (OK, centimeter) of storage and making dead space usable.

Take a voice recorder along to the meetings and then write memos afterward. Share the memos with the contractor so that you have written notes of their comments, “Sure, we can do that for free.” before the estimate is written. Make sure to clarify what is extra costs and what is not.

As others say, put LAN cabling everywhere. Make sure to use high quality cable since bandwidth needs will increase as time goes on.

I ran the wiring for a home theater system with HDMI cable to where the projector goes. Put a conduit there for future proofing, as cable requirements will change. We had conduit run between rooms as well, but most people don’t go that far.

Full blown home automation systems are beyond the scope of most people, but they are getting cheaper. You can look into a simple system. I’d look into outdoor network camera, but that’s just me.

We put ceiling speakers in our house, but that’s overkill for most people.

On a more practical level, but fourplex outlets where there is high electrical usage. We put two fourplex outlets in our entertainment center and that wasn’t enough.

Since rooms get rearranged, couches moved, bookshelves added, etc., add more outlets everywhere.

We spent a lot of time looking at natural lighting, which gives our house a more open look. A lot of people have commented on it.

We hired another architect to check the drawings and do an inspection, and he caught a major problem.

We also spent a lot of time going over the kitchen. Unfortunately, because of size considerations, we couldn’t get a lot of what I’d like, it still made it much nicer than what was suggested.

A few things to consider: will both of you be doing cooking at the same time? Plan that into the flow. Also plan for heavy use, Thanksgiving or Chinese New Year, when there will be many cooks in the kitchen.

We looked into an inline hot water heater by the range to get really hot water for boiling. Lacking the space, we didn’t do it, but I’d look into that for the States.

Think about light switches carefully, where it’s nice to have two-way switches and such. Think of how you will be turning them off at night, so you don’t have to walk through a dark room to get to your bedroom.

Extra space in the entrance closet for coats, etc.

Look into the house design from a standpoint of passive solar heating.

I think they are getting more common (standard?), but attic fans are good.

I may think of more later.

24

Whole house surge suppressor for the electric panel is less than $60 at Menards. Way cheaper than surge strips all over the house.

I have never encountered a home owner that regretted putting a bonus room under the garage. I have encountered several that did not and wished they had.

I have no problem with a living room that has no TV. Put one in family/kitchen space and/or home theater. I actually do not like TV above fireplace.

‘Electric dust pan’ feature in kitchen (if not carpeted) as an accessory to a whole house vac is a nice idea.

Put a wall mounted file holder on the wall in the utility room for the directions to the furnace, water softener, water heater, etc. (And make sure the contractors don’t loose that stuff!!!)

25

Some other electrical items:

  • Put a dimmer switch for a light (never for an outlet!) in the bedroom - that way when one person gets up, they can have a dim light on while their spouse is sleeping
  • Put an outdoor outlet where you can plug in your Christmas lights, and have it wired to an indoor switch, so you can turn the lights on from the inside (think of Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation)
  • Investigate the “home-run” approach to running Cat-5 (or Cat-6), coax, phone, etc to a system box in the utility area; it’s like the electrical utilty box and looks nicer
  • Install good quality exhaust fans (bath, kitchen) - they’ll be quieter and less flimsy
  • Have outdoor outlets at ground-level for trimmers, electric mowrers, party music, at both the front and back (and water faucets on both the front and back; also put in a water faucet in the garage along with a drain)
  • Consider in-floor heating for the bathrooms at least.
26

Hahahahaha. We did 90% of this when we built our dream house in 1999 including the Christmas lights thing. It is now worth 60% of what we paid to build it.W00t Anderson windows…worth nothing. Job finished wood floors…worth nothing. Three car insulated, walls finished garage…worth nothing. Nine foot walk out basement…worth nothing. And our area didn’t even see the big boom of the late 2000’s. We just got the bust of the 2010’s. Bleh, I’m not bitter.:cool:

27

Think about orientation on the lot. If you are working with predesigned plans, remember you can flip them so that the correct part of the house gets the most light.

Speaking of water faucets, get hot water piped outside somewhere. Makes bathing the dogs, washing the cars or windows etc much nicer.

28

You might want to pay attention to exactly what the derogatory words are, first. I would have uncomplimentary things to say about many of the architects I’ve worked with, because of the immense importance I put on architectural work. I don’t believe that the majority of those practicing under the name deserve it.

29

Well, if you never sell it, it doesn’t really matter what your resale value is. :slight_smile:

30

Also, whether you resell or not, you have the use of the better construction while you’re there. That’s worth a lot more than nothing, and in some interpretations should be your primary concern anyway.

31

There are probably state and fed tax deductions or credits for certain environmentally friendly things (like windows, or a specific type of A/C unit). Check these out.

Most garages aren’t heated. You might consider installing a couple of in-the-wall space heaters on their own thermostat for the times you’d like that area to be warm. If you have rooms over a garage, extra insulation in that juncture.

Consider vaulting the ceiling in the kitchen. Lots of windows for extra light in the kitchen, too (and in case you burn something :D). If you’re short you can get your kitchen counters made lower. If you entertain, either a second oven or a warming drawer is nice.

Regarding home automation / home security / home entertainment. Figure out ahead of time (talk with a security company) where sensors, external lights, speakers, control panels are going to be. Of course, all this can be done wirelessly, after the fact but it’s a bit more expensive.

If floor heaters in your bathroom would be prohibitive, steer away from cold stone tile. Don’t do wood floors. Wall-length mirrors of course, lots of lighting above sinks. Also, lots of counter space if you can, in any bathrooms.

If you have a driveway, a covered conveyor belt to take your bring your mail from the box to the house, a robot butler and christmas lights embedded in your siding so you don’t have to put them up and take them down every year.

32

A conveyor belt from the garage to the house for groceries would be the cat’s ass, too! I think it was Dilbert’s Dream House that had two dishwashers - one for dirty dishes and one for clean ones. Two ovens could also be a good idea if you entertain.

Oh, I thought of a new idea for houses - a place for your recycling bins in the house (ideally near the kitchen).

33

Some things I’ve missed or wondered “wtf were they thinking?”

  • rooms set for telephone and TV right from the start, but a single outlet.

  • the hallway in my rental has four doors which open into it: one bedroom (at one end), the bathroom (right next to that bedroom), another bedroom (middle of the hall), the living room (the other end). There are two light switches, one at each end - so if you’re in the “middle” bedroom the nearest switch for the hallway is about 5m away.

  • double-glazed windows, windows and doors which close correctly, and in general good insulation, are just amazing - specially when you’ve become used to them and then get a place which doesn’t have them (whine whine).

  • Another vote for “get anything resembling a ‘cable’ put in place using conduits”. Makes them much, much easier to maintain and replace.

  • When you’re looking at flooring options, think cost and work required for maintenance as well as for putting them in.

  • heights: too low is bad, but too high means higher bills and a big ladder if the lamp needs fixing.

  • In the UK, every outlet has its own switch, and it is easy to tell whether the switch is in the “on” or “off” position; good child safety, as well as something which lets you ensure the connection is dead before plugging and unplugging. If I ever redo the wiring in my house, I’m setting some “strips” of outlets inside the walls in the locations where I may be needing several outlets, and any strip or outlet (that is, the lone ones in bathroom, kitchen…) will have its own switch. And they won’t be at ankle height but at waist height.

34

[QUOTE=China Guy]
…we can design a place that is pretty safe and convenient for all of us.
[/QUOTE]

You need fire sprinklers.

If you put them in at build, you can protect your home for about $1500-3000, depending on how big the house is and where you live. Even as a retrofit in an existing house, the cost is not bad.

A small fire such as a cigarette dropped into a couch can go from smoldering to having the room fully involved with thick acrid smoke filling the room from floor to ceiling in under three minutes. Even if you live next door to a fire station, firefighters probably won’t get to your house in under four minutes, and then they need to hook up to a hydrant, get hoses out, etc. With fire sprinklers, the head in that room (and that room only) will go off a few seconds after the smoke alarm and the fire will not get a chance to become deadly.

For such a small investment, it’s like having a firefighter in every room 24/7.

35

Contractors Leins, Get signed waivers so that if your contractor fails to pay his subs they cannot put a lien on your property.

Some perks that I like, infloor heat, tankless water heater, whole house water filters, pleated shades (really!) top down bottom up style (look at hunter douglas) no cords, holds heat in or keeps heat out.

36

Unfortunately we are trying to sell it now. Sorry for posting inappropriately in the thread.:frowning: I do agree with what everyone is saying and it has been a joy to live in this house for the past 12 years. I’m just a teensy bit aggravated right now.

37

Watch Mike Holmes on HGTV, he goes in and repairs stuff that inspectors missed, or contractors fucked up upon. Very interesting seeing where contractors take their shortcuts.

You could also do what my mom did - when she was on the school board, she played clerk of the works several times for construction projects. She would lurk onsite and pretty much watch to see that shit was being done per contract. When the house burned down and was rebuilt, she had a little spot that she would hang out and sit and read and watch the crews work. Oddly enough, of all the house renovations of the circle of friends, hers never seemed to have cost overruns or time overruns … the place was actually finished about 2 weeks early:D

38

I’m not sure this is permitted by code any longer- there are problems inherent in putting several tons of steel filled with flammable liquid above a living space.

Add at least another 10% to your budget for this. :wink:

My thoughts- I’d give some thought to whether you want to use spray foam in the walls. I see them using it on all the trade shows (which I think is at least as much a function of the financing deals the producers have with the suppliers as it is that it’s a good idea), but I know that in all the homes I’ve lived in, I’ve run many wires through the walls from one floor to another. It’s possible that you might not plan ahead now for every cable/wire run you’ll need in the future, and if the walls are solid with spray foam, you’re out of luck. Also, although I do recommend insulating well, it is possible to make your house too airtight. It could lead to poor airflow, odors, excess moisture and mold. It’s not such a bad thing to have a little natural ventilation in the house’s envelope.

If I was to build a house right now, I’d pretty much use the same footprint of my existing house but I’d either totally eliminate the “formal” living room or I’d reduce its size considerably, and I’d add that space to the dining room (we entertain a lot) and to the family room, which is right off of the kitchen and where traffic flow naturally takes people after the kitchen fills up.

I also second the ideas of geothermal HVAC (we’re installing a system right now) and on-demand water heater (soon).

Good luck with the project!

39

This. Get your time and cost estimates… then double them.

As far as the actual home plan, I strongly recommend that you keep the HVAC well away from all living areas. Having the furnace closet right across the hall from your bedroom is a real noise problem. My last house had that closet in the garage, and it was awesomely quiet in the house.

40

Use iron drain pipes instead of plastic. That way, the whole house won’t sound like rushing water any time someone flushes a toilet.

Use cast iron bathtubs instead of plastic.

Also, use a hot water recirculation system. This ensures that you will have hot water the instant you turn on the faucet. No more waiting 3 or 4 minutes for the water to get hot.

Don’t skimp on trim work.