New House Tips please

[BrettW]

Ladies and Gents,
I'm building a new house starting very soon. I'm asking for any tips/ideas you wish you'd done (or did) on your house so that I might use it on mine.
I'm also going to have an apx. 24x32 wood shop/storage shed built eventually. Also tips on turning a field into a yard would be very helpful.
thanks in advance
Brett W

 

[BB_TX]

The greatest thing we did was to put in 2 water heaters. One serves the master bath. The other serves the kitchen, laundry, and the kid's bath (when they were still home). No matter what was going on in the rest of the house, we always had hot water in out bathroom. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif That heater was located near our bathroom so that the hot water gets to the faucet very quickly.
Also, I am quite tall, so we had a split level vanity put in our bath. My side is about 4-6" tall than my wife's side.

 

[heehaw]

use cellulose, or however its spelled, insulation. i highly recommend anderson windows..they have a lifetime warranty and i know folks that have tested the warranty and where very happy with the results. caulk every hole where a wire or pipe goes, run cat 5 computer wire everywhere you can dream of, its cheap to do now..insist on metal ductwork, and have the joints sealed with mastic, not duct (temporary) tape.
have 2 sq. ft of return air for every ton of air conditioning.
heehaw

 

[yonahforge]

Brett,
My best advice is to leave your checkbook with the builder and get a plane ticket to somewhere else (Brazil?) for 3 or 4 months. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

One suggestion would be to look at the design of the bathrooms very closely. Is it exactly what you are looking for/need? Will it still be workable for you in 10, 20, 30 years?

Second suggestion is to spend the extra few dollars per door and get wide doors. This makes moving furniture easier, and helps with handicap access. My parent's house (1960s ranch) has extremely narrow doors (put in before they bought the house). A remodel was done in the basement many years back, and there is a washer, dryer, stove, and fridge that will not come out of the house without demolition. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Are you hiring a builder to do the work, or doing it yourself? Check the prior work on any builder to make sure it is up to your standards. I've seen some very shoddy new work in some expensive homes.

How long will you live in this house? Plan to stay forever, or sell in five years? If moving again is in the cards, remember that additions/subtractions could affect the resale value. The previous owners of our current house enclosed the front porch and removed the front door. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

We sold our house we built about 7 years ago, and have remodeled 2 houses since then. I dont know which is more work.

 

[heehaw]

good idea on the 2 water heaters...other possiblility is plumb the house so you have a return line to the water heater, and have the hot water circulate, it takes a very small pump to do that, if its designed right, it will do it by itself, magic i guess /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif..maybe install a "watercop", it shuts off the main water line in case of a water leak, i think will do that if i ever build again /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif oh yes, if you use trusses for your roofing system, get the ones designed so the insulation will go all the way out to the edge of the wall, i think they are called energy saving trusses.
heehaw

 

[mathey]

hmm, lets see...good things i DID do...
- rough in for central vac
- whole house intercom system
- pulled phone, cable and CAT 5 wire to EVERY room
- ran two 2" PVC pipes each with one end open in the basement and the other open to the attic for future wiring needs
- pre-wire for hardwired security system
- raised the dishwasher up to a "normal" level
- raised the master bath vanities up about 4"
- master bath shower has a shower head on each side
- pre-wired for home theater in master BR
- a neighbor installed a mini fridge recessed into the wall of his master BR
- garage has a 40 x 16 loft for storage or possible future room with access from MBR (attics have a lot of usable space if you get the right trusses)

simple things that added alot...
- lots of transom windows over doors and sliders
- interior arched pass thru's instead of plain square ones.

things i DIDN't do...
- not nearly enough outlets in garage or basement
- not enough recessed lights on living level
- funky switch placements (hard to visualize when its studded)
- walk in closets are NEVER big enough
- mud room is too small (or is it too much junk in there?)
- shoulda installed a garage type door into the basement, coulda used it as a shed for off season stuff

i'm sure there's more!

 

[RobS]

Good things we've done:

Develop a good relationship with your builder.
Be nice and respect the subs (donuts go a long way here).
Insist on a clean work site and pitch in when necessary to keep it that way.
Keep a pad of paper and a pen-on-a-string in a central location at the site.
Put a picnic table and trash can nearby for anyone to use.
Take pictures of the walls before they are sealed up.
The basement to attic conduits that someone else mentioned.
Plenty of electrical capacity (2 x 200 amp panels).

Things we wished we would have done:

Sink and mini-fridge in the butlers pantry.
Floor drain in the laundry room.
Another couple of feet garage width.

In addition to the wall photos, take lots of pictures in general. It can be a fun process, at least it was for us. Paul (s1112) may have a different story to relate /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> Another couple of feet garage width. </font>

That is something I hear from every person that I have talked to about what they would have done differently. My dad(the architect), my in-laws, friends, even people with 3 car garages wish they had about 4 more feet on the side of their garage.

 

[mathey]

hard to believe, but around here on new homes, 20 x 20 and even 19 x 19 is considered a "two car garage".

My newest neighbor just built a huge house but built a tiny garage...i told him he'd be sorry...last weekend the 12 x 24 shed was delivered...most likely costing way more than if he'd just built a larger garage in the first place.

On my last house, i built a 24 x 24 garage, and my neighbor built a 26 x 26...it seemed to be SO much larger. truth be told, you can never build too big of a garage!

 

[RobS]

<font color="blue"> even people with 3 car garages wish they had about 4 more feet on the side of their garage </font>

Here's what tripped us up... We went with three individual doors to have a balanced look from the outside. The garage itself is plenty wide but the space between vehicles is greater than it would be with a conventional, two stall width door. Thus, my truck and the tractor (in the outer stalls) are pushed further out than they might have been and the gaps between the vehicles are wider than I expected. Just one of those many details that is hard to visualize in the planning stage /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif