New House Tips please

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( you can never build too big of a garage )</font>

That's for sure! Of course, humans being what they are, they tend to fill whatever space is available. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif When we built my brother's house, we made the garage 24' x 28' with an 8' tall door instead of 7'. It was definitely nice, but of course he already had an 8' x 10' storage building, and then he still had to buy another new 10' x 20' building. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Heath]

I know that Cat 5 and Coax has been mentioned, but I think you definitely want to "homerun" the whole house. You can buy sets of different wires that are all contained within the same sheath or webbing to run to each room. The price for the wire depends on the types of wiring that it contains. Common setups are Cat5, Cat6, Coax, Low Voltage, and Fiber in one sheath. You can find setups that have more or less depending on your needs.
I buy a lot of material from Smarthome.com and I know they sell it, but it's a pretty common item.
I'd also recommend running wires from all of your rooms to a centrally located room and place a communication center in this room. In this communication center you can have your phone distribution block, a LAN switch, a cable or Sat distribution block, and whole bunch of other component based pieces that you can add or subtract as needed. I know Lowes sells these types of things as well.
I at least recommend you look into it.

 

[shoppintractors]

I believe there is a law of physics that states, No matter how large you build the garage, you will wish it was 4 feet larger in 4 years or less. Maybe it was Murph's law.... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Don

 

[s1120]

<font color="red"> 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

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LOL OH YA!!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hey if everyone hurd my story, no one would build a house.


Now things I did RIGHT....

220 outlet in the garage
two 20amp 110 outlets in the garage
made the garage bigger
lots of lights[to meany realy]
cable in every room
and the #1 thing I did right? FIRE THE BUILDER!!!

As for what I did wrong? Well that would be everything else. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[CTyler]

We are building our house and are the GC. If you are willing to go out and get competive bids for everything and can handle the stress you can save some good dough!

We went with two water heaters and recirculating hot water.

Ran two CAT 5e cables and one RG6 to each location. Each room has at least two runs on opposite walls. You can use the CAT 5e for phone and other devices besides just TCP/IP.

Ran true stereo whole house sound with volume controls in each room. I didn't care for mono, glorified PA systems they generally offer. I should have run a CAT 5e cable to the volume controls. Actually I can still do it since the full basement will not get finished for a year or two. With the additional cable I can install button pads or color LCD touch pads etc.. for for switching A/V sources in each room.

Wired the house for security system.

btw...Everything is done on a home run.

Whole house vac system.

Outlets in the soffets for Xmas lights.

Hot and cold water in the garage. Nice warm water for the pressure washer or rinsing out the garage in the winter.

Lots of outlets in the garage and lots of light. Also ran the 5e, RG6 and stereo wires into the garage.

Attic access with folding ladder in the garage.

Convieniance outlets(120v) around the house.

Ran two condiuts between the house and my shop. One is for power and the other for communications(RG6, CAT 5e etc..)

Floor heat under the ceramic tile.

Insulated the interior walls for sound dampning.

12 gauge wiring for the outlets and 20 amp breakers and lots of breakers. None of this running 14g and two rooms on a 15 amp circuit!!

Step lights in the stairs so when the bar is finished one day in the basement I can see what to crawl up.

Installed 2x4's in the studs for all the towel and toilet roll hangers.

Installed outlets in a couple of the bathroom drawers for devices that need charged. Keeps them off the counter.

Installed a yard hydrant by the shop, 30 amp RV outlet and 20 amp conveniance outlet, sewer access(4" cap) outside the shop.

We have done other stuff as well, enough for now.

 

[Heath]

CTyler,
I live just SW of Ft. Calhoun. Have you decided what your internet access is going to be? I moved from West O to my current place about a year and a half ago and the ONLY thing I miss is my broadband access. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on DirectWay, but I'm curious to hear what you're doing.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> Installed 2x4's in the studs for all the towel and toilet roll hangers </font>

That's something a lot of people forget. Also, don't forget to do the same for the drapes, only use 2x6 or 8 there.

 

[40Kchicks]

If you live in a rural area prone to power outages you may consider putting a manual power transfer switch upstream of your main breaker. It would be quick and easy now. Later you could add a generator and be electrically set to go.
Eric

 

[Inspector507]

In the kitchen and bath, if the code requires a duplex electric outlet, put in a double duplex or quad. You'll not regret the additional $5 it costs. Switches for security lighting in the living room, kitchen, at all doors and all bedrooms. Security wiring if not used for right now is great later on. As others have mentioned, a coax and cat5 or cat6 cable to each room.

Jerry

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Brett,

Think about fire safety for your family and new home and consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your new home. They cost about $1-3 per sq. ft. to install. You can connect to the city water supply or install a 200 gallon water tank and pump. You may get some $$ back from your insurance company.Here is a link that will give you a lot of information web page

If you do not want to spend the $$$ then at least install a hard wired smoke and heat detection system in all living, storage and sleeping areas. Consider tying the fire alarm system via a monitoring company to the fire department. Also if you will heat with gas, propane or oil, install at least 1 co detector.

Most people who die in fires die at home!