Consumer Homes.

Question:

Just a few I thought of… Large water lines (3/4"?) to master bathtub (or any large volume water holding device) Irrigation system for yard Laundry on 2nd floor Drains in the floor in basement and in upstairs laundry room (in case of overflow) and in garage Permanent gas line for outdoor grill wire ahead of time for whole house a/v distribution use resilient channel for all drywall and put in insulation in between all walls and floors/ceilings (to soundproof the house). — Ashland, KY USA                           I Voted For Bob Dole "No question that an admission of making false statements  to government officials is an impeachable offense"               Bill Clinton, 1974

Response:

Basement Windows– If you ever plan to use basement space for bedrooms, make sure the windows are ‘egress windows.’  I.e. HUGE window wells with stepped retaining walls, suitable for climbing out of and up from in the event of emergency. –Paul E Musselman – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >Were getting ready to build a new home (about 1 1/2 years from now). >Does anyone have anything they wish they had included in their homes, >anything they don’t like, or anything that went terribly wrong which >could have been avoided in the planning stages? >Thanks for any info in advance. >Tim

Response:

Good point, the marriage counsellor is really a "must have" during a major remodel project.  (that and plenty of Gin!) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – ><snip> > If this is a custom home make sure you pick a good builder that you > feel comfortable working with.  Same with the architect. >And the marriage counsellor >Dave

Response:

Also schrieb davefr: >Good point, the marriage counsellor is really a "must have" during a >major remodel project.  (that and plenty of Gin!)

Second on the gin. Stocking up now. — No spammer can ever be too broke or too hungry.

Response:

What were the pros and cons of this? Thanks Ilene B "Building Oct.1" – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Definitly the blown celulose insulation, instead of fiberglass batt’s;

Response:

If the house is on a rising or falling street (i.e. a hill), place the garage so that it minimizes the grade of your driveway.  This is especially important in icy climates. Also, I like having the refrigerator set into the wall so that it is even with the rest of the cabinetry.  (In our house, when I remodeled our kitchen, I just removed the two wall studs that were in back of the unit and gave extra support to the back wall with a piece of plywood and relocated the electrical connection to the side.) Larry

Response:

I will never, ever, have a heat pump again.  Electric baseboard heat is out for me too. If possible and compatible, use under-floor radiant heat in all the bathrooms.   Don’t skimp on the roof.  Get top grade roofing, and make very sure that everything is flashed with the best materials and installed correctly!  If you are in an area that can freeze, make sure they use that rubberized underlayment near the eves. Stay away from glossy tiles near entry doors.  These look nice and elegant, but are like ice if they get wet. Use GFI breakers for the kitchen, baths, etc., instead of individual GFI outlets. Don’t get "trendy" colors in the bath or kitchen.  Stick with the basics, and add colors with accessories. Have the electrician add wiring for extra lights, fans, etc., even if the budget doesn’t allow these to purchase at first. Really think through where the switches will be placed.  Where wall switches control outlets, make sure these are the outlets which make the most sense.  For example, in the bedrooms, where will the lamps go?  In my current house, the wall switches all control outlets just below them!  If I had a lamp right next to the door way, I could simply use the lamp’s own switch.  In other words, the wall switches should control outlets which are far from the door way. Put outlets in the hallways.  These are great for the vacuum, and for night lights. Remember the holidays too.  Where will those holiday lights go? Where will that holiday tree go?  Provide outlets for these! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Were getting ready to build a new home (about 1 1/2 years from now). > Does anyone have anything they wish they had included in their homes, > anything they don’t like, or anything that went terribly wrong which > could have been avoided in the planning stages? > Thanks for any info in advance. > Tim

Response:

Although I can’t find it now, I think it was in this thread that someone said how much they liked their central vac. This is another decision that I have to make. What brand is best? I’ve read negatives on Nutone.                                         Thanks

Response:

Here’s my $.02 in addition to the others I’ve seen. : Outside water faucets. I wish I had one on every corner of my house. Use high quality cable for the tv, not the cheapo stuff that won’t work with DSS dishes. Motion detector lights under the eaves on each corner of the house. Foam the holes around the wiring & junction boxes before the sheetrock goes up. This helps to create an airtight barrier between the living space & the attic. Also, foam the gap created where an interior wall meets an exterior wall. Add more insulation in the attic. Attic access door in the garage for some more storage space. Place it so it opens between & parallel to the cars. Add a sun tunnel to the dark spots in the house…interior baths, hallway, etc. "Hurricane clips" on the roof joists. These tie the rafters to the top of the wall. Keeps the roof from blowing off in strong winds. Cheap to do. Use a high quality roof material, Standing seam metal, concrete tile, or steel shingle. The concrete tile will require stronger framing of the roof (16" on center & 2×8 lumber vs 24" on center & 2×6). Plant quality trees & properly located. Deciduous on the south side, evergreen on the north for a wind break. HTH. …Ben – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Were getting ready to build a new home (about 1 1/2 years from now). >Does anyone have anything they wish they had included in their homes, >anything they don’t like, or anything that went terribly wrong which >could have been avoided in the planning stages? >Thanks for any info in advance. >Tim

Response:

. >Outside water faucets. I wish I had one on every corner of my house.

One thing we did is add a HOT WATER outside faucet.  Great for washing things (like the car) or filling a kiddie’s pool. Tom     Need info on COTTAGES, CABINS and RECREATIONAL living?         Check out "Cottage Living!" On-Line book store!                   http://www.cottageliving.com

Response:

<snip> > If this is a custom home make sure you pick a good builder that you > feel comfortable working with.  Same with the architect.

And the marriage counsellor Dave

Response:

A couple of extra comments from an owner of an old house. I removed points where I did not want to comment. > Here are a couple I came up with. Enjoy. > PQ > –Placement of thermostats >  -Find a spot that will be close to where you will be spending a lot of > time.  ….

Install two or more zones if the house design warrants it (ex.: large windows, wind exposure or rooms with a lot of service at both ends of the house). If you don’t want to zone right away, make sure the ducts or pipes allow that upgrade later. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> –Electrical outlets >  -In the bedrooms tell them which outlet you want connected to the wall > switch.  … > –Ceiling junction box >  -Add ceiling electrical junction boxes connected to a wall switch to the > rooms on the first floor.  Second floor rooms you can always add through > the attic.  Also add one in any room that has a raised ceiling and you can > not get to it later. >  -Make sure that the builder knows that someday you will be installing > ceiling paddle fans in the ceiling so the junction boxes need to be secured > properly. >  -For all ceiling junction boxes have them install a third wire going from > the wall switch to the ceiling junction box.  This will enable you to have > one switch for the fan and one for the light part of the fan.  This will > let you do away with the chains that hang down.

Very good and important points. Make sure switched outlets are split outlets, where top hole is switched and bottom hole is not. That way, you can connect a computer on the "designated outlet" and can have more than one designated location for lamps. Follow the same convention throughout the house. If you already wire for fans and ceiling lights, you don’t need switched outlets, as the required switched light can be the ceiling one. But it dones not hurt to have three or more switches near each door: one for the ceiling light, one for switched outlets and one for the fan. That way, you won’t need to break the wall when you want to install such fixtures. > –Cable >  Specify where your cable outlets will go.  Ask how much $ to add some.  My > friend has two in his family room because they couldn’t decide where the TV > was going to go until after they moved in. > –Phone jacks >  -Specify where you want your phone jacks placed.  They were going to place > our kitchen phone in a different spot then we had picked.  

Actually, I consider cable, phone and ethernet jacks like 120 V receptacles. I install one or two of each on each wall and homerun everything to a common point in the basement (utility closet). Then I connect what I need. So I don’t have to decide where my 2 year old daughter will want her computer 10 years from now. > –Fridge opening >  -We made sure that the opening in the kitchen cabinets for the fridge was > at least 35 inches wide.  The fridge’s we were looking at were wide and we > wanted to make sure it fit.  …

Most wide fridges (two-door ones) have 36 inch width. In my next kitchen, I think the fridge will be at the end of a cabinet wall (but still close to countertops). That way, there won’t be any set restriction when I buy a new one. > –Kitchen

Make sure you get plenty of lights under cabinets (to lighten up the countertop. > –Dryer connection > -Ask if there will be a gas or 220 electrical connection to the dryer.

Why not install both type of connections for the dryer and the stove? Even if you have your definite preferences, it will help you if a prospective buyer wants the other type of connection. — Montr