Building a forever home. Do's and don'ts

[cnelk]

Don’t forget to wire in two EV ports!! Lol

 

[rvalleyp]

I have a custom barndominium under construction right now. We intend for this to be our forever home and have tried to plan accordingly. I know we haven't thought of everything, but here are some decisions we've made:

• Loft/attic trusses for finished loft above living quarters and unfinished storage above garage
• 10' tall garage door to allow clearance for cab tractor
• Ground source heat pump for long term cost efficiency
• Wood burning stove in living room for emergency heat during power outages (possibly ducted for outside air intake, still researching that detail)
• Manual transfer switch ahead of circuit breaker panel for generator hookup
• Hot water circulating system for quicker hot water at the faucet
• Toilet and sink in the garage
• 240V outlets in garage for welder, plasma cutter, large air compressor
• Electrical outlet near each toilet for heated toilet seat (wife's demand)
• Extra hookup in basement for future second washer/dryer set when the kids are old enough to do their own laundry
• Tamper-resistant electrical outlets for kid safety

Something to think about with the Manuel transfer switch, stand by generators are made to work with their own automatic transfer switch. I get calls all the time with with customers telling me they already have the switch. We take the manual switch out and put ours in.
Disregard the advice if you plan on dragging a portable out when needed.

 

[Tod osier]

What are things you would of done different or would do again. Leaning towards a barndominium type house with a basement. I live in Central NY.

We just bought our forever home and what was someone else's custom forever home previously. What I'd say that hasn't been hit on is to design or plan that the basement isn't completely finished. The house we bought is our first with a completely finished basement and man - it is weird not being able to get at the electrical or plumbing from the bottom floor. Maybe that isn't a big deal for some, but if you work on your own stuff it is a real hassle. There are plenty of basement spaces that can be left partially finished and if you planned it ahead of time you could have a great layout on a custom.

Indoor meat cutting room I did not see listed. I spend a lot of time using ours for a variety fo tasks.

 

[Clarktar]

I will also echo that. We are in the process of a similar build. I have researched at nausea the hidden details no one sees that are important to me. From the type of exterior sheathing, insulation, dry wall thickness, air/water barriers, etc. Basically everything between the rock/brick exterior inside to the finished wall texture, down to the foundation up to the roof decking. My wife thinks I am insane. But, to me, that’s all I care about. That’s the most important part of the home to me. When I talk to the builders, if they discredit my wants, or have no experience in doing them, I move on. Cheapest is not always the best. If you want something, don’t be talked out of it. Find someone else that has done it and can/will do it.

Send me all that hidden detail research!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[AZ8]

If funds were not an issue, my forever home will have a fully insulated and heated garage. And the shop too!

 

[weekender7]

If you plan to do the building yourself. don't wait till you are 65 to get started on it. WOW, did I bite off a HUGE chunk to chew. Hope to "swallow it" this year but it has been an uphill battle to say the least. My wife and I have done everything from the dirt work to the ridge cap.

 

[DanimalW]

If you’re planning on having kids, it’s nice to have one tub in the house. Do go with the larger size range. Large pans and pots can get crowded on the standard sized cook tops. I also wish I went with an induction model. Don’t use textured tile (traction-like groves) at an entrance/mud room. It’s such a huge pain in the @$$ to clean.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Something to think about with the Manuel transfer switch, stand by generators are made to work with their own automatic transfer switch. I get calls all the time with with customers telling me they already have the switch. We take the manual switch out and put ours in.
Disregard the advice if you plan on dragging a portable out when needed.

Very good point. For the short term, I plan to connect my 10 kW welder-generator to the manual switch when needed for backup power. In the future, I'll likely install a larger fixed standby generator with an automatic transfer switch.

 

[manitou1]

1) Whole hoise generator for power outages

2) Tub sink in the shoo/garage

3) Metal roof

4) Propane stubbed to back patio if on propane

5) The best doors and windows you can afford

6) 6" or 8" exterior walls

7) R.O. water system

8) Walk in shower

9) Handicapped accessable doorways and hallways (you never know)

10) LED lighting (interior and exterior)

11) Plenty of accessablbe water faucets and electrical outlets on the exterior

12) 240 outlet in garage/shop

13) 30/50 amp service for a camper outside

14) Consider a wood stove or fireplace in the build. It is MUCH more expensive to add later.

15) If in your budget, trench drains in the garage are nice for cleaning the floors, wet vehicles and melting snow.

 

[Newtosavage]

What are things you would of done different or would do again. Leaning towards a barndominium type house with a basement. I live in Central NY.

Barndos are all the rage around here but long term I think they are a big mistake. I have a good friend who built his barndo "forever home" and now regrets it, mostly due to the stained concrete floors and poor insulation. But there are other reasons.

I guess I have my mother's realtor head when I think houses because I'm always thinking resale so if you never, ever, plan to move (not even into a nursing home) I guess that's not a concern for a barndo.

My wife and I designed our own custom home about 18 years ago. I drew the floor plans and made sure I had an attic tall enough for me, a heater vent over the workspace in the garage, etc. Only change I would make is in the location of the door to the master bedroom but other than that, nothing.

wnelson14 is spot-on about the dont's. I caught so many mistakes by the builder that it wasn't even funny. Stuff he didn't even catch. I ended up laying out the doorways to a 45 for him so it would be done right. And he was a good local builder with a good track record.

If you can be there every day or nearly every day before he/she leaves for the day, that's really the best case scenario. Just visiting the building site once a week really isn't enough IMO.

Next one we do I may live on site in an RV. LOL Nobody cares about your home like you do.

 

[Phaseolus]

I wish ours had a extra large walk in pantry.

 

[ETtikka]

Proper waterstops and zypex admixture for any subgrade concrete

#15 on the above list also

 

[eddielasvegas]

Some good ideas here. My 2 cents:

1) 20A inside the house instead of the standard 15A for electrical.

2) Separate HW and CW lines so the temp does not change when cold water is used at the same time as a shower, although I have no idea if this is even possible, but I suspect it is as it's only a problem money can solve.


Eddie

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I'd caution you not to be so focused on the "forever" aspect that you sell yourself short on the right now. You didn't mention your age. Some folks suggested walk-in only showers. If you and your wife want a nice big soaking tub, get one. You can always replace it if the day comes that you can't use it. That's just one example. Almost everyone that I know, particularly those that live more remote, come to enjoy cooking and spending more time doing it, and trying to do it well as they age. That small kitchen that will serve you well as you kinda hit and run from the house in your relative youth, may become uncomfortably small when you get more serious about cooking. A 12x15 master bedroom is plenty big. 10x10 spare bedrooms are plenty big. Hallways are a waste of space. High ceilings and open floor plans feel bigger. Rarely do people complain that their closets and garages are too big.

 

[92xj]

First things first. Figure out a way to explain (crayons and paper) to your wife that walls and beams determine structure and roof support.

 

[Yellowknife]

What are things you would of done different or would do again. Leaning towards a barndominium type house with a basement. I live in Central NY.

Ive only been in mine for about 8 months, so my thoughts aren't informed by the years... but I did put countless hundreds of hours into the effort, and think it turned out ok. Lots of good advice here.

1.) If you are going to come back to it every day for decades, you want it to be a good looking house. That varies by person, but for me it was modest and simple lines that I thought would age well. I tried to (hopefully) avoid things that would "date" it excessively in 30-40 years. Although I looked a dozens of building styles, the barndo's didn't make the final cut, as I decided I didn't want to come home to a metal box at the end of the day. YMMV obviously depending on what you value.

2.) Along those lines, my own initial designs were still a little TOO boxy and simple, and we eventually realized it would short us on windows. By adding a few bumps and corners, it increased the wall area enough to add windows into offices, baths, family room's etc. Some advice from an architect friend really helped us out here and the house is more pleasant with the additional daylight into smaller rooms.

3.) Open floor plans are nice (and trendy), but if you still have kids in the house, then there is such a thing as TOO open. Sometimes you need them around the corner and in another room! Also, big living rooms a can be challenging to furnish, as the "groupings" of furniture don't work out well. The major floor plan change we would have made would have been to actually shrink that area and make it a little cozier. The only dead space in the house is in the living room.

4.) As mentioned several times, when it comes to contractors, cheap is.... cheap. A quality sub will do the job once, and usually save you money in the long run. In my case, what it really bought me was speed. I was able to finish my house in ~5 months, and that saved a fortune in rental and financing costs compared to the more common 12+ months that most houses were being finished in at the time.

5.) This was mentioned above, but you don't have to make it fully ADA accessible right now, but consider it in the design. For instance, my wife scratched the shower in favor of a large soaking tub, but the space is there to remodel it into a roll in shower some day. If we are still here in 30 years, we can worry about it then.

6.) Lots of closets, big pantry. Storage is a real difference between a tract home and a full custom.

And I guess my last thought. I can't predict the future, but energy has always been a volatile thing in the world, and in NY you will need to heat and cool. Although the numbers may or may not pencil today, it always seems wise to consider energy efficiency into a design that you intend to last. In my mind, it's good to minimize dependence on things you can't control.

 

[Mojave]

Top 10 things I want in my forever home.

1. ICF construction to the ceiling

2. Spray foam insulation in the roof

4. radian heat in the floor

5. Single ranch floor plan with 10 foot ceilings (taxidermy)

6. Big triple pane windows 6 feet tall standard size throughout the house, ideally German windows

7. 4 car garage with an office, bathroom

8. bathroom when you walk through the foyer with a urinal.

9. huge laundry room

10. minimum 48 foot wide hallways and 36 inch wide doors

11. huge pantry

12. huge kitchen with tons of counter space

13. under counter big drawers instead of cabinets

14. room in the kitchen for 2 fridge/freezers

15. 7 bedrooms

 

[4rcgoat]

Just built my bosses house,he put in a dog washing station I thought was pretty cool.

 

[BFR]

Lots of good advice here.
Living in Montana I have a heated / insulated garage, it’s great except for one thing. In bad weather ie, snow or mud, parking the car inside is really messy. I would like to have aslope into a dedicated drain t facilitate cleaning it out.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I have a good friend who built his barndo "forever home" and now regrets it, mostly due to the stained concrete floors and poor insulation.

I'm curious about the regrets over stained concrete floors. I'm considering stained concrete for my basement. The waterproofness and durability seem appealing with little kids and a dog in the house, but I'm sure there are downsides too. I would be interested to hear from someone who has been there, done that.