Custom Home - Must Haves?

[BigBadJohn]

In the process of designing a custom home and shop. Trying to think of anything we've missed in the design aspect before we finalize.

Is there anything yall wish you had at your current place? Anything that's not thought of normally but comes in handy often?

A couple things Ive thought of:

• Wire house panel to be able to tie in a portable generator for freezers
• Prewire for internet to most rooms. Hookups for wall mounted TV's
• Run gas to the patio
• While we're at it run gas & structured wire to shop for shits & gigs. Water is a must.
• Large garage to fit full size vehicles easily
• Storage, where to put gunsafe etc, im not sure, WIC maybe? Built in?
• eave outlets for christmas and patio lights
• Vaulted living ceiling in case I ever get a monster elk

Interested to see if there are any cool ideas out there.

Thank yall

 

[nobody]

Under those vaulted ceilings you need an Isokern gas/wood burning fireplace with a natural stone veneer and a big stone slab hearth and mantle, definitely. It's a necessity for any modern custom home, and we install TONS of them in our company. They really take a custom home to the next level. They're not super cheap, but well worth the investment if you'll have the home long term. Seriously, check them out. They're legit and they will go great in any rustic themed home or modern home!

 

[danwattsmessick]

Heated flooring in the bathrooms is legit. Wife's aunt and uncle own a condo in Montana that we stay at frequently. Heated flooring in their bathrooms and kitchen. Pretty nice and I'd love to install them in our home when we eventually build.

 

[Wellsdw]

Kegerator

 

[ArrowForester]

Add a few feet to the wirdth/depth of your eaves. OK, maybe not a few feet if it is not feasible in the design, but make your house eaves as wide as you can. The weather protection it affords the structure is worth it.

 

[30338]

Under those vaulted ceilings you need an Isokern gas/wood burning fireplace with a natural stone veneer and a big stone slab hearth and mantle, definitely. It's a necessity for any modern custom home, and we install TONS of them in our company. They really take a custom home to the next level. They're not super cheap, but well worth the investment if you'll have the home long term. Seriously, check them out. They're legit and they will go great in any rustic themed home or modern home!

We have a fireplace insert, forget the brand, but it kicks butt on cold winter days. I only burn it when temps are under 30 as it will heat up the upstairs to the upper 70s without the fan blowing. If I could do it over, would have spent the extra and tied it into the ductwork.

There are about 80 houses out here in our subdivision and we were the only ones to spend the coin on the wood fireplace option. Would highly recommend it.

 

[Kindo]

We have a fireplace insert, forget the brand, but it kicks butt on cold winter days. I only burn it when temps are under 30 as it will heat up the upstairs to the upper 70s without the fan blowing. If I could do it over, would have spent the extra and tied it into the ductwork.

There are about 80 houses out here in our subdivision and we were the only ones to spend the coin on the wood fireplace option. Would highly recommend it.

If you could find out the brand, I would appreciate it. The Mrs. decided that she would like to redo the living room this winter and with that the fireplace. We currently have a wood burning insert but it is not very efficient. We also already have duct work in place to tie it in as well, so something that puts out some heat would be nice!

Thanks!

 

[ReddingArcher]

I just finished building my house as did both my brother in laws and sisters. I'm also a drywall contractor so I see a ton of houses. If I could do it over again I would go bigger than you think you need. Both in the garage, shop and house. My garage is 960 sq ft and I thought it was enough...its not. I would have made my laundry room bigger with a sink in there as well as room for a second fridge in there. A big walk in butlers pantry is awesome. My one sister has a butlers pantry with extra shelving and counter space and it really makes a big difference. On the shop I would do roll up doors big enough to park an RV in there, even if you dont have one.

 

[Laramie]

In any room you plan to hang mounts or anything else with some weight like a TV, sheet the walls from 4' up with 3/4" plywood before you sheetrock. I did my 30x40 man cave with that and it is SO nice to not have to find a stud- just hang things where they look best.

 

[CorbLand]

My mom was into lamps, so take this for what its worth. Wire your outlets to a light switch. We had ours setup so the top outlet ran to the switch. My mom could leave her lamps on and control them all with the switch. It was kind of nice.

I have an aunt that is paralyzed. Their hallways are one and half standard size, all doors are one and half standard and their light switches are lower so she can reach them from her wheel chair. I highly suggest contemplating each one of those. The hallways and doors are nice, even not being in a wheel chair.

For a gun safe. If your putting in a basement, pick a corner and make two walls concrete. Put a solid door on it and bam, you have a gun room that is secure.

Power outlets. Add more than you think you will need. Even if you just wire them and put blank faces on them. I know they kind of look ugly, but its easier to put them in than want to do it later.

Any place that you may think you want a gas fireplace in the future, plumb it. You can put a fireplace in later but its a pain to plumb them after.

Put some form of sleeve under big chunks of concrete. PVC is pretty inexpensive and will save you a ton of time if you need to wire or plumb something in the future.

If you have a spot you know you will be hanging a mount, put a 4X4 in. Its always a little discomforting to run a 1/2 inch lag bolt into a 2X4.

 

[30338]

If you could find out the brand, I would appreciate it. The Mrs. decided that she would like to redo the living room this winter and with that the fireplace. We currently have a wood burning insert but it is not very efficient. We also already have duct work in place to tie it in as well, so something that puts out some heat would be nice!

Thanks!

Superior was the brand. We built 6 years ago so look to see if any new brands are perhaps better. Mine has been very nice and a big fan of it though. Mine was this smaller one but they make larger.

WRT3920 - Superior

The WRT3920 high-efficiency EPA certified wood-burning fireplace is a compact and stylish heater. Advanced combustion system technology and variable combustion air control allow you to enjoy extended continuous burns, greatly reducing the need to add more wood to the fire. And with a clean-face...

superiorfireplaces.us.com

 

[Bear_Hunter]

An I-beam running the length of your shop with a rolling chain hoist on it. You'd be surprised how many uses you'll find for it.

Meat hanging cooler room.

Meat processing room with a drain in the floor

Walk in gun safe room

Underground zombie apocalypse bunker

 

[KChunter71]

Gun room!

 

[dpat]

Buddy just just got done building a house with a basement his gun safe/safe room is under his front porch. Its the same same size as his front porch he got a safe door (Super heavy duty) that is behind a cabinet that slides out of the way in the basement. If you didnt know it was there you would need dumb luck to find the door. I wish my builder would of recommended the same to me when I building a couple years ago. He has more room than he needs but he plans to fill it up with more guns. He also keeps all important papers, etc.... in there. Its just a giant safe.

 

[Yellowknife]

I don't know where you are located, but for me the priority would be making it highly durable, energy efficient and air tight. Good drainage, long eaves, good windows, energy heel trusses, advanced framing, exterior foam, etc... The details depend on where you live. You can replace flooring and countertops at any time, but it's darn hard to retrofit the bones of the building. Good energy details in particular will not only reduce the heating bill, but also just make the whole living experience more comfortable with no drafts or air stratification.

When I built my current house, I built if for a 100+ year life. I'll do the same for the next one. I'm willing to sacrifice square footage and and high end details for a durable low maintenance structure.

 

[ODB]

A fricken library and a Wood stove.
Put those in a yurt and that’s all I need.

 

[Fishnowhuntlater]

Hot water plumbing to the outside areas for comfortable cleaning of kids and etc.

 

[blacktail sniper]

In the process of designing a custom home and trying to think of anything we've missed in the design aspect before we finalize. MrsBadJohn is understandably getting to handle most decisions, thank goodness. What the guest bathroom layout looks like' is WELL down my give a shit list. Topping it is a 36x40 shop with a 12' full length leanto on each side. That pretty well solves all my wants and desires. I may build out a office/trophy room in it at some point but it will be the gear and processing headquarters immediately. Anyhow, now is the time to add anything to the house / shop plan that we can think of.

Is there anything yall wish you had at your current place? Anything that's not thought of normally but comes in handy often?

A couple things Ive thought of:

• Wire house panel to be able to tie in a portable generator for freezers
• Prewire for internet to most rooms. Hookups for wall mounted TV's
• Run gas to the patio
• While we're at it run gas & structured wire to shop for shits & gigs. Water is a must.
• Large garage to fit full size vehicles easily
• Storage, where to put gunsafe etc, im not sure, WIC maybe? Built in? In the shop makes me nervous
• eave outlets for christmas and patio lights
• Vaulted living ceiling in case I ever get a monster elk

Interested to see if there are any cool ideas out there.

Thank yall

And a shop for toys and a man cave! and if my house barn and stalls for a few ponies

 

[Wapiti1]

Storage trusses above the garage with a good access ladder. Line the garage walls with shelving above what would be workbench space.

Whatever length you choose for the garage stalls, add 4 feet. They are never long enough. I wish my attached was 30 deep. It's 26.

The suggestion above to sheet with 3/4" ply is spot on. I tore out and redid one wall in the house we bought just for that reason.

Make the deck or back patio bigger than you think you need. Consider how shaded it is and plan in shade if you need to like a sun sail or awning.

Really, really, really think about if you will use a fireplace or not. 90% of them are wasted space in the living room.

At least 4 feet of clear counter space on either side of the stovetop. Double ovens if you like to cook. Sink in the island with the dishwasher.

An small roll up door with special parking space for the mower in the shop. I did that and it was a rare stroke of genius.

Spending your money is fun.

Jeremy

 

[fmyth]

Radiant floor heat system. My next house will be one level slab on grade and will have a hydronic radiant heat system.