Custom Home - Must Haves?

[browning2480]

Yeah sorry. I ment if I had this in my bathroom under tile, how much would my utilities run to heat the floor. Is it expensive?

 

[Cameron.25]

Yeah sorry. I ment if I had this in my bathroom under tile, how much would my utilities run to heat the floor. Is it expensive?

Gonna depend on the size of the floor and the system you go with and how energy efficient your home is in general but if thats your main concern id say its not too expensive to run, sorry i dont have actual numbers but im sure you can look it up on the google machine. The ones ive installed are 120v electric and programmable so you can set them to shut off while you're not home or sleeping and are definitely energy efficient and worth it, you wont regret it. I live in the PNW in a new home, its not crazy cold here but i dont have to run the heater on my bath fan at all thanks to the heated floor, i just use it if i want it extra toasty when i shower lol

 

[Cody06]

I like the idea of a 30x30 two door garage, but will two standard size doors defeat the purpose of the extra room?

8’ high by 9’ wide is what our builder is saying would be standard


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[Maki35]

2-3 zone Central AC & Radiant heat.
central vac
Mud room with slop sink and washer/dryer.
Recessed lighting
Elevated outlet for wall mount TV's
my own office room- wire for internet & TV (a quite place where I can read, pay bills, etc.)
secured gun room
Detached work shop with wall mount AC/ Heat.
Outdoor cooking area/ island with sink, grill & frig.
Outdoor outlets. outdoor spotlights
Tall garage ceiling for overhead storage.

 

[JMF]

I like the idea of a 30x30 two door garage, but will two standard size doors defeat the purpose of the extra room?

8’ high by 9’ wide is what our builder is saying would be standard


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I would go with 10' wide doors. 9 footers make parking a boat and even a full size pickup tight.

 

[Cody06]

I would go with 10' wide doors. 9 footers make parking a boat and even a full size pickup tight.

Agree with 10’ wide. My next question is if there are standards for door sizes... wondering if 8’, 9’, or 10’ height with a 10’ width would mean a custom door $$$


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[JMF]

Agree with 10’ wide. My next question is if there are standards for door sizes... wondering if 8’, 9’, or 10’ height with a 10’ width would mean a custom door $$$


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8' high and 10' wide is a pretty standard size.

 

[colersu22]

We went with a 10’ tall garage door and it wasn’t much more than the 8’ or 9’. When we built to get less angle on the driveway and garage entrance we stepped down 3’ which gave us a 13’ tall garage ceiling. When we mocked up the 8’ door it looked stupid with how high the ceiling was and the front wall of the house so we paid the extra for the 10’ and even that looks small.

 

[Cameron.25]

Also i might get laughed at for this but im putting an electrical plug by my toilets in my house. After having a bidet seat cover for the past 2 years i gotta say its a must for me lol, got it because i got a hemorrhoid and read that it might help and it did(sorry if thats TMI). Laugh all ya want but mine has a built in night light and its heated so now i absolutely cant stand sitting on a cold toilet seat lol

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Also i might get laughed at for this but im putting an electrical plug by my toilets in my house. After having a bidet seat cover for the past 2 years i gotta say its a must for me lol, got it because i got a hemorrhoid and read that it might help and it did(sorry if thats TMI). Laugh all ya want but mine has a built in night light and its heated so now i absolutely cant stand sitting on a cold toilet seat lol

Good call on an electric outlet near the toilet. I added one after the fact in our master bathroom to power a heated toilet seat. It's ostensibly for my wife's benefit, but I have to admit that a warm seat is quite nice.

 

[fire]

I'm sure it's been mentioned, but make sure you get a fan that moves enough air for the space your vaulted ceiling is in. Nothing worse then having to do that post build.

 

[LitenFast]

Our new house is almost done. Should be able to move in late this month.

Before insulation and Sheetrock we had the framers put backing for mounts on almost this entire end wall in the great room. No more searching for studs to hang mounts!

We also did butcher block on our 4x10’ island in the kitchen. When it was installed I mentioned you could lay out an entire skinned deer on there and start processing my wife just nodded and said as long as it’s clean when your done.


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[Altoonabcm157]

Heated bathroom floors

 

[tdot]

Oh and if you're going to do a gun/safe room, find a local hollow metal (division 8) door shop to build your door/frame and spec hardware

Someone said earlier in this thread that if a salesman pitches you something you've never heard of, then it's probably not a good investment. I don't think that's true, too often tradespeople are resistant to change, even if it makes a better product or saves them money or their customer a headache. Go see a design center and then go back to your builder and discuss what interested you

You're probably referring to a comment that I made. You've interpreted my comment differently then I'd intended. I understand and agree with you that many tradespeople are resistant to change, and as a result change is painfully slow. But to clarify, my comment was referencing items that a homeowner would typically interact with a salesperson for, ie. Appliances, electronics, plumbing fixtures, lighting, kitchen accessories, etc. Typically end-use products that options can be added that sound and look amazing in the showroom, add a substantial portion to the initial cost (and often the operating cost moving forward) and then are rarely to never actually used.

The construction methods and materials are the domain of the architect, builder and tradespeople. The homeowner has likely never heard of the options but the newer products can absolutely add value to the project. But this is a very different conversation from what I was intending.

 

[spike camp]

Curious why some of you guys mentioned that you don’t like pocket doors?

 

[manitou1]

I have two in my current house that have been hung up for years... and won't close. Tried everything I knew to get them to work, aside from ripping out the sheetrock walls and starting over.
Great theory, poor design.
I am hoping someone has had good luck with them as my wife has told them to go ahead and put a couple in our new build. I am in Missouri and she is where the house is being built 1100 miles away. Already sheetrocked/finished. I suppose it will give me something to do in retirement, lol.

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

Curious why some of you guys mentioned that you don’t like pocket doors?

They rarely work well, you can't hang anything on either side of the pocket part of the wall, if the drywallers screws are too long or the finish carpenter's trim nails are to long they will go into the door, the finish will get scratched as the door is used and they are a pain in the ass to replace.

Other than that, they're great.

 

[JGuest]

I have a few suggestions:

1. Good triple pane windows, I've only seen @Yellowknife suggest it above and it's a must in my book. Cheap double pane windows are common and you will regret them.

2. Home office, with built in library/trophy area. I likely have a literal ton of books and if you like to read physical media build yourself a library/office/trophy room. It keeps the fight about where the next mount goes down and gives you an area for yourself.

3. An area/retreat for your partner/housemate. I'm assuming you have a wife or partner or whatever, make sure they have an area just for them. It seems like common sense but I know a lot of houses where one person has an area and the other is SOL.

4. If you're in town a fenced yard with a 8-10' wide drive gate. Fences make good neighbors, vehicle access means you don't have to tear it down for the next house project.

5. Walkout basement.

6. A single pitch roof. I live where it hails normally 2-3 1/4" or larger hail storms per year, this is a must.

7. Adequate separation of living and sleeping areas. I have two floors and a basement. Main level/basement are the living entertaining area. Bedrooms are upstairs. It makes things so much easier when relatives come over, especially if you have someone who likes to snoop around in your family like I do.

 

[Wrench]

+1 on the windows. I had a friend in a glass company build mine and I went full in on the glass with middle of the road frames and it was a huge benefit.

My buddy has a mud room for his dog that has a concrete floor with drain and has stainless steel walls 4' up....huge exhaust fan.

He can wash the dogs in there, wash the room....etc. if you have dogs in your life, this is awesome.

 

[CJohnson]

If you’re building a new home and you don’t want to drop $15k for a backup generator, go ahead and at least spend $500 to get the automatic transfer switch and make sure you have a natural gas line stubbed out nearby. I install backup generators on new houses from time to time and people could save themselves a few thousand dollars by just having the ATS installed prior to getting the utility to connect permanent power.