Anyone build a house?

[Tora Ziyal]

Tom Hendricks wrote:

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Thinking about running electrical up to the roof, maybe one day put in solar. That kind of idea.

Also think of the future of your family... Hallways and bathrooms wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. No unnecessary steps. Smooth transitions between floor surfaces. Grab bars in the shower -- they make ones that look like regular towel bars now, so they don't scream "nursing home". And so on. Google "universal design" for ideas. Most of them are attractive and don't look like they were planned for accessibility. But you'll be grateful for them if you want to live there into old age, or even if one of you is just recuperating from an accident for a few weeks.

Deckerd wrote:

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What I would do for a self-build is hire an architect, tell him what I want and let him come up with some ideas.

Absolutely!

[Saturn0660]

Dont throw money away on thing like "stainless steel" kitchen appliances.. Now worth what you pay. just simple white or black.

[Tom Hendricks]

Starkers wrote:

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Your main concern should be to determine it won’t be built on an ancient Indian burial ground…

Other than that I’d recommend lots of cupboard space!

Believe me, I agree with this 1000%

sojourner wrote:

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^All of those are good except the angled wood/tile one. That's highly subjective to what a particular person finds appealing.

To add:
- insulation, get the highest R value you can afford. Once it's in the walls you''re stuck with it.
- run network cable throughout the house. Bedrooms, kitchen, livingrooms. Wireless may be more convenient to use, but it's still not as good a connection as plugging in. Plus, it gives you more options on where to plug in those wireless routers and thus eliminate areas with poor signal strength.

Start watching Holmes on Homes on hgtv. The show will give you lots of ideas on what to look out for. Heck, watch lots of hgtv and DIY tv in general. You'll learn lots of stuff about how houses are put together in general.

I have been watching Holmes on Homes long before he came to HGTV. Believe me, with everything I'm trying to think like him when it comes to the house. We are doing the external waterproofing of the basement with a french drain, just like he does. There will also be a sump pump, so we are really trying to keep it water free. The basement will be finished, so we are going with spray foam. Not only there but we will have a bonus room over the garage, so the whole garage ceiling will be spray foam. Definitely doing the whole house with Cat 6 RJ45, including for future cameras. Also gonna have the Nest thermostate put in to control the heat and AC. We're also gonna pre-wire for a generator, so also running a natural gas line for that and where the deck will be for a grille.

Bisz wrote:

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- You need a master ensuite, no question.
- In that ensuite you need a walk-in shower with a glass door. You'll love it.
- In that ensuite you also need a walk-in closet. The convenience of having the entrance to your closet in your bathroom is unimaginable.
- Big windows, let the light in!
- Don't short change yourself on kitchen counter space or cupboard space.
- Lights. You need lots and lots of lights: fixtures, sconces, pot lights, counter lights, ect.
- Go for high ceilings if possible. 9' vs 8' makes a huge difference, if you can go 10'... do it!
- If you get any carpet, don't get cut-pile, its garbage. Get berber or better.
- Any hardwood or tile must, must, must be angled at 45 degrees to the wall. The improvement in room look and feel, and how large the room feels, compared to having the wood or tile parallel/perpendicular to the walls is unbelievable. When standing at the entrance to the room, looking into the room, make sure the angle goes away from you (ie you look down with the length of the wood or tile).
- Most new phones (if you even use a stationary phone) have one base station you plug in and the other hand sets don't need to be plugged in so don't worry about putting a receptacle in every room you intend to put a phone in.
- If you can avoid it, don't put bathrooms or bedrooms above garages, if you do ensure proper insulation so the floor of said room doesn't get super cold in the winter.
- Laundry upstairs is great, just ensure everything is hooked up properly, you don't want any leaks to ruin your house - in that vein try to place the laundry over the garage, that way a leak wouldn't destroy your kitchen or living room.

We're doing most of what you said, we had the laundry upstairs at our last house and loved it. That was one of the wife's demands. The Master bedroom with have an ensuite, with the walk in closet in the bathroom. We originally thought it was kind of weird, but it has grown on us. We will have a separate shower and tub, I prefer it separate like that. While the Master Bedroom will be on the second floor, we are having a bedroom on the first floor with a full bathroom done as well. This will be used by guest and probably us eventually.

[sojourner]

Sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on things.

[Tom Hendricks]

I'm just trying to cover all the bases. Don't want to forget or miss something, especially something simple and it comes back to bite us.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Tom Hendricks wrote:

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I'm just trying to cover all the bases.

And then they belong to you.

[Shikarnov]

I advise you to talk to local professionals unaffiliated with your builder. When I had my house built a few years ago, I trusted them and their people. But later, when things started going wrong, and I had to call for professional help, it was discovered that some pretty big corners were cut - which were expensive to do properly... So pay attention to everything, and get independent eyes to look at that which you can't see.

[NCC-1701-B]

I built a house once, it was really pretty simple, followed some good instructions and the whole process was really stress free and easy.


Until I stepped on a brick I forgot to put away... Ouch.

[junxon]

my dad built my familys house pretty much single handed. and the only thing he messed up was putting all the light switches the wrong way up.

as he tells everyone: get triple glazed windows and don't roll in the insulation

[scotpens]

Saturn0660 wrote:

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Dont throw money away on thing like "stainless steel" kitchen appliances.. Now worth what you pay. just simple white or black.

But stainless steel sinks look so cool.

[Deckerd]

Shikarnov wrote:

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I advise you to talk to local professionals unaffiliated with your builder. When I had my house built a few years ago, I trusted them and their people. But later, when things started going wrong, and I had to call for professional help, it was discovered that some pretty big corners were cut - which were expensive to do properly... So pay attention to everything, and get independent eyes to look at that which you can't see.

That's why I said hire an architect. To not do that for a new build is folly. Also you need an experienced project manager. Assuming you know what you're doing when you've never done it before is also folly.

[Sledder]

I wish I had outside outlets up on the roof, makes putting up Christmas lights so much easier! Also go strong on the insulation it will save you in the long run.

[Scout101]

Good idea with the outlets. Make sure you have a decent number outside in general for use, and a couple convenient spots for hooking up a hose. Ethernet to as many rooms as make sense, and cable tv hookups as well. don't over-do the splice connections, though, try and keep it to as few splitters as possible so you don't lose signal for internet, HDTV, whole-house DVR, and the like.

Guest/2nd master suite on first floor is great idea if you plan for this to be THE house, allows you to grow old in it, and eventually abandon the upstairs for the most part. Guess that's the downside to putting your washer/dryer upstairs, though. Maybe plan for a 2nd set of hookups in a mud room off the garage, and just cap them off and hang a coat rack in front of them until you need to think about that?

TV placement in main living/family room. Make sure you plan on running power up on a wall if you're going to hang a tv. A conduit in the wall so you can run things from the TV to an AV stack as well. Good time to pick spots for surround-sound and pre-wire them, or go with built-in speakers.

In general, don't get hung up on a specific idea you think you should have, think how you will USE the room. What did you love or hate about your old place?

And a biggie: don't OVER-personalize your choices. Obviously it's yours, and gotta fit you, but don't make any choices that will strike people as 'off' when you go to sell. Might be something that fits how you want to use it, but if it's weird, people are thinking of shit they gotta rip out and remodel when walking through as buyers. Crazy colors, strange layouts or placements of items/rooms, having to walk through a bedroom to get to another area or bathroom, etc. Nothing crazy-modern that doesn't fit the area.

Lots of light, good insulation, nice flow to floorplan, and tons of storage. Try to picture how you'd lay out the room, and then you can say "light switch here and here, plugs there, tv makes most sense on that wall, so need room to get around couch here, etc." And try to think of how you'd change/repair things later on. Room around electrical panel to expand, and preferably in an unfinished area so you can actually snake a wire if you want to add something. As much access to electrical and plumbing fixtures as possible. If the access points exist, don't have to tear the house apart later.

good flow to kitchen/eating area/family room with TV. focus there, that's where you'll be spending most of your time. And a seperate den/entertainment area/man cave. Nice to get away from each other occasionally, or watch different things, or have a place for kids and their friends to go leave you alone.

Storage is key. Access to decent attic, or good dry basement storage, or large garage area. Where are you going to PUT shit you don't use all the time. Mentioned wiring for generator, good plan. Anything else, like a hot tub? If so, going to want a bathroom near the closest door to that spot, preferably with a shower to get cleaned up after. Doors big/wide enough to get big items into the house, and hallways/staircases open enough to get them upstairs. Try to avoid those items you got in the house during construction, but are now 'trapped' because you've since finished the wall that didn't use to be there when it went in

Could wander on this topic all day, but think you've got a good list going.

[Tom Hendricks]

Thanks for all the replies. Here is a pic of our potential house site.


The reason I say potential is we learned while being up here about another location, which would work better for us. However first houses won't even start to be built until spring, that's a little behind out time table. Yet, the new location is a much better location.

[MichelCleark]

There are many different things you need to remember while building a house. Many people say you have to spend at least 40% on Kitchen installation of your total budget of home renovation. Hire a good contractor for building your house and other renovation ideas. Go step by step. Use goo quality of material.