Building a house: what are your must have or want to have items?

#1
utvolpj

utvolpj

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#1
Starting the process to build a new house again and want to see what others are as must haves or want to haves. We built about 5 yrs ago and that gave us a big list we've now mostly checked off.

What would you want in a new house?
 
#2
#2
My list is much shorter than my wife's....

She has her mind set on a large steam shower in the next house.
 
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#3
#3
utvolpj said:
Starting the process to build a new house again and want to see what others are as must haves or want to haves. We built about 5 yrs ago and that gave us a big list we've now mostly checked off.

What would you want in a new house?
Click to expand...
As an otherwise-happy owner of a 1923 house, I’d kill for a box room: like a pantry on steroids, where the vacuum and pressure canner and wok and garden boots and cat litter and everything else that is frequently used but bulky go.
 
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#4
#4
BigOrangeMojo said:
My list is much shorter than my wife's....

She has her mind set on a large steam shower in the next house.
Click to expand...
Definitely talked about that but decided we wouldn't use it. Did add a rainshower to the ceiling though. Want to add a sauna in a couple years too
 
#5
#5
VolNExile said:
As an otherwise-happy owner of a 1923 house, I’d kill for a box room: like a pantry on steroids, where the vacuum and pressure canner and wok and garden boots and cat litter and everything else that is frequently used but bulky go.
Click to expand...
Our first house was built in 1934 so I completely understand. Even the closets were tiny as if no one has more than 3 outfits each.

Our pantry is a bit larger on this one. We asked for some extra cabinets in there and an outlet for the vacuum, etc. Definitely something she wanted
 
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#8
#8
For Florida, we would make sure to have a spacious outdoor living area/kitchen. Also, an in-ground cleaning system for the pool. We spend more time outside than in.

3 car garage.
Instant hot water heater

I haven't crunched the numbers yet, but I would look at solar and see if it makes sense.
 
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#9
#9
Seriously, some thoughts:

- Central vac with floorboard auto dustpans where appropriate
- Nice shower with at least two heads
- Higher end, large gas range in the kitchen, good vent hood
- Large farmhouse sink
- Kitchen eating area/breakfast nook
- Slide out spice drawer/cabinets
- Instant hot water
- Spacious master closet(s) with custom organization
- Whole home audio
- Garage organizer/storage,
- Big mother TV. Like real big. With nice in-wall sound.
- I need a man-space. Music equipment, games (pool, darts, foosball, shuffleboard, etc depending on your tastes)
- Workout space, depending on your needs

Obviously, hard to address outdoor ideas without knowing the property. I do love a hot tub.
 
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#10
#10
utvolpj said:
Have the pot filler already on our plan but not the bidet. Interesting idea and may have to run that by the wife
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That was a little tongue-in-cheek. When we built our last house, the pot filler was a source of contention. I really wanted one, but the dang faucet that matched our kitchen and extra plumbing was going to cost like $2000. So, it got scrapped. Don't think I missed it. We ditched the warming drawer, too.

Not sure how I feel about having a rinse after a deuce. Might be worth it if the TP shortage continues.
 
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#11
#11
utvolpj said:
Starting the process to build a new house again and want to see what others are as must haves or want to haves. We built about 5 yrs ago and that gave us a big list we've now mostly checked off.

What would you want in a new house?
Click to expand...
A couple or three hundred thousand dollars less than what we just spent.
 
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#12
#12
Oh, also, for your kitchen cabinetry: make all your base cabinets drawer bases, other than for sink bases etc. Skip the door cabs where you have to stand on your head to see what’s in there, and the pullout tray units that require doors to be fully opened to access, plus stuff falls off the edges.

We hired a custom cabinet builder just so we could do this.
 
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#13
#13
volmanbill said:
For Florida, we would make sure to have a spacious outdoor living area/kitchen. Also, an in-ground cleaning system for the pool. We spend more time outside than in.

3 car garage.
Instant hot water heater

I haven't crunched the numbers yet, but I would look at solar and see if it makes sense.
Click to expand...
Outdoor definitely important to us too. Pool, spa and got my outdoor kitchen (grill, hood, fridge, sink, etc). Builder really concentrates on that. Got the garage but we don't have gas so didn't go with the tankless. Getting an insta hot by the sink though

We had neighbors who got dollar and it really doesn't make sense imo. Ran about $35k from what they said
 
#15
#15
kiddiedoc said:
Seriously, some thoughts:

- Central vac with floorboard auto dustpans where appropriate
- Nice shower with at least two heads
- Higher end, large gas range in the kitchen, good vent hood
- Large farmhouse sink
- Kitchen eating area/breakfast nook
- Slide out spice drawer/cabinets
- Instant hot water
- Spacious master closet(s) with custom organization
- Whole home audio
- Garage organizer/storage,
- Big mother TV. Like real big. With nice in-wall sound.
- I need a man-space. Music equipment, games (pool, darts, foosball, shuffleboard, etc depending on your tastes)
- Workout space, depending on your needs

Obviously, hard to address outdoor ideas without knowing the property. I do love a hot tub.
Click to expand...
We've thrown most of those around but most of our friends with the whole home audio regret it. Just said they don't use it enough. I could see us doing the same. Don't have gas which sucks because we had a Rinnai and a great range in our first house and loved it. Going to put my squat rack in the garage. Works ok now. Will have a hit tub/spa attached to the pool which my wife required.

Got rid of formal dining and moved since walls to get a larger den/bonus for the boys and me. Games, computers and our air hockey table should fit

Have a great kitchen nook and getting a table built for it locally. One of our splurges

We did a farmhouse in our first kitchen remodel and not sure we're going to do it again. You have one and like it? We keep going back and forth.

kiddiedoc said:
Outdoor/pool shower for that setup, PJ.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, added that to the list
 
#18
#18
utvolpj said:
Yes, will run a bit over
Click to expand...
We just finished our build, and have considerably more in it than the house we built in 2003 and 2004, even though it is 3/4 the size. I spent a lot of money on floors, interior doors, and windows. All brick on both builds.
 
#19
#19
Heated floors. Had those installed in our bathroom and I want it in all our lower level floors.
 
#21
#21
Concrete dome with full basement connected by tube to concrete dome detached garage. Half buried into a hill at higher than surrounding elevations. Geothermal climate plus strategically placed fans to aid circulation, ducting, and electric heat pump. Wood burning fireplace with built in forced air system integrate into ducting. Solar panel exterior with advanced power storage and two-way meter to grid. Fiber optic cabling. Underground potable water storage. Ballistic windows that can withstand impacts with objects propelled by hurricane force or tornadic winds. Indoor-outdoor integrated living area with dual kitchens. Master suit with huge tub for two. Gray water system for garden & landscaping. Guest rooms with shared bath, extra toilet (all with bidet capability). Outdoor shower. Great room living area. Wine and root cellars partitioned in basement. There’s more, but I gotta go to sleep.
 
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#22
#22
utvolpj said:
We've thrown most of those around but most of our friends with the whole home audio regret it. Just said they don't use it enough. I could see us doing the same. Don't have gas which sucks because we had a Rinnai and a great range in our first house and loved it. Going to put my squat rack in the garage. Works ok now. Will have a hit tub/spa attached to the pool which my wife required.

Got rid of formal dining and moved since walls to get a larger den/bonus for the boys and me. Games, computers and our air hockey table should fit

Have a great kitchen nook and getting a table built for it locally. One of our splurges

We did a farmhouse in our first kitchen remodel and not sure we're going to do it again. You have one and like it? We keep going back and forth.


Oh yeah, added that to the list
Click to expand...

On audio: just depends how much music you listen to. Our prior house (which we built) had a killer system (NuVo), and I used it all the time. I now have Denon Heos speakers in our new place, and they are ok, but it just isn't as convenient or functional, and they require plugs. Obviously, the whole-home wiring, speakers, and media server are expensive, and I'm a bit of a music snob, so the speakers weren't cheap.

We don't have a farmhouse sink here, but we did in our prior build, and I'd change that in a heartbeat if it didn't require a whole new island and granite.

Cool idea for a kitchen nook is booth/bench seating.

I hope you guys have fun with your build. It's a stressful thing, but I loved designing our last house.
 
#23
#23
One last thing: dyed and polished concrete floors are awesome in the appropriate setting. We had the basement polished down to where some aggregate was visible, with diamond-pattern sawcuts and grout. Really nice.
 
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#25
#25
For my next and hopefully last house, looking at all one level ranch style, no more stairs. Also considering a room by room comfort system instead of central hvac, but haven't really researched that a ton, just seems to make sense. Would also pre-wire for security cameras and connect up my own dvr instead of paying a monthly fee.
 
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