Details when building a house

[MrsPete]

All doorways to be 36" . . . so that when we would need to install "bars" that it would be easy to do without wrecking the walls . . . A shower that has the ability to "roll-in" a wheelchair . . . And - in the garage - have the door to the house strategically located so that a ramp . . . From what I understand, in the planning stages of a house, it is very inexpensive to do some of these things. Conversely, it is very expensive to change some things later.

Okay, I've added these things to my list. You never know what we might need, and -- as you said -- they are not expensive if you plan them initially.

How do you do a roll-in shower? I'm guessing that the floor must slope away from the door? Otherwise you'd have water all over the bathroom floor?

We just moved into our "dream house" last year. I forgot a lot of things, but one thing I was OC on was "dropping" the concrete slab floor to allow for hard wood flooring in the rooms we used it in. That way, the wood and tile are at the same level, and there aren't any 'toe snubbers' to trip over . . . We both insisted on having space in the laundry rooms for hanging clothes to dry; some things just don't need to be dried in the dryer (like khaki pants for growing teenaged boys).

I wouldn't have throught about "evening out" the flooring.

I'm thinking that the mini-shower (mentioned in earlier posts) with a rack for hanging things could be very useful in the laundry area.

our circut box is in the garage (vs outside), if we had built the house ourselves it would have been put inside the master closet

my pantry is'nt walk in but it's a very large closet that's close enough to my kitchen counter i can easily put in/take out items without having to carry them far. i have the shelves so they don't go to the top (danger of my reaching and items toppling) or all the way to the floor (too hard to bend over-i use that space to hold items i can put in bags i can pull out-like one large bag holds extra tote/supermarket bags, another holds all the individualy packaged snackie type items which i take out of the boxes when i buy-i can slightly bend over and slide the bags out to get what i need)..

Our circuit breakers are in the laundry room, and I like it so much better than the outdoor breakers in our old house! I hadn't thought about putting that detail on my list of must-haves. Laundry room, pantry, closet . . . any of those options sound vastly superior to outdoors.

I definitely want some pantry organizers -- something like Shelf Reliance shelves, but built in (probably cheaper than buying their expensive stuff) or Pharoh's Storehouse shelves.

One other thing - especially in your circumstances. Separate heating/cooling and thermostats for the upstairs/downstairs.

Hmmm . . . I'm remembering a two-story house that I rented years and years ago. If we had the downstairs comfortable, the upstairs was roasting; if the upstairs was comfortable, we had icicles downstairs in the kitchen. HOW do you get this right? Separate heating -- that much makes sense -- but what works well?

If you are putting ceiling fans in, make sure you get the double switch where one controls the fan & the other controls the lights.

If you have a hutch for your china a plug is nice, many have lights in them

Separate switches for the fan . . . just the kind of thing that I KNOW I like, but I might not've thought to put on my list.

It seems that outlets are the #1 suggestion that I'm getting from everyone. I"m listening!

I am loving this thread! I hope you post plans, since I would love to see how it turns out!

Oh, and no one said central vac system yet, right?

Terri

Give me a little time on the plans . . . yep, I do want central vac. Or maybe -- since we're planning wood floors everywhere except the bedrooms -- some of those kick-open suction things that you sweep into. I don't know what they're called, but with wood floors they might be more practical than a full-fledged central vac system.

The built in blinds are nice in theory but if one breaks you have to take apart the entire window.

Nah, I don't like blinds. That's the benefit of building on 20+ acres -- no privacy concerns.

 

[Buckalew11]

I just built and we have done a lot of things suggested here--esp. things golfgal suggested.

I've only been in for a little over a month and there is oly one thing so far that I'd change--my showerhead in the bathroom. It is a rainfall type and while nice, it is like standing out in the rain and hard to rinse my hair quick enough. We should have done another regular head also since DH wanted the rainfall type.
Of course, I'll have an outside shower by summertime and I'll use it 6 months out of the year and will have a regular head on that one. This all isn't a big deal but it is something I'd change.

Storage shelves like golfgal showed is exactly what I have in a walk-in attic over the house garage. Super, super nice.

Outlets in the island a big plus. Deep sinks are a +.

Hardwood and tile through make cleaning easier.

Central vaccum system is something I really like and having the little vaccum suction thing under a kitchen cabinet is great too.

Dimmers on several lights throughout the house is something we really like also.

We have a room just for all electronics (DVD, computer stuff, etc. and had A/V people take care of all that stuff with speakers etc.)

I did cabinets that go to the ceiling, no space to clean and lots of storage.

Walk-in closets in all the bedrooms.

We did higher counter tops in the bathrooms even though we aren't tall people.

Double hung windows.

Had my builder frame in all my windows and doorways as I wanted and they look terrific. Makes the rooms looked finished off.

We did a lot of can (ned ?) lighting and I am very, very happy we did this.

We also did electrical for outside lighting. DH ran it so he can light up the trees in the back at night which is beautiful.

Mop sink is esp. nice to have. Mudroom area a plus. I did a few pockets doors which I am happy about too. We put in an extra door between the back door entrance and the mudroom area which is really nice and was unplanned and NOT on the original plans. For some reason our builder put it in and it was in before DH nor I realized, "hey, why is there a door there?" Just yesterday we commented how glad we were to have that door there.

I had a gem of a builder. A 28yo "kid" in my book, lol, who did an outstanding job for us. He shopped around for the best buys on quality products, he took things back for a refund when possible, and he really listened to me and my vision, wants and needs. I would have never, ever thought he would have been such a joy to work with as he was. I think it is very important to get a builder who does nice, neat work AND listens to you.

I also think it is important to try to not get carried away with things you might love today but not tomorrow, think about what is functional vs. beautiful, and think about not getting to personal in color choices that can't be changed easily.

We have a 2 story craftsman style house with everything DH will need on 1st floor. However, we have 2 bedrooms upstairs and a huge den and office upstairs (that could be another bedroom) plus walk-in attic.
We opted to put a door at the top of the stairs so it could easily be closed off when DD is no longer living here. While this did away with my idea of a pretty, open staircase, it is more functional for our small family and future.
I did do the finished hardwood stairs with the white (whatever those things are called??? It escapes me at the moment) so I got 1/2 of the look I wanted.

Good luck. Building was a lot of fun for us. We had the same type vision and DH was very good about saying "yes, dear". It was a lot fo fun having a vision in your mind and having it come to life just as you saw in your head.

 

[Buckalew11]

Okay, I've added these things to my list. You never know what we might need, and -- as you said -- they are not expensive if you plan them initially.

How do you do a roll-in shower? I'm guessing that the floor must slope away from the door? Otherwise you'd have water all over the bathroom floor?
I wouldn't have throught about "evening out" the flooring.

I'm thinking that the mini-shower (mentioned in earlier posts) with a rack for hanging things could be very useful in the laundry area.Our circuit breakers are in the laundry room, and I like it so much better than the outdoor breakers in our old house! I hadn't thought about putting that detail on my list of must-haves. Laundry room, pantry, closet . . . any of those options sound vastly superior to outdoors.

I definitely want some pantry organizers -- something like Shelf Reliance shelves, but built in (probably cheaper than buying their expensive stuff) or Pharoh's Storehouse shelves. Hmmm . . . I'm remembering a two-story house that I rented years and years ago. If we had the downstairs comfortable, the upstairs was roasting; if the upstairs was comfortable, we had icicles downstairs in the kitchen. HOW do you get this right? Separate heating -- that much makes sense -- but what works well?

If you are putting ceiling fans in, make sure you get the double switch where one controls the fan & the other controls the lights.

If you have a hutch for your china a plug is nice, many have lights in them

Separate switches for the fan . . . just the kind of thing that I KNOW I like, but I might not've thought to put on my list.

It seems that outlets are the #1 suggestion that I'm getting from everyone. I"m listening! Give me a little time on the plans . . . yep, I do want central vac. Nah, I don't like blinds. That's the benefit of building on 20+ acres -- no privacy concerns.

We have 2 units for heat and air. It really helps. The warm air rises still though so having that door at the top of our stairs has been really nice already (so early into the winter).

Definitely make a note about the seperate switches for fan and light. I did not think of it but my electrician did.

We also did the canned (can) light with built in fans in all the bathrooms: one in the separate room with toilet, and in both extra bathrooms plus one over the shower. Very nice, imho.

We also did a cabinet built in the wall next to the toilet in that separate toilet area. It was my 17yo nephew's idea. We call it the "crapper cabinet" lol and you can stash "girly things", extra paper and magazines in there.

I forgot to add we put in some hidden Mickey's too. LOL

 

[Judy from Boise]

oh too funny we have one of those commode built in shelving things too.....now the crapper cabinet ! It holds the exact same things, but add my DH's suduko books

My suggestion is to put a full wet bar on the second floor (sink, fridge, cabinets, coffeemaker) it makes each floor independent.

 

[BelleWDW]

How do you do a roll-in shower? I'm guessing that the floor must slope away from the door?

Its a large bathroom . a 4 foot square area in the corner
the concrete is sloped downward to the center of the square , where there is a large drain

 

[Green Tea]

I go back and forth on that one. I don't know.
Thanks!

The WC is a great addition. I really can't imagine not having this set up again. If you make a pocket door it takes up no more space than a half wall for division would.

SOmething I don't have but will if I ever redo the kitchen or build a house is an installed coffee maker; water line, self filling, the works.

 

[Just Jan]

"some of those kick-open suction things that you sweep into. I don't know what they're called, but with wood floors they might be more practical than a full-fledged central vac system."

Love it,love it, love it!!!

 

[RNMOM]

I've been building my dream house 'in my head' for years. I love the idea of a connection between the bath and laundry to pass clothes through.

I want a great room design and the hallway to the master suite I would like lined with cabinets/closets. I would probably use stock cabinets with drawers below and space above for long term storage. Just one after the other with alternation shelves and hanging space. All the way into the master bedroom on one wall. This would eliminate the need for a walk in closet and all that clutter that happens as well as giving us space for alternate season clothes. Don't know how practical it is but I think it would work.

For a bath I would like a glass block wall to divide the room with a roll in shower with the tub in the corner. Again, an idea I have wanted to try.

I would like a nice mudroom separate from the laundry room. I like the idea of a shower but I would make it full sized for washing the dog, an extra place to get garden mud off and things like that.

We have an extra deep garage that allows us to have lots of things in it as well as the cars. I would put enclosed shelving along the back wall that the snowblower, mower and stuff like that could be housed in and then some with shelves. No windows. I have windows now and it keeps us from being able to put built ins there.