Things you wish you could change about your house (big house, transfer)

[BigDGeek]

No pool and single story were firm, unshakeable requirements for me. I hate stairs. Luckily my house has no pool and is one story. Perfect!

[Pete53FR]

I would like to be much more energy efficient and able to be cooler in summer at same time.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

In a previous house I had stained concrete floors; looked like stone. Very cool in the summer and not bad in the winter. Sealed concrete is impervious to kids, dogs, and cats; whatever they can do or put out, the floor is undamaged. If I move to DFW, I am pulling up any carpet and staining the slab.

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[nsumner]

I ran into this today... and thought of this thread.

Naima

[loves2read]

not my thing--even for whimsical effect, the cost probably outweighs the return...but someone has a great imagination and craftsmanship

were you showing a house and saw it in person--or from MLS--or ???

[KittySkyfish]

I'd do the best you possibly can with insulation and windows and would get a second opinion from an outside specialist on these materials instead of accepting what the builder says you need at face value. Same with your HVAC system. Most of the homes in my neighborhood had their HVAC systems installed by the builder without the proper calculations. This means our systems run harder and longer. In our house, the insufficient returns don't provide enough air for the units.

Also pay attention to the orientation of your house and which sides will provide the most solar heat gain. Our family room is 2-story with seven large windows facing south west without a proper exterior shading to decrease direct solar gain in the mid-day summer sun. We use cellular shades on these windows but it's much cooler to break the direct sun's rays on the outside of the house, rather than inside. Simple design modifications or a solar orientation change could save you $$$ annually in heating/cooling.

[Pete53FR]

Kittyskyfish is correct about the returns. They usually wanted a low cost system and had A/C with half of the return needed. We added a big return in hallway and it made our air conditioner much more efficient.

Power vent in roof also helped most of our roofs are not properly vented. Changes like these are not as expensive and a good way to start.

One last thing is I have a window unit in bedroom and one in our computer room/middle bedroom and this allows us to turn main a/c off except when very hot. I suspect that this alone saves us 40% to 50%.

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by loves2read

I think we need to get plumber out and rethink our hot water heater set up
for two people we don't need both units running all the time--
just the ability to open up the second tank when we have a house full...
but I must admit I love being able to turn on the hot water and get pretty much immediate response in this house--even in master with the longest run line--
our other house had two water heaters but there was long time to get hot water in master bath...

If your going to redo consider an inline hot water heater which only heats water when needed. It can require a change in piping sometimes depending on the layout.

[Johnhw2]

Just moved to an existing home in Plano from Houston.

1. Large MBR is useful given how much time you spend there. This one is square 20 by 20 so lots of space in a room daily.

2. Home in Houston had no hallways, we got a lot of room space for the house size, but like the spacing between rooms in this home with hallways separating MBR and all BR are private with entrances separated.

3. Hardwood floors even in Kitchen and BRs are warm and attractive and more competitively priced vs alternatives these days.

4. One garage bay is oversized so my SUV fits in easily with room behind it as well as a high ceiling and garage door so I can pack it in the garage, in Houston I couldnt raise the back door in the SUV in the garage.

4. Insulate, insulate and windows/doors build in lower energy use.

5. More expensive/durabilty built BR facets will save in the long run as labor to replace is high.

6. Combine DR/LR so this less used space is more spacious without using as much space if separate rooms

7. If you find a house plan you like and can modify to meet your needs, see if you can buy the plans for that home to modify as well. Many custom homes can have drainage issues and un intended design issues if built for the first time. Even with new tech tools hard to spot and fix them all even for a pro.

8. Agree completely on the builder financial condition being key. Builder financing is tough in this market so consider providing construction financing your self for a better build price.

9. HVAC designer is a good investment as is a foundation pro, I understand some locations have horrid soil which can lead to issues if not addressed in design.

10. This one may be unique to us, but wife does craft and art hobbies, wish this house had a room for this use out of the way so the mess isnt visible..also it needs natural light.

11. Mother in law lives with us, LR near her bedroom for her use keep harmony in the household... you need separation not just the MBR and her BR but a somewhat separate LR she can use keeps harmony.

12. Second refrig in Utility room barely fit in the opening allowed for it -removed molding to get it to fit.

13. Storage, storage, storage..

14. Built in storage in 2 Car garage bay came with the home, as it was builder model. Garage is wider so we can store most things we need regularly down stairs and avoid up and down the stairs to storage

15. If I were building and wants exceeded budget, like the idea of boxing in some rooms to complete later.

16. When floor plan is nearly final, make scale sized cut outs of major furniture to be sure existing will fit in todays more open room designs.

17. Vented attic is a key to efficient energy, not a far of power vents, would use a Houston design of Ridge vents with lots of vents for air inlet as well as radiant
barrier roof - HVAC designer input for roof system if they are an engineer as they should be

Great post

[pinipig523]

Hey guys -

Sorry to bring up my old thread... but what about these two:

1. Subflooring upstairs? Advantech good? Should I stick with 3/4 inch or upgrade to 1 1/8 inch?
2. Kitchen disposall? 1/2hp enough or spring for the 3/4hp? Any real world difference from your experience?