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So i'm the process of getting a home built. The central AC unit is going up next week and the next step is looking at the electrical plan.
I spoke with the electrician yesterday and did a walk though of the house. He made a few suggestions and recommendations and i agree with a lot of what he is saying. He said to take some time to study the plan and we can get together and go over ideas.
At this point i'd like to get some suggestions of what you guys think. Anything you think is out of place, or would be good to have! I like the way the electrical plan is already but i do some a couple places where things could be changed.
You have a lot of canned lighting going on. I'm not a fan of can lighting at all. For the energy used, it does not produced enough broad light. Instead, it's more focused light. Otherwise, I don't see anything that stands out as missing or wrong. I would suggest making maximum use of LED bulbs where you can including the tube fixtures in the closets. When specifying LEDs, pay real close attention to the heat range of the bulb. It makes a HUGE difference in the light you'll get. Cool white is yellow, and I mean YELLOW, at about 2700 Kelvin while a 5000 Kelvin light is almost blue. I find the best temperature to be around 4000 Kelvin but you may like it different.
I would want to have a conversation with you about the skuttle and the HVAC system. Since I don't see any HVAC room, I assume it will be an attic mount. But I also don't see any HVAC chases built in for return air. It may be there but frankly I don't see it on this plan. The HVAC, if attic mounted, should be close, as in real close, to the skuttle. You don't want a tech having to walk all over the attic to access it. If it's located near the current skuttle, there doesn't appear to be any place for return air in the master bedroom. That's a definite MUST. You'll learn to hate the master bedroom without it. If the HVAC is in the attic and the plan is to run a return line in the attic with a ceiling mount, consider how you are going to change the A/C filter. You'll need a ladder and drag it thru the house. You'll learn to hate it. You DO NOT want have to get in the attic to change the filter either.
I get to see all kinds of plans. Quite a number on this forum that are posted look like they came from a high school classroom. Yours is a really outstanding plan considering. It has great flow and the rooms are not microscopic. The only thing I would have had you change was to pull out the front wall at the storage area to give you more room in the office closet and storage area. Probably would have cost you nothing to do it as you'd have less wasted materials. But whoever drew up the plans has a clue.....and that's getting rare these days.
That is a LOT to digest and would take hours to go through for comment. Looking at it I don't think there is any outside light on the East side, assuming the garage faces south for the sake of identification.
You might think abut switching those outside lights from the master BR in case of a security issue. Mine are done that way, as well as switchable from the usual places in the house.
Walk through the house. Act like you are living there. Switches and lights when you enter a room? Ability to turn them off when you are in the room and don't wish to return to the exit. Sufficient lighting when u need it? Under cabinets? Seems like a lot of high hats, but maybe that is okay. I would guess we have 50 or so..... All LED. Yours should be too.
Security system? Central vac?
Walk through is the best way. Enter room, live in room, exit room. Is it all logical and practical. Think about where your furniture will go and are the lights appropriate....are the switches going to end up behind furniture or wall hangings? Floor outlets for lamps in LR?
BTW, do the same for HVAC. Are the outlets where you want to have furniture? Nothing worse than having a heating outlet under a dresser or bed.
The only thing I would change is the Dining room. Canned lighting does not give a nice atmosphere for dining when it is a overhead. I would recommend a chandelier over the table area, gives a much nicer light for eating.
You have a lot of canned lighting going on. I'm not a fan of can lighting at all. For the energy used, it does not produced enough broad light. Instead, it's more focused light. Otherwise, I don't see anything that stands out as missing or wrong. I would suggest making maximum use of LED bulbs where you can including the tube fixtures in the closets. When specifying LEDs, pay real close attention to the heat range of the bulb. It makes a HUGE difference in the light you'll get. Cool white is yellow, and I mean YELLOW, at about 2700 Kelvin while a 5000 Kelvin light is almost blue. I find the best temperature to be around 4000 Kelvin but you may like it different.
I would want to have a conversation with you about the skuttle and the HVAC system. Since I don't see any HVAC room, I assume it will be an attic mount. But I also don't see any HVAC chases built in for return air. It may be there but frankly I don't see it on this plan. The HVAC, if attic mounted, should be close, as in real close, to the skuttle. You don't want a tech having to walk all over the attic to access it. If it's located near the current skuttle, there doesn't appear to be any place for return air in the master bedroom. That's a definite MUST. You'll learn to hate the master bedroom without it. If the HVAC is in the attic and the plan is to run a return line in the attic with a ceiling mount, consider how you are going to change the A/C filter. You'll need a ladder and drag it thru the house. You'll learn to hate it. You DO NOT want have to get in the attic to change the filter either.
I get to see all kinds of plans. Quite a number on this forum that are posted look like they came from a high school classroom. Yours is a really outstanding plan considering. It has great flow and the rooms are not microscopic. The only thing I would have had you change was to pull out the front wall at the storage area to give you more room in the office closet and storage area. Probably would have cost you nothing to do it as you'd have less wasted materials. But whoever drew up the plans has a clue.....and that's getting rare these days.
I agree about the Can lighting, i would like to get rid of those. But what are good alternatives? I would like to use only LED bulbs and the 4000 Kelvin is what i'm going for. I'm getting rid of the tube lighting throughout the house. I feel they don't properly illuminate a room.
As far as the HVAC system, we aren't sure how we want to go about that yet. I live in Houston TX and the summers are brutally hot and humid. I am debating whether i should even running a duct to the "bonus room" and instead installing a mini split to maintain that room cool.
As far as the office goes, i went ahead and got rid of the closet. I pushed the pantry wall back so its flush with the storage wall and we are going to add a nice built in desk with cabinets. Now that the framing is up, i'm glad i made that change.
That is a LOT to digest and would take hours to go through for comment. Looking at it I don't think there is any outside light on the East side, assuming the garage faces south for the sake of identification.
You might think abut switching those outside lights from the master BR in case of a security issue. Mine are done that way, as well as switchable from the usual places in the house.
Walk through the house. Act like you are living there. Switches and lights when you enter a room? Ability to turn them off when you are in the room and don't wish to return to the exit. Sufficient lighting when u need it? Under cabinets? Seems like a lot of high hats, but maybe that is okay. I would guess we have 50 or so..... All LED. Yours should be too.
Security system? Central vac?
Walk through is the best way. Enter room, live in room, exit room. Is it all logical and practical. Think about where your furniture will go and are the lights appropriate....are the switches going to end up behind furniture or wall hangings? Floor outlets for lamps in LR?
BTW, do the same for HVAC. Are the outlets where you want to have furniture? Nothing worse than having a heating outlet under a dresser or bed.
I believe there are several floodlights located on each corner of the house.
You think i should switch the outside lights to the master bedroom right? I think that is a good idea, i didn't think about that.
We discussed adding under cabinet lights so i'm excited about that. What is a high hat? Also, one thing he suggested was getting fans with no lights. For example, in the bedroom there are 4 can lights with a fan in the middle. He suggested just getting dimmers and a fan with no lights. I agree with him because at the fan lights really don't illuminate very well.
Any recommendations on the Security system? Also, i'm not familiar with a central vac system, could you elaborate??
Since electrical plans don't show decor- I'll assume by all the cans that you're going for a very contemporary feel(?).
The main issue I have is cans and fans don't play well together- fans create a strobe effect with cans; and I certainly wouldn't want the strobe effect in an office. So, I'd probably drop the cans in the office for just a fan/light combo. I'd probably do the same in the master.
The dining doesn't have a center light (chandelier) a more traditional setup- again, you maybe doing a more contemporary decor, so the present setup maybe to your liking.
Kitchens can be tricky- especially "open" kitchens. The cans have a general all over coverage- but there's no "task lighting"- something that should be discussed. Pendants maynot be your thing in this particular situation, but you may want to consider over the island. And other task lighting like undercabinet lighting.
Lastly, the greatroom- though not actually identified I'll assume the great room is vaulted. Make sure the cans are angled cans; and the downrod on the fan is a length that will minimize the strobe there.
The only thing I would change is the Dining room. Canned lighting does not give a nice atmosphere for dining when it is a overhead. I would recommend a chandelier over the table area, gives a much nicer light for eating.
I'm going to go ahead and leave the canned lights (replacing them with LEDs). And i'm going to add a chandelier. I agree a chandelier is a way better look! but i like the versatility of having more light if i need it.
I agree with Trapper, that is an excellent plan with great understanding of space and flow.
A few quick questions/comments -
There is a two step at the garage entry, yet the door to the storage from the garage has no steps?
Is proper isolation being used to prevent garage fumes from entering the main structure?
I don't see a slop sink in the utility room. Once you've had one, you'll never want to go back.
Kitchen-
I would place the refrigerator closest to the dining room. The mass of it blocks the view of messy counters from the dining area, and you know that anyone coming in and out wanting a cold one will appreciate the location.
Personally, I like sink and dishwasher in the main counters. That leaves the stand-alone work counter clean and uncluttered looking and fully available for larger projects. I can't count the number of times it has been the perfect place for me to use it as a temporary workbench for crafts, breadmaking and other (sometimes messy) baking.
The door swings from the garage and leading to the stairs to the bonus room are messed up. Imagine carrying something from your car up the stairs to that room. Oopsie!
I might eliminate shelving on the wall of the pantry on the left, to free the space up for a freezer.
Consider sconce lighting in the great room. My guess is that the tv screen will be on the office wall? That pulls seating more towards the fireplace, which works well.
I've decided to add this image that shows some of the plan changes i made. You'll see them highlighted in blue with comments in yellow.
Also, a couple important things to note. The left, rear, and right side of the house had an additional 3 feet added to each so the house is considerably larger that what the plan shows. We changed the ceiling in the great room to be 12' instead of 10.5.
I'm trying to respond to everyone's feedback and i greatly appreciate all your help!
thanks,
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Wow thanks for so much info!
