Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A secret room. My sister has one.
I have one outdoor faucet that can be shut off from the inside. A separate kitchen with a big butler's pantry. I dislike open floor plans
I was always more about the land or location. If you own the land, you have some advantages. When you want to add features keep in mind, that some features are hard, more expensive or impossible to do after the build. Things behind the walls, outlets in the floor, anything to do with concrete, adding insulation, electrical, etc.
I like a secondary side entrance(s) and wrap around porches.
Maximum insulation using the envelope design.
Built in fire proof safe.
Roof sheathing attached with highest wind load ratings
Metal roof
More electric outlets than you think you will need in the kitchen and garage. If starting from scratch I'd have a circuit put in for an electric car charger, to be added later if you don't have an electric car yourself
Garage wide enough so there is storage space to the sides of the cars that are parked in there. A man door and at least one window for light in the garage.
Kitchen cabinets where the shelves roll out like drawers.
A heater in the bathroom independent of the house heating system.
All vents, including the microwave go to the outside of the house.
Enough room in the laundry room so the big front loaders on pedestals will fit. Big utility sink in the laundry room, or else a dog bathing station if you own dogs.
Crawl space high enough to make it comfortable to work under the house
Good air-conditioning, which is almost never included in the base price, you have to ask for it.
Cement board siding
Large patio in back, off a sliding door, so you can set up a barbecue and have it far away from the siding and room for a table and chairs
Wired for cable internet and TV, or whatever type service you choose to have.
Lots of big high quality windows, as weather proof as possible, but big to let in lots of light so the house will be light and bright inside
Here are the things I would do if this was a house I was going to try and live out my life.
1) Make the interior doors handicapped width. At some point, most of us will need a walker or even a wheelchair to recover from knee and hip surgeries.
2) Make the primary/master bath with the extra supports for grab bars built into the walls (and take a photo) and put in a curbless shower, again with grab bar supports already put into the walls for future use.
Don't use slick tiles in the bathrooms. No one should ever do that, but I'm always surprised. Get something with texture to help prevent falls.
Install sensor toe kick lighting on the lower cabinets. As you age, you just have to pee more in the middle of the night. Make it safer.
Put the outlet by the toilet for a bidet.
Put outlets on either side of the vanity. With electric toothbrushes, hair dryers, curling irons, etc you need more than two slots.
3) Leave ample space between a kitchen island and the rest of the kitchen so that you can move a walker and wheelchair around.
Put pull-outs in your kitchen cabinets and use as many drawers as makes sense on your lowers instead of cabinets. They are easier to get to in a wheelchair or walker.
Think through your kitchen plan and make sure you have a spot for recycling and bags that you take to the grocery store.
4) I'm all about continuous flooring. High-end LVP or hardwoods. I prefer tile in my bathrooms so those would be the only transition spots.
5) Add drip irrigation hubs into your sprinkler system by your front door and patio so that you or future owners can easily do pots and hanging baskets.
6) We finally ripped out our grass and are in the process of converting to nature landscaping and I would do this in the future. I would also add an underground cistern to collect rainwater off our roof to use for summer watering. We are looking at doing that and having our pond recirculate the water.
7) Smurf tubes are the tubes in the wall that people use for TV/Surround systems. Bring low voltage and regular to all Smurfs so that you have maximum flexibility on where you place your equipment.
I wished I have a comprehensive list or ideas when I had mine built.
This is not about hardwood or granite or stain finish. Something more unique but still feasible to add from regular builders (non-custom homes) that are best done while being constructed than after.
Items I would have asked are:
- wall in pipes for TV
- wall in pipes for surround system
- wall in pipes for projector
My new house (2023 built) had 1/2 plywood behind the drywall where the TV would go. Made bracket install a piece of cake! Builder even gave the diagram of where the wood was located! Put an 85 inch tv in the family room and a 75 inch in the master bedroom
I prefer detached garages. If your detached garage with all the gasoline, mower, solvents, etc., catches fire, you might lose 2 cars and the garage. If the same thing happens with an attached garage, you could lose your whole house. I'd rather replace a couple cars than my whole residence.
Long shot.........my current garage is semi-detached but I wouldn't fear losing the house (concrete block). Main house attic and garage attic don't connect.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
