New Home Construction Ideas

[BJXDS]

It looks like the type of home we now need/want is not readily available. We will most likely need to have it built And I am not really looking forward to going thru that again. I had my last one built in 1992. So here it is:
Single level living, main floor with washer/ dryer approx 2K SF. Possibly to include a basement, walk out preferable with attached and possibly detached garage.

What features do you have that you would recommend or not? Energy efficiency windows, doors, and appliances, tankless water heater, LED lighting, high efficiency dual fuel heat and AC. Smart home features/ security system.

What would you add or delete if you were doing it?

[oakdalecurtis]

[QUOTE=BJXDS;1085941]It looks like the type of home we now need/want is not readily available. We will most likely need to have it built And I am not really looking forward to going thru that again. I had my last one built in 1992. So here it is:
Single level living, main floor with washer/ dryer approx 2K SF. Possibly to include a basement, walk out preferable with attached and possibly detached garage.

What features do you have that you would recommend or not? Energy efficiency windows, doors, and appliances, tankless water heater, LED lighting, high efficiency dual fuel heat and AC. Smart home features/ security system.
———————————————————-
I am living in my self designed dream home. It has all of the features you mentioned. In addition, I added 12 solar tubes, lighting up every room and area that would be dark otherwise without artificial lighting. I’m talking about windowless interior rooms, bathrooms, pantries or master closets.
Depending where you live, I would also include 40 to 60 solar panels to mitigate your electric bill.
Finally, anytime you can choose to heat your house or water with either electricity or gas flame, the flame method will always be more efficient and lower cost than electricity.
One final thought. My house is also a large single story. I pitched the roof up steeply and designed the rafters internally to allow for significant attic storage area on a plywood floor with pulldown ladders to access the area.
Good luck!

[peterb]

If this is going to be your retirement house, do all the “elderly resident” design features now — handrails, grab bars, wheelchair accessible bathroom, etc. It drove me nuts watching my parents build their house saying “we don’t need that now”. Making those modifications later is expensive and a painful reminder of decreasing physical capacity.

Having been an EMT, it’s really nice to have an easy route to bring a stretcher in.

You can’t have too much lighting in workspaces. Light is a tool.

[0ddl0t]

If this is going to be your retirement house, do all the “elderly resident” design features now — handrails, grab bars, wheelchair accessible bathroom, etc. It drove me nuts watching my parents build their house saying “we don’t need that now”. Making those modifications later is expensive and a painful reminder of decreasing physical capacity.

Having been an EMT, it’s really nice to have an easy route to bring a stretcher in.

You can’t have too much lighting in workspaces. Light is a tool.

I'd add that zero threshold entrances make a world of difference if someone in the home eventually needs a scooter, walker, or wheelchair. Also consider how easy it will be for everyone to use door & cupboard handles with arthritic hands... If your plan is to "age in place" I'd also be sure to pick a site close to medical services & shopping and to spec lower maintenance landscaping (if you do it yourself).

Other desires: a larger/deeper/taller garage so you can park full size suvs or trucks inside and still have room to move around. And extra 220V outlet is handy for a welder or charging an electric car. A whole house fan is nice if you live in a mild climate. A safe closet/room is very nice if you have a large valuable/firearm collection.

I'll also echo the solar tube recommendation (just not for bedrooms). During the day I don't need to turn on any lights in the kitchen, baths, or living areas...

[OlongJohnson]

Emphasize maintainability/repairability. Minimize the disturbance (drywall, etc.) required to maintain, repair or replace any systems such as plumbing, HVAC (including ducting), water heater, etc. Ensure that the heater and A/C coils (if you have them where you are) can be efficiently accessed for inspection and cleaning. I would spend extra for rolled insulation batts in the attic rather than blown-in insulation. The blown stuff basically turns the attic into a hazardous environment. It gets everywhere and is a major headache if you need to get at anything for repair/replacement.

Make sure the thing is framed straight so the drywall can be straight and doesn't need texture to hide the defects. Smooth walls may not be as interesting as texture, but they sure are a lot easier to blend if you ever have to make a repair. Get professional help with colors. And for God's sake, don't let her do wallpaper.

I personally prefer to have a first floor raised off the ground, rather than a slab, so plumbing can be below the house. Leaks are not disasters that way. The water heater in my first house started to leak at one point. Because it was at ground level on the driveway slab, it was three trips to Home Depot the next Sunday afternoon to swap it out. No drama and minimal expense. A coworker had to do complete remodels of his house (fortunately, he had good insurance) more than once due to plumbing leaks.

Make sure the gutters are sloped toward the downspouts so they actually drain, rather than water pooling in them until it evaporates.

Ensure that wiring is neat and organized, readily accessible. Use extra material so it can follow consistent, bundled paths rather than just every wire going the shortest route to wherever it goes. If you wire the place for comms (coax, CAT5, whatever), make sure those lines are easily updateable/replaceable.

Outdoor cooking facilities (grill and a range burner or two) are nice to have, especially if you like cooking smelly things.

A swimming pool is a hole in the ground into which you pour money. I don't know anyone who has a pool and spends more time swimming in it than maintaining it. The electric bill for the pump can be hundreds/month.

Attic storage is nice, but I would prioritize the ability to go up on the roof relatively safely for inspection and maintenance, which means a lesser slope. Ensure that all the eaves and gutters are reachable with a ladder for cleaning.

Go for Hardi or other cement board siding so it will never rot, mildew, crack, etc.

Agree on planning for aging with respect to landscaping, etc. What you can do at whatever age you are now won't be possible at 75.

Plan all the landscaping for the full-grown size of everything. Plant your trees far enough away that in 20 or 30 years when they are big, they won't be running into the house. Trees being far enough away from the roof helps keep squirrels from getting bored and curious while hanging out on your roof.

[Clay1]

I would be looking at building in security features. I think Jeff Cooper had an article on how he built his house in reference to defending it. I would reinforce doorways and put in real doors with a higher level of kick in resistance.

The sleeping area would be a place that I could defend easily. I've always wondered this same question about what I would want if I could build a house in reference to my family's security. While I don't do anything illegal, I would want to harden my house from the get go. I'll be interested in design concepts that other have to this end.

Maybe this isn't what you were thinking by asking the question, but now is the exact time to consider your home is your castle.

[beenalongtime]

My start, would be a monolithic dome.

[AKDoug]

It looks like the type of home we now need/want is not readily available. We will most likely need to have it built And I am not really looking forward to going thru that again. I had my last one built in 1992. So here it is:
Single level living, main floor with washer/ dryer approx 2K SF. Possibly to include a basement, walk out preferable with attached and possibly detached garage.

What features do you have that you would recommend or not? Energy efficiency windows, doors, and appliances, tankless water heater, LED lighting, high efficiency dual fuel heat and AC. Smart home features/ security system.

What would you add or delete if you were doing it? What region of the country are you in? That dictates a bunch of home design.

[JTQ]

Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction

Radiant floor heat

[BJXDS]

Some very good points mad so far, please keep em coming. What further complicates this issue for me is the final location is yet to be determined, I know WTF??

Most likely this house will be built in Central VA, TN, NC, GA. I did not want to cloud the build specs with location type issues. I have been following the previous where to retire threads with interest, and I will probably post another regional location thread after I have a better idea of the home build. The home design and construction will most likely be very similar.

I will say this however, the central VA region, liberal/socialist gun grabbing leanings aside is or WAS a very good place to be. It pisses me off to no end how VA has turned and I don't believe its EVER coming back, but I digress. The economy is very stable, medical care options are plentiful, Northern VA, Fredericksburg and Cville has some of the best medical care in the nation. You are approx 2 hours from the beach or mountains, and those areas are very beautiful in general. Traffic always SUCKS ASS on all major roads. The area between south of Richmond to Baltimore seems to be blending together, becoming one large metro area. There are some absolutely beautiful areas in between.

SORRY, back to the Home construction:
Alternate/ non standard construction methods may be the future ICF, Solar, radiant/geothermal heating cooling, extended overhangs on southern exposures are expensive and its hard to find a builder/GC that has qualified subs in those trades. In addition repair and service is difficult as well. We all know AC only fails on the hottest days and Heat on the coldest, and when that happens it can still take days or weeks to have it repaired or replaced. With some of this stuff I am still not convinced the cost is ever recouped?

I agree fire /gas is cheaper than electric but if we are back to propane, maybe not. I need to research that some more.

Low Maintenance interior and exterior and ADA are a must, doors showers, zero/ low entrance good idea. High counters, vanities and toilets as well. Also full pull out cabinets with soft close are nice as well, AND a Bosch dishwasher.
Solar tubes are nice as well
High attics are nice but that just more room for the wife to have me use to store a bunch of junk we don't need, and deviation from engineered trusses will add to the construction costs.
I like the idea of largest High ceiling garage as well, I am thinking about semi conditioned as well, possibly a utility tub, and even a drain the the floor.
Outdoor patio cooking and lounging areas are very nice. Stamped concrete with a pavilion roof, I will never build and maintain another deck.
POOL, or should I say NO POOL, I have won that battle for 30 years, but I am afraid if we do this build I will finally loose. That's probably the reason she said you really should really get the bass boat you want. But Happy wife, Happy life so we'll see. By the way I am sure the pool will be totally Maintenance Free; For Her!

Security features as well, outdoor lighting, harden, secure all entrances. But any sources for residential security doors that are insulted that don't look like a steel commercial door?

Thanks and keep em coming

[0ddl0t]

any sources for residential security doors that are insulted that don't look like a steel commercial door?


Can't help you there, but it reminded me about security screens if you like to open things up for a while house fan:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP_7Eyr9WEM


Hopefully the price has come down over the last 5 years because these were quite spendy, but where I live it is so nice to be able to securely open up at night and enjoy the onshore breeze after a 100° day...

[ranger]

I would definitely put thought into the low voltage wiring for communication, internet, alarms, cable, whatever. My current house has a central junction box in basement for all that "stuff" and it sure is convenient. I would run power and cabling for security lighting and cameras for exterior.

[NH Shooter]

You should investigate manufactured houses too. There are some key advantages to this kind of construction, including repeatable high quality and lower cost. There are plenty of options and customization is easy.

I've been researching companies in the northeast and this one IMO stands out - http://westchestermodular.org/

If I ever get to build another one, this is the way I'm going.

[Blades]

What about a hot tub instead of a pool?

[LtDave]

I can't believe no one has mentioned a gun room/vault/saferoom yet.

[Hieronymous]

I am anticipating building a house soon as well. I knew next to nothing about construction methods, building science, technologies, etc. until I started following The Build Show channel on YouTube and their website. You may find it helpful too. Looking forward to hearing some wisdom from our members.

https://buildshownetwork.com/search?category=building_science

[BJXDS]

Can't help you there, but it reminded me about security screens if you like to open things up for a while house fan:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP_7Eyr9WEM


Hopefully the price has come down over the last 5 years because these were quite spendy, but where I live it is so nice to be able to securely open up at night and enjoy the onshore breeze after a 100° day...

I believe the doors start about 800. Not sure about the other stuff but that may not be a deal breaker if I can use in select locations. I really like the concept, and it sounds like they work for you, any downside?



I would definitely put thought into the low voltage wiring for communication, internet, alarms, cable, whatever. My current house has a central junction box in basement for all that "stuff" and it sure is convenient. I would run power and cabling for security lighting and cameras for exterior.

I did that in my existing house with phone, surround system and coax, before I could fully utilize it all things changed to CAT 5 and most is now wireless with the exception to power for the devices.


You should investigate manufactured houses too. There are some key advantages to this kind of construction, including repeatable high quality and lower cost. There are plenty of options and customization is easy.

I've been researching companies in the northeast and this one IMO stands out - http://westchestermodular.org/

If I ever get to build another one, this is the way I'm going.

I looked at that when I built in 92 but stick was cheaper when all upgrades were factored in. This may now have all changed considering a lot of stick and even custom builders are using engineered truss and joist systems.
What seem to drive the cost up is when builders deviate from the canned options and hit you with upgrade and change option charges.


What about a hot tub instead of a pool?

I threw that out there and she said OK you get the hot tub and I get the pool.

[BJXDS]

I can't believe no one has mentioned a gun room/vault/saferoom yet.

She wants a safe room also, Safe’s are a must and the rest of the house will be secured as much as possible. I have not bought into the safe room with in a safe house concept..... yet

[Poconnor]

I wanted to build the last time last two times I moved but Wife was not willing to move and I could not find land that I liked that I could afford. If I was building again I would want rural and too much land. Many states have tax breaks for agriculture land. Bees or trees usually count. I would definitely want a flat lot around my house. When I replaced my AC unit I looked into geo thermal. Every contractor that said they installed geothermal meant they could do it but hadn’t done it or had only installed one or two.
I would want hospital style extra wide doorways. All the age in place stuff. I would prefer a two story with and attic and a basement with a residential elevator over a one story.
I would want a detached garage with a basement. I know most home construction guys would tell you no way, talk to commercial guys. They would say no problem but we don’t do small jobs. They build parking decks with precast slabs.it would work great for a garage.
Solar power, generator, cistern , etc
Window shutters, security doors, security screen doors. It gets expensive and is generally not really available in pleasing residential appearance.
Now for the crazy-
I would harden the house against fire and gunfire. I know expensive. Jeff cooper wrote about it. Cooper also wrote about how the Rhodesians hardened their houses back during that war in Mel Tappan’s Personal survival letters. It might be dated but farmers defending themselves against communist terrorists armed with AK47s and RPGs seems very topical with today’s drug cartels and antifa mobs.
I was talking to a neighbor and he mentioned that he has an AR so he is ready if a mob attacked his home. I reminded him that a violent mob that required that level of force to repel (you are not stopping them if they really want in) would just set his place on fire and shoot who ever came out.
Hidden doors, Safe rooms, bunkers and escape tunnels - how crazy do you want to get?

[Rex G]

Outdoor pools are no fun if there are many trees. Bigger individual leaves mean that fewer leaves are needed to cause leaf-jams. The trees need not be hanging over the pool to be a problem; trees some distance upwind can use the wind to help them make your pool maintenance MUCH more of a headache. Our neighbor’s sycamore tree, for example, dumps huge leaves in our backyard, and into the pool, as it is upwind, during the prevailing breeze.

If you like the view, be sure to buy every piece of real estate between you and that sunrise/sunset/water/hill/mountain/whatever. We lost our sunrise, last year. The landlord who owns the house west of us may, at any time, decide to sell, or re-build, and we will then lose our sunset. (He is not putting one dime into maintenance of the old rental bungalow, that is there, now. He is an absentee landlord, almost certainly waiting for the right time to flip the property.)

If you like backyard privacy, keep in mind that your future new neighbors may build multi-story castles. We have been losing backyard privacy, step by step, from more and more angles, as almost all of the new housing is multi-story, to “maximize the value of the lot.”

[OlongJohnson]

The Heights is losing its charm to that, that is for sure.

A few weeks ago, I happened to be in the area and stopped to look at the place I rented when I moved to TX. Just out of curiousity to see how the neighborhood was changing. Similar situation of tear-downs on either side at the time. The house I lived in is still there, but the run-down Craftsman style bungalows on either side have been replaced by three-story boxes that fill the lots completely. Actually, on one side, the small lot was subdivided, so there are two boxes. There is no sun on the old house outside probably 10-2.

[RoyGBiv]

We're early on in discussing building a similar home as the OP.
Add on two second story bedrooms and a bath in a separate wing over the garage maybe, with it's own HVAC zone. For guests, and grandkids eventually.

My must haves that I don't see mentioned yet...
-- Wine / Cigar / Gun room / Tornado shelter built in to the hill side of the walk out basement. Reinforced concrete ceiling if constructed under the main floor.
-- Master closet and/or bath that doubles as a safe room
-- Zero maintenance landscaping. (I'm ok with trimming shrubs 1x/year. Absolutely no grass!).

[OlongJohnson]

Since you're looking at "green grass" areas, consider a whole house dehumidifier as part of the HVAC. It will take up the slack in the spring and fall when humidity is up but you don't necessarily run the A/C enough to manage it as well as you'd like in the house. It's something that should be in every house built in the coastal climates from Brownsville to Boston.

[0ddl0t]

I believe the doors start about 800. Not sure about the other stuff but that may not be a deal breaker if I can use in select locations. I really like the concept, and it sounds like they work for you, any downside?

Yeah, that's a bit less than my front door. The sliding screen door for the patio was the worst at over $3,000 installed. No other downsides so far - the security screen's metal mesh is not as fine as a fabric screen door so I was worried mosquitoes would find their way inside, but it hasn't been an issue.

[peterb]

Emphasize maintainability/repairability. Minimize the disturbance (drywall, etc.) required to maintain, repair or replace any systems such as plumbing, HVAC (including ducting), water heater, etc. Ensure that the heater and A/C coils (if you have them where you are) can be efficiently accessed for inspection and cleaning.

It's nice to see the smile when the furnace technician sees a well-lit mechanical space with room to walk around and easily reach everything.

Folks tend to cram all the household systems together to avoid "wasting space". It's false economy. Mechanical systems will need maintenance and repair. A few extra square feet and a clean layout can greatly simplify th needed work.

Other thoughts:

Consider a transfer panel for a backup generator.

Install boxes and wiring for ceiling fans, especially in bedrooms. They can dramatically improve comfort at low energy cost.

When designing, think about where the natural light will be at different times of day and different seasons. Do you like sun in the bedroom in the morning or are you a late sleeper? Can you reduce summer sun with longer overhangs? Sometimes it helps to do a rough layout by function: "Eat", "sleep", "read", etc. instead of "bedroom", "den", etc.

[deputyG23]

I will say this however, the central VA region, liberal/socialist gun grabbing leanings aside is or WAS a very good place to be. It pisses me off to no end how VA has turned and I don't believe its EVER coming back, but I digress. The economy is very stable, medical care options are plentiful, Northern VA, Fredericksburg and Cville has some of the best medical care in the nation. You are approx 2 hours from the beach or mountains, and those areas are very beautiful in general. Traffic always SUCKS ASS on all major roads. The area between south of Richmond to Baltimore seems to be blending together, becoming one large metro area. There are some absolutely beautiful areas in between.


It is truly sad what has become of our beloved Commonwealth lately.
We live in a county west of Richmond which is very well run and highly regarded nationally.
Your specs for your dream home sound like what I would like to build north or west of where I am.
I have threatened to retire and move back to NW NC but would be too much of a disruption of our current medical care.
Will be following your progress on your project.

[Flamingo]

Here is a timely video from the Build Show:

https://youtu.be/H3u83HY_AeE

I like a lot of the philosophies of this guy, he has done a few videos on gun rooms.

[BN]

A few random thoughts.

20+ years ago we built a log home. We went to a seminar about building and they said one of the counties in Virginia had more permits required to build than anywhere in the country.

We don't have gas available so we went with dual heat with propane and heat pump. A few years ago we replaced it with geo thermal with propane backup. The propane furnace only kicks on when it is very cold outside. We are very satisfied with it. We put in a propane wall heater for backup when the power went out. It keeps the house warm. The log home is easy to heat. The logs stay warm. We also put in a propane range. We can cook if the power goes out.

We did the wide doorways. We also put in a loft for extra bedroom space. We replaced the shingle roof with a steel roof which should last a very long time.

We have a 2 car garage in the basement. Pretty handy with groceries.

[CCT125US]

Many great options so far. We designed and built our home about 10 years ago. Two of the little things that get used daily, are a boil tap and 2nd sink / 2nd disposal in the island. Makes prep / cleanup easier, boil tap is great for oatmeal, hot chocolate, etc.

[BJXDS]

How about driveways I am done with gravel and will have it paved. I am thinking black top as opposed to cement due to cost. It will be long. I may be able to do a cement pad by garage with black leading up to it.

[UNM1136]

Darth_Uno.

pat

[Darth_Uno]

Darth_Uno.

pat

Not sure how I missed this.

Energy efficiency - depends how crazy you want to go. Due to modern energy codes, even a basic build is far better than what you got in 1992. I would definitely recommend low-e windows and a blown-in or spider/foam insulation package, vs standard batt. HVAC components can quickly get you into the realm of diminishing returns. Suggest you consult a local installer for recommendations. Personally, I have geothermal and I love it - it's also a mich higher upfront cost.

Security - if you don't want to have burglar bars on every window, everything else is moot. Make sure deadbolts are installed correctly, and if you desire avoid sliding patio doors (get swing doors, with deadbolts). But the best deadbolt installation in the world won't stop someone from smashing a window and stepping in. For layout, that's up to you. Split bedroom plans are very popular, but I built mine with all the bedrooms on one end. There is a hallway "tunnel of death" if you want to try to come that way. Conversely, it's that much harder for me to get out, unless I just bail out the bedroom window. Personally, I feel that you have to live in the home every single day, while the chances of home invasion are slim. So go with whichever you feel is a bigger issue to you (and your spouse).

Tankless water heater - I do recommend those if more than 2 people live in the home. We recently had a thread on those. I'm too lazy to find it.

LED lighting - consult with your electrician. LED is very affordable now. Bulbs in the home are easily changed. If your area is like ours, most garages and basements are wired for the bare minimum of porcelain lights. Strongly recommend wiring for and installing LED shop lights. Absolutely worth it.

ADA compatibility - whole home ADA compliance/wheelchair accessibility is not extremely common, as planning a whole home around that does cost a bit more. However, it's still much cheaper to do it now than later. And you won't hate having wider hallways and doorways, and zero-entry doorways.

[BJXDS]

Not sure how I missed this.

Thanks and a couple of more questions

Energy efficiency - depends how crazy you want to go. Due to modern energy codes, even a basic build is far better than what you got in 1992. I would definitely recommend low-e windows and a blown-in or spider/foam insulation package, vs standard batt. HVAC components can quickly get you into the realm of diminishing returns. Suggest you consult a local installer for recommendations. Personally, I have geothermal and I love it - it's also a mich higher upfront cost.

Spider foam in wall and attic?? Your thoughts on blown loose vs. arts in attic? I am of the opinion you can’t do to much insulation but many say there is a diminishing return????

Security - if you don't want to have burglar bars on every window, everything else is moot. Make sure deadbolts are installed correctly, and if you desire avoid sliding patio doors (get swing doors, with deadbolts). But the best deadbolt installation in the world won't stop someone from smashing a window and stepping in. For layout, that's up to you. Split bedroom plans are very popular, but I built mine with all the bedrooms on one end. There is a hallway "tunnel of death" if you want to try to come that way. Conversely, it's that much harder for me to get out, unless I just bail out the bedroom window. Personally, I feel that you have to live in the home every single day, while the chances of home invasion are slim. So go with whichever you feel is a bigger issue to you (and your spouse).

I am not doing bars but will harden as much as possible.

Tankless water heater - I do recommend those if more than 2 people live in the home. We recently had a thread on those. I'm too lazy to find it.

How about 2 people and a well. I am thinking of going that route. I have seen mix d results on a well.

LED lighting - consult with your electrician. LED is very affordable now. Bulbs in the home are easily changed. If your area is like ours, most garages and basements are wired for the bare minimum of porcelain lights. Strongly recommend wiring for and installing LED shop lights. Absolutely worth it.

I will do LED everywhere possible but don’t understand why wording would be different?

ADA compatibility - whole home ADA compliance/wheelchair accessibility is not extremely common, as planning a whole home around that does cost a bit more. However, it's still much cheaper to do it now than later. And you won't hate having wider hallways and doorways, and zero-entry doorways.

I will do as much ADA as possible the zero threshold I am still researching.

[fatdog]

Had to do this myself in 2008 after our house burned, there are a lot of new products since I did it, but my lessons leared:

Energy efficiency windows, doors, and appliances, I think all of those are very worthy investments. The dual pane windows we ended up with were not terribly expensive.

Tankless water heater, two thumbs down from me, there is a thread around here some place, I ended up shutting mine down within a year and going back to conventional. If you are on a well or a rural water system like us where interuptions happen and there is a good chance to get air in your pipes from time to time, you are doomed, it will burn out at some point. And make sure all your water plumbing is the PEX stuff...end of bursts pipes from freezing...

LED lighting, Yes, it was not on the market in the way it is now in terms of products and I have chosen to retrofit a lot of our halogen and undercounter stuff with the LED products...worthy

high efficiency dual fuel heat and AC. if I had it to do over, I would have gone with oil filled radiator electric perimeter heaters and only used the heatpump as our backup or supplimental heating. We don't have bad (like Midwest or NE) winters and the forced air heat is not efficient or clean. If it were not required to go so deep, or if I had a lake on the property I would really love to have a water sourced or geo sourced heat pump. A friend has one and it is miraculously efficient. Not having a water source like a lake, to get the necessary efficiency for a geo based unit I was going to have to dig deeper than was practical in our area. It is worth looking into for the long term savings.

Smart home features/ security system. I have done the powerline carrier based smart home stuff, retrofitted it to our old house that burned, and it is very meh to me. We hardly used it. A $10 light timer works just as well for us. However I don't regret hardwiring our security system and camera system after the framing phase of construction. I know the wireless stuff works but I figure I already have enough of an RF dense environment with everything else we bring into the place. I like the hardwired option still.

other stuff I got creative for our electrician in terms of light switching options and it took some extra work but the switches for our external lights are where I want them and controlled from multiple places, I know the home automation stuff can accomplish some of the same.

I had our electrician do EMT type conduit for line voltage stuff. Living in the country we are forever plagued with rodents and I suspect them eating through wires caused our house fire. It added about $3-4K to the house but I felt it was worth it.

We spent and extra $8K to get a whole house fire sprinkler installed. Obviously that was a hangover from our mindset from the fire, but we live in a rural area served by a volunteer fire department many miles away. If I don't get a fire out myself, quickly, the whole place is going up, no illusions about that and once is enough for me. The insurance discount is significant and it paid for itself in about 10 years in terms of insurance savings.

We built on a slab this time. More expensive but in my view a crawl space is just some place where only bad things happen.

Being in a high tornado frequency area, we chose to build an interior reinforced area/room/closet with poured 12" walls and a cap. Then drywalled over it so you don't really notice what it is or that it is there. It is also my gun safe with an industrial steel door and combination locks, but will stand up well as our tornado shelter. That cost a lot but was no more expensive in the end than a basement would have been or an external tornado shelter outside.

All showers bathrooms are handicap/ADA furnished and shower is a roll in design for the future. Single story.

[JDD]

Bumping this thread, since my big Corona purchase was a pretty interesting chunk of land (6ish acres, river on two sides, 30 feet of elevation change) in the Northeast that I plan to build a house on eventually - and I can now occupy my spare time thinking about what I can do with it.

I am 100% sold on quite a few of the things mentioned in this thread, particularly because this may be a retirement house for my wife and I, or in the nearer term, perhaps a place for my parents to move if aging considerations were to force one or the other out of their current home (it's not likely, but the house I grew up in is not really retrofittable). In the nearer term, we will probably look at renting out whatever we build until we actually need it.

I plan to use ICFs, Geothermal heat (open column well), and a solar/battery system; and many/all of the ADA recommendations mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

Most of the questions I have right now are dealing with the planning phase. The land cost about 100k, and most of the finished properties in the neighborhood are between 150k and 250k (for 3-5br houses on small lots). I am not highly motivated to create a white elephant that I can never sell; but the local environment puts an upper bound on the amount of cash that I can sanely dump into building a 3br house - probably 300ish into the improvements at most. We have been saving for awhile, and while LT capital gains will take a big chunk of that, we can pay out of pocket for whatever we put on the land.

Has anyone worked with an actual architect for design of a non-super rich person house? There are a few in the state, but they seem to specialize in 3rd+ vacation homes overlooking the coast for old money types, built with granite masonry and hand hewn old growth timber framing. A regular off-the-shelf set of plans is probably not going to work with the site, but I am not sure how much flexibility I should expect out of a draftsman/general contractor. Your perspective on where to start would be greatly appreciated Darth_Uno. I think I know who I will use for GC, provided they are experienced with ICFs or have a good sub that specializes in them; and since we have no time pressure I am willing to wait for however long it takes for a spot to open up in their build schedule (they are hands down the best in my town, but they build a limited number of custom homes every year). I don't however, want to call them until I get a bit more of a handle on how the workflow goes.

What I am thinking right now:

Build exactly what I want regarding the lot layout, grading/drainage, and structure (basement, walls, windows, insulation, roof, and utilities/HVAC system, septic) since these are the components that are most expensive and hard to adjust later. De-prioritize interior finishes, appliances, and cabinetry, since if we rent the place, they will probably live a very hard life and need to be replaced anyway (its a college town, so the pool of renters is... special).

Anything that I am just way out in left field on? Things that I should be thinking about but I am not?

[AKDoug]

Bumping this thread, since my big Corona purchase was a pretty interesting chunk of land (6ish acres, river on two sides, 30 feet of elevation change) in the Northeast that I plan to build a house on eventually - and I can now occupy my spare time thinking about what I can do with it.

I am 100% sold on quite a few of the things mentioned in this thread, particularly because this may be a retirement house for my wife and I, or in the nearer term, perhaps a place for my parents to move if aging considerations were to force one or the other out of their current home (it's not likely, but the house I grew up in is not really retrofittable). In the nearer term, we will probably look at renting out whatever we build until we actually need it.

I plan to use ICFs, Geothermal heat (open column well), and a solar/battery system; and many/all of the ADA recommendations mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

Most of the questions I have right now are dealing with the planning phase. The land cost about 100k, and most of the finished properties in the neighborhood are between 150k and 250k (for 3-5br houses on small lots). I am not highly motivated to create a white elephant that I can never sell; but the local environment puts an upper bound on the amount of cash that I can sanely dump into building a 3br house - probably 300ish into the improvements at most. We have been saving for awhile, and while LT capital gains will take a big chunk of that, we can pay out of pocket for whatever we put on the land.

Has anyone worked with an actual architect for design of a non-super rich person house? There are a few in the state, but they seem to specialize in 3rd+ vacation homes overlooking the coast for old money types, built with granite masonry and hand hewn old growth timber framing. A regular off-the-shelf set of plans is probably not going to work with the site, but I am not sure how much flexibility I should expect out of a draftsman/general contractor. Your perspective on where to start would be greatly appreciated Darth_Uno. I think I know who I will use for GC, provided they are experienced with ICFs or have a good sub that specializes in them; and since we have no time pressure I am willing to wait for however long it takes for a spot to open up in their build schedule (they are hands down the best in my town, but they build a limited number of custom homes every year). I don't however, want to call them until I get a bit more of a handle on how the workflow goes.

What I am thinking right now:

Build exactly what I want regarding the lot layout, grading/drainage, and structure (basement, walls, windows, insulation, roof, and utilities/HVAC system, septic) since these are the components that are most expensive and hard to adjust later. De-prioritize interior finishes, appliances, and cabinetry, since if we rent the place, they will probably live a very hard life and need to be replaced anyway (its a college town, so the pool of renters is... special).

Anything that I am just way out in left field on? Things that I should be thinking about but I am not? In our state, the gap between owner/designers and architects is filled by people that do home design. It is legally allowed and it seems that the architects really don't raise a stink about it up here. I work with a couple that are really excellent and get what the average builder needs without the expense of a full blown architect. If you're fairly educated on your needs and current construction methods, it may be a good route to go. I'm not sure if that is available/legal in your state.

[JDD]

In our state, the gap between owner/designers and architects is filled by people that do home design. It is legally allowed and it seems that the architects really don't raise a stink about it up here. I work with a couple that are really excellent and get what the average builder needs without the expense of a full blown architect. If you're fairly educated on your needs and current construction methods, it may be a good route to go. I'm not sure if that is available/legal in your state.

Thanks for the pointer, at first glance it does not look like they exist in a meaningful way in my state, but I can call around some friends who may know more. I suppose an architect is not the end of the world if it comes to it - it just moves our timeline to the right. (and I get to sign up for another tour of lucrative crappyness)

[Darth_Uno]

Most mid-size guys, such as myself, have in-house drafters (which is also me) that can modify their own plans easily enough. But not all are set up to make brand new plans. Most aren’t, or just won’t.

One of my biggest issues when quoting plans from outside sources (your architect) is sticker shock. He or she will just draw whatever you tell them to. And no, in my experience architects don't really know what anything costs.

Then my potential customers are blown away when they tell me their budget is $x and I tell them the plan they gave me is substantially more to build it as shown - often to the point that short of stripping it down to bare-bones entry level finishes (which nobody wants) there's really no way to get it down to your price, and you've basically wasted your time and money on this print.

So assuming he’s willing to consult, you’d probably want to bounce ideas/cost off your GC as you design with an architect.

[JDD]

Most mid-size guys, such as myself, have in-house drafters (which is also me) that can modify their own plans easily enough. But not all are set up to make brand new plans. Most aren’t, or just won’t.

One of my biggest issues when quoting plans from outside sources (your architect) is sticker shock. He or she will just draw whatever you tell them to. And no, in my experience architects don't really know what anything costs.

Then my potential customers are blown away when they tell me their budget is $x and I tell them the plan they gave me is substantially more to build it as shown - often to the point that short of stripping it down to bare-bones entry level finishes (which nobody wants) there's really no way to get it down to your price, and you've basically wasted your time and money on this print.

So assuming he’s willing to consult, you’d probably want to bounce ideas/cost off your GC as you design with an architect.

Thank you, that's exactly the kind of feeback was looking for, most appreciated!