T studs, spray foam, erv, dehumidifier, geothermal hvac, tile shingles, but not slate, water well and conventional septic

Deep pour basement
Lots of windows
9" first floor ceilings
Tray/vaulted ceilings upstairs (if two story)
Pre-wired for any ceiling fans or wall lights (or canned lights)
3 car garage

Fuck the new 2x4s.

Nice gas stove. Stainless hood that vents to the outside. Keeps cooking odors out of the house.

Painted garage floors before you ever move in.

Reloading room with bench built in with cabinets. Led lighting and plug ins built at waist level above the bench.

Quality steel doors& frames for gun room and front and back doors. High grade locks.

Ceiling fans in everything

Forgot to add. Backup natural gas generator hard wired in from the start.

Outlets in the eaves for lights
CAT6 in the eaves for cameras
Dedicated network closet for the house
Walk-in gun safe/safe room
Sound proof office work space
Best windows you can afford
Finished garage floor (epoxy)
Theater room/area pre-wired for surround sound
Outlets in walls and ceiling in garage
ETA: pad and wired for generator.

Gun vault/tornado shelter/fallout shelter with concrete walls and ceilings, door way around a corner and positive pressure HEPA filtration.

Full hybrid solar that works on/off grid, with the ability to operate for several days off batteries and the ability to sell excess power to the grid.

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That seems unreasonable

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-Garage 2x larger than what you think is ideal
-Driveway widened to point that your two teenagers can actually park on it without blocking mom and dad.
-2x the amount of 120v outlets you think is ideal for the garage
-Water (hot and cold) run to garage for sink and/or water line to a (future) wall mounted power washer
-220V runs to garage and basement
-Finished (or easily finish-able) basement
-Conduit running from attic to basement for future networking, cameras, etc
-Ethernet runs for APs/cameras
-5X the # of power outlets you think you'll need
-Outlets in the attic for Xmas lights
-Laundry room 2x larger that what you think is ideal
-Conduit from basement along side of driveway all the way to the street (power, ethernet lines inside)
-Dual switches in all bedrooms for controlling power to fan and lights separately
-Speaker wire runs anywhere there is a 0.0000000001% chance of them being used
-Pictures of all walls right before sheetrock is installed so that you have an accurate map of power/water/network/etc.
-Exterior NG lines planned out for future grill and generator
-Generator power runs and switch panel
-One corner of basement finished with rebar/concrete in order to make gun room/safe room.

I like this idea. Prettymuch no extra cost, just a few minutes walking through with your camera mid construction.

Water - river, lake or pond.
40 acres of property - room to shoot and ride.
A knock out gorgeous view.
Good neighbors.
City power, water, trash, and internet.
Depending on the size: two furnaces, two hot water heaters, and a hot water circulation system.
Mature trees.
Weather than doesn't kill.
Health care within 30 minutes.
Low crime/good judges.
A stable population.
If in the country a whole house generator.
More than an hour away from any city larger than 50,000.
Central bathroom ventilation.
Solid wood doors.
9' ceilings.
High end fixtures: rough plumbing, door knobs, crown moulding, and light switches.
Each room should have its own air supply and exhaust.
Two sets of stairs into the basement - one larger for moving furniture in/out
Current Ethernet cables between wireless hubs.
A backup generator.
Stand alone shop with a high lift door.
3 car garage.
A heated garden tub in a large owner's suite bathroom.
An enclosed patio room.
An elevated patio/balcony.
A dedicated home office room.
A large laundry room.
A fire pit.
An American made flag pole.
No street lights.
A near-by fire hydrant.

Sorry for the triplicate post. I thought I was editing my original post.

For ARFCOM, it isn't. I would do just about anything to have twice the garage space. Given the age of my house, the brick used and the footprint on the property, I'm stuck with what I have.

No shiplap.
Single level, no stairs.
Bosch HVAC.

I don't know if that is Tier 1 trolling or just a hilarious coincidence, but that great 1920s board is pith, and as such is the least stable wood and is most likely to split and crack.

I forgot a few:

master bath mini-fridge. Keeps beers (and wife's face products) cold. Super nice.
coffee maker nook. Not filling my coffee maker every day is literally amazing.

Just thought of another one...

Your breaker panel should be numbered.

Use a label maker and label every power outlet and switch to its corresponding breaker #. Also label your hardwired gear (HVAC units, condensers, pool pumps, etc.). On the flip side, make a spreadsheet of every single permanent item that each breaker powers.

On a larger house, this makes troubleshooting much faster/easier.

------------------------------

And another one...

Autofill for the pool.

This.  Probably 2-3 wood burning stoves spread out; garage & 2 on first floor.  

I’d make sure house is actually Tyvek wrapped & I’d spray foam all my seams.  Metal roof also.

A cool thing to build into would be a safe room/vault in the basement that is hidden behind a false wall.

Spigot next to the back door.

Gas and electric run to the range and dryer locations

Off the top of my head...

A whole house generator transfer box
Towel warmers in all bathrooms
Bonus room above the garage with heavy duty stairs
Speaker wiring
Under cabinet lighting for the kitchen
Lights in all closets
Pot filler behind stovetop
Gas appliances... before you can't get them.

I hope that has rebar in it (being a shelter and all). Our house is concrete block. We have rebar that is tied in with the rebar coming out of the slab, comes up through the block and is then tied to each roof truss. Prior to tying it in to the trusses, they poured concrete in the walls where all the rebar is.

Tending wood stoves sucks.  Look into pellet stoves and see if they are a good option in some places.   One wood stove in the main living area or master bedroom may be fine for ambience.

large, walk-in pantry right off the kitchen, with it's own dedicated fridge and freezer.

- estimate what your total electrical appliance draw will be, and have the wiring and circuitry for double or triple that.
- 2" or 3" diameter piping for the shower/bath drains, so you never need to deal with slow/clogged drainage.

My house was framed with rough-cut 2" x 4" oak studs, milled on site to build the house.  It's a giant pain in the ass.  Ever driven a sheetrock screw into hundred-year-old oak?  Nope.  Nobody has.  Not without a pilot hole anyway.  

Storm room in basement.

Do a continuous pour ICF house to include ceilings and make the entire house a tornado shelter.

It's for your Angus

Here are some realistic recommendations from an electrician who has actually wired houses and been involved in construction:

-Once your architect lays out your bedroom, have double duplex receptacles installed on either side of the bed. That way you can plug in all your chargers and your lamps.
-Plumb propane (if you are doing propane) out onto your deck/patio so you can hook up your gas grill to your big house tank and not have to dick with 20 lb cylinders anymore.
-Insulation is one of the cheapest things you can put in a house. Don't skip. Also, spray foam sucks if you ever want to change anything or have problems with rot or whatever.
-If your builder insists on zip system, have them put underlayment on the roof under the shingles if you do an asphalt roof. It will save you much heartache when the roof has to be replaced.
-Do have conduits installed from the attic to the basement for future use. This will save much heartache if the electrician crawling around if your attic has a straight shot down to the basement, and is way cheaper than any other way to make that kind of run.
-Outlets in eves for Christmas lights is a good idea.
-It's always cheaper to install a standby generator than when the house is being built and wired.
-If you are interested in a security system (not a Simply safe one), then you can save a bunch of time and money in the future by having it wired for one at the start, and using wired devices instead of wireless. You can also get smoke detectors installed that tie into your alarm system that will notify the fire department if they go off, assuming you have a monitoring agreement.
-If you are doing hardwired 120v smoke detectors (industry standard) get photoelectric ones instead of ionization. Much more reliable technology and less nuisance tripping.
-Do get an ERV system. Makeup air is important in new, tight, houses, so having a way to have filtered, tempered air brought into your house makes things much more comfortable.
-A heat pump water heater is about the cheapest way to make hot water, depending on your family's size.

A unregistered SMR for free safe electricity

Those don't meet the 3' minimum dirt fill for a safe tornado shelter

Central vac, cat6, 2ft overhangs.

House Ideas


Would do again:

Hot water re-circulator
- pump hot water in a loop(s) instead of using cold lines for recirculator return
- little extra cost.  Using return pipe for re-circulator avoids warm cold water
- insulate hot water and return pipes to make this economical
- timer or motion sensor to start pump
- saves $.01 of water for every $1 of heat wasted

(I know this seems wasteful but it is super nice to have warm water right at the fixture, half the year you’re dumping heat into the envelope where you need it anyway.  With an insulated loop and such it should not be that bad.  These systems come with an interconnect valve what is temperature sensitive and only allow water to circulate if it is cold, once hot it closes and stops recirculation.)

Steam shower
- $2k for unit
- easy DIY
- Very reliable (Mr. Steam)
- super nice in cold climate
- great way to warm up from working outside

Heat floors in bathrooms
- electric, tile over
- fairly cheap to install and operate, timer, thermostat
- cold climate thing
- Slab foundation should have hydronic heating

Remote bath exhaust fans
- FanTech or part of heat recovery ventilator
- one unit can serve multi bathrooms
- super quiet

Tub Filler
- Remove aerator or get high flow / full flow aerator
- Remove all aerators to flush pipes or clean after initial flushing

Plumb with Pex
- Don’t do home runs for hot water (see above for recirculator)
- Run big lines… 1” to bathrooms with big tubs 3/4 to everything else
- 1/2” lines are only good for bathroom sinks

Single plumbing vent stack.  Fewer roof penetrations

Frost free hose bibs.  These are not standard but they should be.  Not and expensive upgrade.  Insist on them for all exterior hose bibs.




Fireplace:

My fireplaces are Rumfords with components from Superior Clay.

https://www.rumford.com

With these components any mason should be able get them and successfully build a Rumford fireplace.

In this photo you can see a fresh air intake we installed at the front of the fireplace.  In the back is the ash dump.  The idea is that cold makeup air could be piped in from outside.

They’re also the pull for the damper.  I used a kind that mounts on top of the chimney.  There is a cable the drops to the firebox.  This keeps the outside air from entering the flue.

You can also see an iron pipe on the right side of the firebox.  We pre-plumbed for gas, just incase. It is not hooked up and was a cheap add-on.

Refractory Mortar. Rumfords get very hot and call for refractory mortar.  Insist on it.  My mason was very experienced and had never used it.  Said we’d be fine.  Nope, I’ve had to repoint my firebox and need to do it again.  The new refractory mortar is holding, the old normal mortar is still failing in places.

Plan on where/how you will store some logs near fireplace.  




Central Vacuum-  easy DIY, parts online, very nice.  Unit in garage, outlet there too for cleaning cars.


Electrical

Subpanel in garage.  Plenty of potential loads there.  EV charging and back feeding house

LED lights means you can make a lighting circuit go a lot further.

Place 2 gang outlets on either side of beds.

I now have a lot of smart switches.  Market hasn’t standardized yet.  With these switches you can save on 3way wiring by using smart switches for 3ways.  No electrician will do this, but it works really well in the big barn and the wire saved paid for some of the switches.



Other Wiring

Maybe the days of ethernet and RG6 everywhere are over, but I’d still prewire ethernet for cameras and WiFi access points in key places (each level, garage, patio, point to point to other buildings, etc.)

A conduit run from AV closet to roof probably a good idea.



Would not do again:

Tankless water heater
- Requires maintenance
- Takes longer to supply hot water 30 seconds vs 18 in my example
- restricts water flow somewhat (tub fill slower)
- less compatible with re-circulator pump
- No emergency water in tank
- No hot water in power outage

Instant hot water dispenser
- These units are cheap and don’t last long (Insinkerator)
- Inefficient, seemed poorly insulated
- poor failure mode (leaks under cabinet or foul taste in water)


Plenty of thoughts.   I think you have to be considering shortages and outages to be a possibility in the future.


For propane, I’d keep enough on hand for a year.  That 1000 gallon tank is only filled to 800 gallons.  Seems like a lot, a whole house generator will burn that in as little as ten days.  Get two 1000 gallon tanks if you can afford it and own the tanks so you can shop suppliers.  Top off each summer for the best pricing.

For heating, modern inverter heat pumps are super efficient and blow warm down to the single digits.  I like the idea of dual fuel, but I’d really spend the $ on a 20+ seer unit that heats to 5 degrees.  Plan on a separate unit for a portion of the house… in an outage run that unit off generator/batteries and shut down the rest of the house.

All this is nice, but nothing beats a well insulated house.  SIP or ICF… if stick, insist on closed cell spray foam and a blower test. Research Aerobarrier and spend the $ if you go stick.

Gas water heaters recover fast.  I like a tank model so that I can store hot water and have it during an outage.  My 75 gallon heater is on a timer and only runs twice a day.  With a tankless you need power to have any hot water.  In an outage I can run the generator for 30 minutes to heat up a tank of water and have plenty for the next day.

Well water… put in two large pressure tanks.  Pump will cycle less and you’ll have some water in an outage without running the generator constantly.

Orientation of the house or garage roof for future solar. Conduits to electric panel. Think about where batteries like a power wall would go.

Subpanel in garage.  Not only for electric car chargers, but future cars can power the house.

Gas cooktop you can light with a match in an outage.

Plumb grill to those big propane tanks and never deal with 20 pound tanks again.  Nice in an outage too.

If you’re going to have electric backup via solar and batteries a gas dryer is a must.

Plan on location for large freezer chests

In the master bedroom have a switch that will turn on every outside light.  Have another switch that turns on every inside light except for bedrooms.

Ceiling fans on a separate switch from the ceiling lights.

Run extra wire/conduit to various rooms

Think seriously about having your main incoming power hit a 3 way switch gear before it hits your main panel. This makes it a shitload easier to work  on your panel, or add/switch to an alternate source (solar or generator).  The big disconnect is really inexpensive in the scheme of things.

Holy shit thatss retarded. I've never seen that.

If on a well, make sure the treatment system and room is pre prepped.

basement.  Wood stove.  sex dungeon.  The usual

Ample space for outdoor kitchen area and a separate area for outdoor tv lounging.

A 10ft basement ceiling.

Within the building code, large conduit to run cable, internet, to a dedicated server room.

In-law suite with handicapped bathroom on the main floor.

I'm in the middle of a Master bath remodel,  added heated floors, Smart shower system with dual side shower heads and a rain fall shower head, all USB outlets and wired in for a LED mirror for wife.  

My house has outlets in the eves and that works great for Christmas lights and power for cameras(Wi-Fi).

Everyone is on a well unless you trust government employees to do their job right.

Slanted said:

Would do again:

Hot water re-circulator
- pump hot water in a loop(s) instead of using cold lines for recirculator return
- little extra cost.  Using return pipe for re-circulator avoids warm cold water
- insulate hot water and return pipes to make this economical
- timer or motion sensor to start pump
- saves $.01 of water for every $1 of heat wasted

(I know this seems wasteful but it is super nice to have warm water right at the fixture, half the year you’re dumping heat into the envelope where you need it anyway.  With an insulated loop and such it should not be that bad.  These systems come with an interconnect valve what is temperature sensitive and only allow water to circulate if it is cold, once hot it closes and stops recirculation.)

I agree with most all of this. I put in the brass circulating pump and timer and with our unusual work schedules for the household, I never even set it. I had a voltage surge that killed many parts of my boiler and the circulating pump/timer of this system. I found out while waiting on parts that in my house, the hot water circulates through the loop with gravity powering it! So really the only additional cost for me would have been the inline check valve, a few fittings, extra insulation for the return line and the smaller 1/2" diameter return line for the circulating loop. It is both amazing and priceless to turn the shower on and by the time you step in the shower to have hot water on you.

In cooler climates where you might not need AC, you should insulate both the hot and cold water lines (think condensation on those cold lines). If you are doing AC (not minisplits), consider an inline dehumidifier instead of relying on the AC system to remove humidity. Without that, you will be running the AC to remove humidity from the air when you really don't need to cool the air.

Until everyone runs out of pellets and people start fighting in the Home Depot parking lot in March.