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(and anyone else that has had house built), I have a question for you.  What are the top five things you would do differently in building a house - now that you have 20-20 hindsight?  We are just in the very beginning stages of thinking about, possibly, maybe, building.  We have house plans that we like (and are changing a bit), but would like to have some real-life recommendations.  Any help would be appreciated.  And ReVOLver, please give your B-U-T-FUL wife a big hug and kiss for me!   :kiss2:

Make the closets bigger
Make the kitchen bigger
Put in a pool
Put in an outdoor BBQ pit

No pool for us, but I like the other suggestions - thanks!

Technically we have never built a house... we bought a house that was in the process of being built, and then we bought one prebuilt. We were planning on building before we bought out last one but it never worked out.

However, I would offer these opinions:

Don't skimp on electrical outlets and cable jacks.
Make the closets bigger.
Don't leave unfinished space that you intend to finish later. Just go ahead and finish it. It will be worth it.
More garage space is never a bad thing.
Master suite space is underrated, and so is master bath space.
Our current home has so much natural light that our electric bill is only marginally more than our old house even though we have almost twice as much square footage... and that's with electric heat over gas at the old house. We almost never turn on lights on the main floor during daylight.
A kitchen island is a must-have.

T will be flattered.  :dielaughing:

For me and hubby -- we made it as maintenance free as possible because we are OLD!  HA!    But really.....wide hallways are nice....if I had it to do over again, I would NOT use natural stone tile in my master bath -- way too much maintenance....would use very nice ceramic tile.    Definitely use the floor heating under the tile in the master bath for sure -- it's awesome in the winter!  And if you use tile in the kitchen, I'd recommend the heated floor in there as well.  If you or wife like to cook, big kitchen all the way -- I designed my dream kitchen and would not change a thing -- LOVE IT!    Well, take that back, I would put in a 6 burner stove instead of the 4 burner with griddle -- but that's all I'd change. 

Look long and hard at having custom cabinets built -- we found a guy locally that built all custom cabinets cheaper than I could buy stock from Home Depot -- out of natural Cherry -- and they are gorgeous!  We've had him build some built-ins, all of our vanities, a custom desk and credenza for my office.  And I'm getting ready to have him build me more furniture for my bath in the game room area we are now finishing....so shop around and go look at their work...you could find someone very special! 

My husband acted as our contractor, so he hired all the subs and we have virtually no issues with subs....but make sure if you have a contractor that he gets waivers signed by all subs when work is done and paid for so no one can come back and file liens later saying they weren't paid for the work!  I can't remember exactly what it's called (waiver isn't the right word)....But if your contractor pays the subs, he should get this signed by the sub which protects YOU from being held liable later......OR even better, you control the money -- you pay the subs yourself and get this signed, don't depend on the contractor to pay them...this is actually the safest IMO, because then you KNOW the subs are paid.

Put the laundry room on the same floor as the bedrooms

Good suggestion.

Also our currently laundry room is huge... when we were looking at the house, I secretly thought it was a waste of space, but I see now why T wanted it.

WOW!!!  Not only B-U-T-FUL but extremely smart too, I may need for you to give her two hugs and kisses for me.   :naughty:

One of the mistakes we made when we bought. Laundry room is on the first floor. Sucks to drag laundry down stairs all the time, and as you know having 2 kids, there's always a ton of laundry. We did put in a mop sink in the laundry room which was a smart move.

Another thing - put in ergonomic bathroom sinks. For some reason the classic bathroom sinks are designed for 7 year olds...too low.

I believe that BTV's plans are for a ranch style home, all on one floor, so that shouldn't be an issue.  It is interesting that so many people, especially young people (young to me, anyway) recommend this.  TRObh specifically did not want the laundry room on the same floor as our bedrooms.  She did not even want it on the main floor.  She prefers it in the basement, even though the bedrooms are on the second floor (two sets of stairs away). 

Consider investing in a geo-thermal HVAC system
Invest in energy-efficient windows, and a tankless water heater.
Run plenty of a/v and coax wiring throughout your house.  I.e, make your house "smart house" ready.[/li]

Foam insulate between studs of all exterior walls, and foam insulate between attic floor joists[/li][/list]
Install a double-faced radiant barrier to your attic's roof joists
Install a solar attic fan(s)
Install only "insulation contact" or IC cans for any recessed lighting.  Foam insulate around any can (above the ceiling)to eliminate drafts.

If multi-story have a laundry chute. Just make sure it drops into the laundry room and not in the middle of the kitchen table.

Decide what amenities you want and budget for them. Don't settle for something you don't really like because of price.....it will make you angry every time you look at it, such as cabinets, room size, showers, etc.
Be careful changing plans as what some consider a simple change may mean major structural changes that raise costs.
Build what you want because when you finish you will be done for a long time.
There will always be something you will wish had done different when you get done. 
If you can or care to or have the ability to send me the plans online and show the changes I might be able to tell you what issues it would raise.
Be prepared to make more decisions than you have ever made in your life in such a short period of time.

I'll be glad to answer all questions I can if you want to ask.

Consider central vac. The kick pans in the kitchen and bathrooms are great. Attic storage is a big must for us. Have the AC and electrical guys run duct work and wiring so you can use the area for storage. Whole house audio. At least pre-wire for it. Don't forget the waterproof speaker in the master shower. Also pre-wire for home theater surround sound.

Are you gonna have a Man Cave?

Wine cellar. 1000 bottle capacity should cover it.

Dont forget a butchering room and and hanging cooler...i recommend a concrete floor with a drain in the middle so you can hose er down after processing a deer or a few ducks.   :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I would suggest putting ceiling fan electrical rough-ins in every bedroom and perhaps other rooms. 

Thanks for all the suggestions.  We're in the "should we or shouldn't we build" phase, so it will be a while before we begin, or not begin, or maybe we will begin.  :confused: By the way, my wife liked Hollerboy's suggestion the best - I believe her exact words were, "I love that guy."   :laugh:

Inspector Vol, where do you live (city)?  Not trying to stalk you, but thought if we were close enough mileage wise, we could meet and talk this stuff over with you.  No pressure to answer, but my brother is the admin you know.   :naughty: 

You realy need to get your old icon attached to this handle - miss it I do

I think it might be lost to history.   :bawl:

OTOH the domers are sitting pretty at the moment

BTW, put that brother of yours to work redisigning it (he can it better, brighter, stronger, etc) :dunno:

You should have a pm.

They will lose this weekend - I've seen usc ruin their season too many times in the past to feel confident that they won't lay an egg (reverse mojo intended).  But if someone would have told me they would be 11-0, I wouldn't have believed it, so I have that going for me.   :thumbup:

You guys don't see the icon?!  Strange.   :wink: :box: :wink:

Well, you can't cook so it is about time you did somethingaround here ... :tongue: :loco: :inughout: :dance:

Oh, I can cook.  You may not want to eat it, but....   :dielaughing:

Put enough Gray Poupon on it and you can eat anything!  Trust me.....

You need to make some of that cream of squirrel soup and bring it to our tailgate.  We have a nice burner to keep it hot, and it sounds like it would be great on a crisp fall football Saturday.  We'd even let you stick around for a while if you'd like.   :biggrin:

if you put your laundry room upstairs, make sure it's vented directly to an outside wall or it's routed down into the floor and out of the house. Don't let them vent it through the attic, it will have to be cleaned a lot more often.

Also, a cheap thing I want to do is put a drain in the middle of the garage floor and a spigot in the garage, so I can wash the cars when it's cold.

One other thing, when you have house plans drawn, take him/her the dimensions of YOUR furniture so you can prevent overcrowding of a room. Most of the furnishings drafters use are cells in a library, and the scale is off a lot of time.