Judge My House Layout
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@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
@gjacobse said in Judge My House Layout:
Is this a house you plan to build?
Yep
Awesome - Having built the house we are in,.. it's fun but also very much a pain. realize and accept now that regardless of what you put into it, design, layout, fixtures, lighting etc - the day you move in you will wish you had done one or more things differently.. We did.
This isn't so much about your floor plan, but of different things I would suggest considering and is dependent on your
budget.- Consider 6inch exterior stud walls.
- Home run ALL Cabling: CATx, video, telco, and ALARM! Hour alarm system was daisied... and it failed. every door, window should be it's own pair.
- Conduit to Attic - if you need to add something like I have,.. the conduit to the basement (if you have one) is a joy to work with.
- Pre-wire for external cameras (if you wish)
- Go PoE for anything and everything you can.
- use tankless water heaters ..
- Use Dual Fuel for HVAC ( Electric is crap for heating if your area gets into the 0-30deg range)
- don't get a Jacuzzi tub - It was a waste of money - the kids use it more than the adults.
If you can,.. look at ICF - Insulated Concrete Forms. Lot of benefit there - double depending on your region. Look at SIP - Structured Insulated Panels for your roof.
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@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
I actually like this one although I would disconnect the garage and extend the bedroom and bathroom. Need to try to get rid of those hallways though. Hallways are wasted space.
I like that plan too, but I also hate that hallway between the bedrooms. It would be much bettr to make that space bathroom and put a door from the bathroom going to the living room.
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@IRJ said in Judge My House Layout:
@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
I actually like this one although I would disconnect the garage and extend the bedroom and bathroom. Need to try to get rid of those hallways though. Hallways are wasted space.
I like that plan too, but I also hate that hallway between the bedrooms. It would be much bettr to make that space bathroom and put a door from the bathroom going to the living room.
100% agree. You'd have to change the layout a little bit to get into BR#2 though
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@gjacobse said in Judge My House Layout:
@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
@gjacobse said in Judge My House Layout:
Is this a house you plan to build?
Yep
Awesome - Having built the house we are in,.. it's fun but also very much a pain. realize and accept now that regardless of what you put into it, design, layout, fixtures, lighting etc - the day you move in you will wish you had done one or more things differently.. We did.
This isn't so much about your floor plan, but of different things I would suggest considering and is dependent on your
budget.- Consider 6inch exterior stud walls.
- Home run ALL Cabling: CATx, video, telco, and ALARM! Hour alarm system was daisied... and it failed. every door, window should be it's own pair.
- Conduit to Attic - if you need to add something like I have,.. the conduit to the basement (if you have one) is a joy to work with.
- Pre-wire for external cameras (if you wish)
- Go PoE for anything and everything you can.
- use tankless water heaters ..
- Use Dual Fuel for HVAC ( Electric is crap for heating if your area gets into the 0-30deg range)
- don't get a Jacuzzi tub - It was a waste of money - the kids use it more than the adults.
If you can,.. look at ICF - Insulated Concrete Forms. Lot of benefit there - double depending on your region. Look at SIP - Structured Insulated Panels for your roof.
Great advice. Thanks. I definitely planned on running a conduit as described and when the layout in finalized I will have everything planned out cable wise. I'll have to look into everything else. Def no pool or jacuzzi.
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Another question I have is how did you guys locate your builders? What kind of a process did you go through finding the right one?
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@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
@gjacobse said in Judge My House Layout:
@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
@gjacobse said in Judge My House Layout:
Is this a house you plan to build?
Yep
Awesome - Having built the house we are in,.. it's fun but also very much a pain. realize and accept now that regardless of what you put into it, design, layout, fixtures, lighting etc - the day you move in you will wish you had done one or more things differently.. We did.
This isn't so much about your floor plan, but of different things I would suggest considering and is dependent on your
budget.- Consider 6inch exterior stud walls.
- Home run ALL Cabling: CATx, video, telco, and ALARM! Hour alarm system was daisied... and it failed. every door, window should be it's own pair.
- Conduit to Attic - if you need to add something like I have,.. the conduit to the basement (if you have one) is a joy to work with.
- Pre-wire for external cameras (if you wish)
- Go PoE for anything and everything you can.
- use tankless water heaters ..
- Use Dual Fuel for HVAC ( Electric is crap for heating if your area gets into the 0-30deg range)
- don't get a Jacuzzi tub - It was a waste of money - the kids use it more than the adults.
If you can,.. look at ICF - Insulated Concrete Forms. Lot of benefit there - double depending on your region. Look at SIP - Structured Insulated Panels for your roof.
Great advice. Thanks. I definitely planned on running a conduit as described and when the layout in finalized I will have everything planned out cable wise. I'll have to look into everything else. Def no pool or jacuzzi.
Think large tub - but a jacuzzi also... sigh.. not nearly as nice as this one.
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@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
Another question I have is how did you guys locate your builders? What kind of a process did you go through finding the right one?
For us - Easy... My wife's uncle and his son are builders.... for over 30 years... so ---
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@gjacobse I wonder what price difference is for a tankless water heater
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@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
@gjacobse I wonder what price difference is for a tankless water heater
You will likely spend more in the tankless for the use.. but the time and water savings will add up. And it will depend on the final layout.
Our master shower is pretty close to the tank,.. but it's used by the kids too. They love to turn it on and run back across the house and do other things while it warms up. Our water bill is less then $20 a month but we are on our own septic. If we had city sewer as well, we'd likely double that.... so it will add up as it goes down the drain.
OH - one other thing of possible interest - Holiday outlets... A friend of mine in VA installed these - all it is really is a set of outlets across the front of the house that are on a single switch. So with a single flip all the Christmas candles and lights come on.
Of course, you could do something else, as that puts an extra outlet under windows, and copper wire can get costly - with labor.
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I like stairways that are tucked into a corner and make an L bend.
It's easy to hide a staircase behind a entry way, using double doors.
IE
__________________________
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|In the corner with the square would be the double doors, both swinging inwards to the small room. The vertical lines would be the stairs going down into the basement.
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@DustinB3403 said in Judge My House Layout:
I like stairways that are tucked into a corner and make an L bend.
It's easy to hide a staircase behind a entry way, using double doors.
IE
__________________________
_ |
|
|In the corner with the square would be the double doors, both swinging inwards to the small room. The vertical lines would be the stairs going down into the basement.
You say that now,.. but trying carrying a Queen or King mattress up and round that corner....
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@gjacobse This is in the basement.
Unless he's making a bedroom in the basement I don't really see that as being an issue. And a better approach in those cases would be to have a fire exit built into the basement directly with doors and a set of stairs.
Would also make adding new washing and dryer and whatever other items to the house way easier.
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@DustinB3403 said in Judge My House Layout:
@gjacobse This is in the basement.
Unless he's making a bedroom in the basement I don't really see that as being an issue. And a better approach in those cases would be to have a fire exit built into the basement directly with doors and a set of stairs.
Would also make adding new washing and dryer and whatever other items to the house way easier.
Basement Bedrooms... Codes are different state to state / county to county. But most require some type of egress point - window or door - for any bedroom in a basement.
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@gjacobse said in Judge My House Layout:
@DustinB3403 said in Judge My House Layout:
@gjacobse This is in the basement.
Unless he's making a bedroom in the basement I don't really see that as being an issue. And a better approach in those cases would be to have a fire exit built into the basement directly with doors and a set of stairs.
Would also make adding new washing and dryer and whatever other items to the house way easier.
Basement Bedrooms... Codes are different state to state / county to county. But most require some type of egress point - window or door - for any bedroom in a basement.
Yeah I said to add an egress point in the form of a stairway that leads directly out.
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@gjacobse said in Judge My House Layout:
@DustinB3403 said in Judge My House Layout:
I like stairways that are tucked into a corner and make an L bend.
It's easy to hide a staircase behind a entry way, using double doors.
IE
__________________________
_ |
|
|In the corner with the square would be the double doors, both swinging inwards to the small room. The vertical lines would be the stairs going down into the basement.
You say that now,.. but trying carrying a Queen or King mattress up and round that corner....
A mattress is lightweight and easy to bend around corners. It's one of the easier items to move.
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There will not be a mattress in my basement because I'm not a serial killer
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@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
There will not be a mattress in my basement because I'm not a serial killer
Something to consider though is adding an external basement access with walkin (not walk down) entrance if possible.
Very useful for getting things like washer and dryers, furnance, water heaters etc into the house without having to carry it all from upstairs.
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@DustinB3403 said in Judge My House Layout:
@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
There will not be a mattress in my basement because I'm not a serial killer
Something to consider though is adding an external basement access with walkin (not walk down) entrance if possible.
Very useful for getting things like washer and dryers, furnance, water heaters etc into the house without having to carry it all from upstairs.
Laura is against having that kind of entrance but if we did it right I think it would be beneficial
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@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
@DustinB3403 said in Judge My House Layout:
@wirestyle22 said in Judge My House Layout:
There will not be a mattress in my basement because I'm not a serial killer
Something to consider though is adding an external basement access with walkin (not walk down) entrance if possible.
Very useful for getting things like washer and dryers, furnance, water heaters etc into the house without having to carry it all from upstairs.
Laura is against having that kind of entrance but if we did it right I think it would be beneficial
Freaking women. . . she just wants to see you die as you fall down the basement stairs moving in the new washer and dryer. . . .
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If I was building a house, I would make sure it had direct basement access. Even if it was just a solid steel door.
Carrying heavy crap like that through the house, down the stairs, and taking the old one back up and out is so much of a pain in the ass.
