What's new
By:
Filters

Easy/ no brainer upgrade suggestions for New house build?

Definitely put a laundry in the master bath. Currently on opposite ends of the house, sucks.

Big entry doors are great. Will do again.

Fawk stairs. Next place will be one step up onto a slab.

Good name brand windows. Shitty windows ruined my house and it's an ongoing nightmare.
 
If it hasn't been mentioned...outside water spigots on each side of the house...for hooking up to the pressure washer, watering stuff, filling RV water tanks, etc. Hot and cold both, if you want to get really fancy. Most of the time I run hot water through my pressure washer. I have to hook it up to the utility sink in the garage, since I don't have an outside spigot of any type on that side of the house.
On the same note, outside electrical outlets on each side of the house as well. A 220V as well, if your garage doubles as your shop and you run a 220V welder, etc.
 
bigun said:
switched light on either side of the bed
Click to expand...
The main light in our master is on a 4-way switch, one by the door and one on each side of the bed. Works great, very happy with it.

Projectjunkie said:
I'm putting in full central hvac, but going to put an additional mini split on the master bedroom. There will be stretches where I'm alone, working long days, I can keep the house at 80 and crank the bedroom down when I get home.

Also gives me some redundancy if the house ac fails on a 115f day and ac techs are 2 weeks out. It happens.
Click to expand...
We added a master suite above our garage years ago. House is a bi-level, new master is 1/2 a floor above the "upstairs". The addition has a separate HVAC system. Having the zone control has been awesome, and on the rare occasion there is an issue with one unit, at least we have something.

Pocahontas said:
Plug behind vanity so you can plug in small power strip to keep all the clutter off the counter.
Click to expand...
We have outlets in the bathroom cabinets and in the medicine cabinet. The hair dryers go in drawers, and toothbrush chargers are hidden. No cords on the counter.
 
Hooligan said:
Put a dang light in closets, even if just a small coat closet. I’m sure I’ll never retire to do it, but a 4’ LED strip light would be awesome around the door or over it to see inside.
Click to expand...
If it were up to me spaces like closets that don't have to look good would get a 1x10 on the ceiling and a switched outlet so you can screw down whatever 2-4ft tube light you want and replace it at a later date.
 
Seubs070 said:
This. Current house has a switch at the door and each side of the bed. Great to be able to crawl into bed and hit the light, or turn it on when I get up in the AM.
Click to expand...

bigun said:
Simple stuff to wire, but blows customers minds when you suggest it
Click to expand...

Remind me why you don't just put a lamp on the nightstand beside the bed? I'd rather not turn on/off the bright ceiling lights, a nice little lamp while climbing in or out of bed is better.
 
arse_sidewards said:
If it were up to me spaces like closets that don't have to look good would get a 1x10 on the ceiling and a switched outlet so you can screw down whatever 2-4ft tube light you want and replace it at a later date.
Click to expand...

Instead of a switched outlet do a hinge switch, when you open the door it turns on when you close it it turns off, that way it doesn’t get left on for days by people who don’t know what they are doing or are forgetful.
 
Clemson13 said:
Pretty sure I've been seeing numerous places having issues with spray foam causing framing to rot? No idea if it's a real concern. Haven't followed up on it since i'm not about to spray foam anything :homer:
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what the current best practice is on foaming...
I think when it is applied directly to the bottom of the roof deck there is not moisture vent. you have waterproof membrane on the top and a foam seal on the bottom = moisture sandwich.

I have seen them use graphite EPS foam boards on the bottom of the rafters to create the inner envelope and leave the under side of the roof deck vented via ridge vents or moisture valves.
 
Pocahontas said:
Instead of a switched outlet do a hinge switch, when you open the door it turns on when you close it it turns off, that way it doesn’t get left on for days by people who don’t know what they are doing or are forgetful.
Click to expand...
Timer dial switch, best of both worlds.

Hinge switch would get left on for days in my house because the woman never shuts doors
 
Big wide doors exterior doors, solid core interior doors, lights in closets and pantry, floor drains in bathrooms, laundry, garage/shop, lots of outlets. When I was rebuilding my house after it flooded, I insulated all the interior walls and used 5/8" fire proof sheetrock, that made a huge difference in reduced sound and for me just peace and quiet. If you're getting carpet get the premium carpet pad.
 
This is the coolest closet light controller I have seen.

It has a 15 minute delay after open so if it get's left open no biggie.
I used some cheap reed switches in the jamb to trigger.
These are cheap on Ebay, I paid $10

1724166609431.png
 
CarterKraft said:
This is the coolest closet light controller I have seen.

It has a 15 minute delay after open so if it get's left open no biggie.
I used some cheap reed switches in the jamb to trigger.
These are cheap on Ebay, I paid $10


These are the reed switches and magnets. If you install them nice and paint over they would be invisible (if you cared).
I put this on a poorly fitting pantry bi-fold door.
Click to expand...
1724167061941.png
 
If it hasn't been said or emphasized enough yet, deep garage. 25' minimum. More depending on what they drive. 30' is pretty awesome.

Friend of mine ignored my advice and kicks himself every day for how useless his garage is.

Another thing I've seen that is pretty awesome. Walk in showers, cut a hole in the glass near the valve so you can reach in and turn the shower on without having to get all the way inside.
 
Last edited:
Motorcharge said:
That hasn't been a thing in kitchen design in like 25 years. Never saw the point either, why lose counter space just to hide appliances and if they're frequently used why not just have them on the counter.
Click to expand...
I agree, but I believe these are made for women that like to have a clean counter appearance and not see all the appliances out.
 
I wanted the mens walk in closet to lead to the master bath. That way I could get ready for work including getting my cloths without worrying about the light waking up my wife.
 
A dedicated storage closet for decorations is nice. We have a small room in our house that we weren’t really sure what the original purpose was for. It’s too small to be much use for anything other than a closet, but it was a door with glass, a bunch of plugs and AC. The PO had a small computer desk, but it looked uncomfortable. We use it to store Christmas, Halloween, etc. decorations and other stuff that gets used somewhat regularly.
 
SomeGuy said:
Remind me why you don't just put a lamp on the nightstand beside the bed? I'd rather not turn on/off the bright ceiling lights, a nice little lamp while climbing in or out of bed is better.
Click to expand...

Because you can switch the light off as you leave the room instead of going back to the nightstand. I have 3-way switches in my master, one by the door and one by my bed. They switch an outlet by the bed where I have a small low wattage nightstand light. There is another standard switch that does the ceiling light at the door only which is much brighter.

Its a very nice feature. The other bedrooms have similar but not 3-way switches. A 2 gang box by the door, one for the ceiling light, one for an outlet.
 
Pocahontas said:
Laundry on main bedroom floor is nice, I have also seen it done with a laundry shoot and a dumb waiter that worked well.
Click to expand...
Our previous house had a laundry chute that you accessed from the upstairs master bedroom closet, and dirty laundry went straight down to an awaiting laundry basket in the laundry room below. I really miss that feature.
 
Motorcharge said:
That hasn't been a thing in kitchen design in like 25 years. Never saw the point either, why lose counter space just to hide appliances and if they're frequently used why not just have them on the counter.
Click to expand...
They are doing them again but they are built into the backsplash, zero loss of counter but I suppose there is a loss of something behind that wall.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh