New Construction - Options you wish you had included/those you could've lived without

[pb4uski]

We are re-doing the kitchen, and got the same assertion from the cabinet people - I figure there must be more money in drawers than in pull-outs.

I prefer a mix of pull-outs and drawers. I find it easier to put taller items in a pull-out, versus a 9-inch drawer. And I never found opening a door and sliding out a shelf difficult, even though the cabinet salesman kept trying to persuade me that I should.

I don't think it has much to do with money/cost but I never received a list of the cost for each cabinet as I recall.

Note that I said most were drawers... we did do a couple cabinets with doors and shelves for larger/taller items... as it ends up of our 5 base cabinets, 3 were drawers and 2 were doors/shelves... in retrospect I would have gone with 4 drawers and only 1 with doors/shelves.

We have all base cabinets with doors/shelves at our other home and they are a PITA compared to the drawer base cabinets.

 

[jimnjana]

Laundry off master bedroom, well ventilated pantry, no gutters except as needed around doors, zoned hvac, no grout lines on floor tile, ensure landscaping allows for water to flow away from house, make decision to go solar to integrate with construction same with backup power generator,

 

[Rex]

We added outlets under the master bathroom sink...razor and electric toothbrush is stored underneath.

We had natural gas connections added to the deck...we have a natural gas grill and fire pit table.

 

[Boho]

I had no choice when the windows in my apartment were upgraded to double pane glass, but for some reason I've had problems with them all becoming difficult to open (aside from the extra weight), and with my occasionally sore back which has gone out a couple of times, that's bad. The EZ-glide balances were short lived. WD-40 works OK for some period of time. The dry coating that I read you're supposed to use would probably get scraped away because of how tight some of the windows are so I never even used it.

I once read that all French windows leak, but that's my fantasy window for my fantasy home. Easy to open and you get maximum ventilation.

EDIT...I mean I want casement windows. I don't care if they're French.

 

[mountainsoft]

I prefer a mix of pull-outs and drawers. I find it easier to put taller items in a pull-out, versus a 9-inch drawer. And I never found opening a door and sliding out a shelf difficult, even though the cabinet salesman kept trying to persuade me that I should.

I've always hated digging through deep cabinets to find items stuck in the back. So I built all of our lower cabinets with drawers anywhere we could. They are so much easier to access than deep shelves and we have never regretted that decision.

We do have a door under the sink so we can access the plumbing and have a place to keep the garbage can. We also have doors on the end cabinet that has a blind corner next to the dishwasher. Initially we were going to put doors on the dining room side of the counter to avoid the blind corner, but changed our minds when we were building the cabinets. It worked out as it's a nice place to store the small appliances and pots/pans.

 

[mountainsoft]

We added outlets under the master bathroom sink...razor and electric toothbrush is stored underneath.

I added an outlet in our master bedroom closet above the built-in dresser. I used one of those outlets with the USB charging ports. My wife uses it every day to charge her phone and fitbit. That's one of the few items I didn't think of when we first wired the house (didn't have cell phones back then), but it was easy to tap into an outlet on the other side of the wall in the master bedroom (same circuit).

 

[Amethyst]

Well, we differ on the PITA aspect; I honestly don't "get it." But I liked the design with one side of the kitchen being all drawers, so it will be a mix of drawers and pull-outs, which should make everybody happy.

I don't think it has much to do with money/cost but I never received a list of the cost for each cabinet as I recall.

Note that I said most were drawers... we did do a couple cabinets with doors and shelves for larger/taller items... as it ends up of our 5 base cabinets, 3 were drawers and 2 were doors/shelves... in retrospect I would have gone with 4 drawers and only 1 with doors/shelves.

We have all base cabinets with doors/shelves at our other home and they are a PITA compared to the drawer base cabinets.

 

[Amethyst]

Awesome. I'm thinking of installing a USB charging outlet next to our bed. More and more devices run off them; I just bought a tooth-whitening gadget that requires a USB outlet.

I added an outlet in our master bedroom closet above the built-in dresser. I used one of those outlets with the USB charging ports. My wife uses it every day to charge her phone and fitbit. That's one of the few items I didn't think of when we first wired the house (didn't have cell phones back then), but it was easy to tap into an outlet on the other side of the wall in the master bedroom (same circuit).

 

[blueskyk]

We didn’t build, just purchased. We have 4 car garage - should have been 5/6 car to allow for more workspace (and include giant welding table) with some space at RV height and car lift.

On the kitchen - the last two homes we’ve lived in (in 15 years) both required modifying the kitchen exhaust fan to actually exhaust to the OUTSIDE. I’m sorry, running kitchen exhaust through a filter and back into the same room bugs, like seriously.

 

[Ronstar]

DW needed a usb outlet at her built in desk in the kitchen. We had a phone jack there originally. Didn't need the phone jack anymore, so I used the phone wire to pull a new electrical line down the wall from the attic. Popped in a new remodel box and wired up the new receptacle/dual usb charging port.

Usb charging ports are great. May need to put in a few more.

 

[Music Lover]

When I did the reno last year I added a USB outlet just above each nightstand.

 

[Scrapr]

One thing several people have commented on is comfort level in the house. Have the builder pay attention to air sealing at the framing stage. Consider staggered studs on the exterior walls. Your builder may not know about this and be resistant. There are several different methods of reducing air leakage. Ask about options. Do a blower door test before cover. You will find where the leaks are at that point. Much easier t seal than after cover. Test your ducts for leakage

Back story. We built new house in 1994. Codes had just changed to move towards better comfort, but products & techniques had not caught up. That house was drafty & cold in Winter. We bought a vacation house in 2004. It was so comfortable. No drafts near the windows. The furnace gets up to temp then turns off....for a long time. In 2010 we did some air sealing in the big house. It helped a lot. But there was some leaks that could just not get done unless there was major demo. Our ducts were 50% leakage. Half the heat was going into the attic then outside

Lots of good suggestions here for features

 

[JRon]

We built 4 years ago and are glad we have:
* No steps into the house, no curb into the shower, and 36" wide doors and hall
* triple-pane windows with blinds built in
* 4 stall heated garage
* Cement patio instead of deck

Wish we would have:
* No-maintenance soffit & facia
* Range hood exhausting to outside - have since added and it was an expensive pain
* Paid more attention to light switch location - some are not where they should be
* Added 2 ft. to the living room - we have a small house and an extra 2 ft would be great

 

[Music Lover]

I live in a very harsh winter climate and triple pane windows are normal around here. Even if you live in a mild place and don't need triples due to the climate, they greatly reduce outside noise.

My friend built a house about years ago. The plans called for floor joists 16" on center. I convinced him to pay a little extra for joists 12" on center. The result is a much stiffer floor at minimal cost...you're only adding 8 joists over 32'.

Also, all subfloors should be glued AND screwed.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I moved my dad into a 55+ new community. There wasn't much we could do on the outside. But are a couple of things I have not seen:
1. Geothermal system. It cost about $6000 additional in 2004, but it was vertical, under the house. House was on a slab.
2. Larger garage (he didn't have that option)
3. Safety rails in the bathroom.
4. Agree with paying attention to light switch location-our powder room has the light switch on the wrong side.
5. All LED lighting.

 

[Boho]

* Range hood exhausting to outside - have since added and it was an expensive pain

I forgot about that. That's a must for me in a house if I have a gas range. I'd even look for it in an apartment but it's rare around here.

Oh, and I want an outlet for an electric range, even if there's also gas.

 

[street]

Can't add much more, then what great ideas that have been given! I can say install more outside receptacles for power.

 

[HarveyS]

Things I wish I had in my last house (in IL):
1. Bigger garage. 3 car garage that held just 3 cars. Need at least 3.5 wide and deeper.
2. Door from garage to outside. Had this in an earlier house and loved it.
3. Hot water bib on outside of house.
4. Sink with h/c water in garage. (See #1 as you will need more space in garage for this one).
5. More egress windows in basement. Or at least larger windows. We had one egress and the rest were tiny.
6. 220v outlet in garage
7. Recessed hot water heater area - something so that if heater lets fo basement does not flood.
8. Double oven (had this and can't live without it).

Things I had in houses that I didn't like:
1. whole house vacuum. Hard to store hose, and just as difficult to move. Go with a vacuum on each floor instead.
2. Spa tubs. Like others have said, used very infrequently.
3. Sliders to deck. Poor security. French doors better.

 

[Gumby]

Awesome. I'm thinking of installing a USB charging outlet next to our bed. More and more devices run off them; I just bought a tooth-whitening gadget that requires a USB outlet.

I would check out Snap Power https://www.snappower.com/?utm_sour...MI6reu0buC7QIVDbbICh0fkAncEAAYASAAEgKPG_D_BwE

We have their nightlights all over the house. Some on the wall plug plates and some on the switch plates. We don't currently have one of the USB plugs, but I've been thinking about getting one.

 

[mountainsoft]

Awesome. I'm thinking of installing a USB charging outlet next to our bed. More and more devices run off them; I just bought a tooth-whitening gadget that requires a USB outlet.

If you already have an outlet there, it's super simple to swap it out with one that includes the USB charging ports. Just turn the power off first.

 

[TrvlBug]

If you already have an outlet there, it's super simple to swap it out with one that includes the USB charging ports. Just turn the power off first.

I have a couple of outlets where I need USB ports and simply installed a wall mount 'power strip'. This also gives me additional outlets.

 

[Amethyst]

Am having an exhaust hood added to the new kitchen. Not looking forward to the hole being jackhammered into the CBS wall!

And the light switches in the kitchen are in an odd location. We're having that changed, too.

* Range hood exhausting to outside - have since added and it was an expensive pain

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

Even if you don’t plan to get an EV now pull the 6 or 8 gauge wire from the electrical box to the garage. Also think about visitors in the future that might need to charge outside the garage in your driveway.
It’s not like copper wire will ever get cheaper.

 

[RunningBum]

And the light switches in the kitchen are in an odd location. We're having that changed, too.

I have a couple issues with wall switches too, but I've solved it by using smart light bulbs. Now I just tell Alexa to turn on the counter lights, etc. You can group lights as well as control individual lights. You can still use the switches, but you want to leave the switches on to control them later. Off/on with the switch turns the light on. I put a sticker on the switches to remind me to leave them on.

Also, smart lights that can be dimmed have made some of my dimmer switches obsolete. I wouldn't put any dimmer switches in a new house anymore.

I also really like the color options. I can play with the colors to match my mood, or go with a bright white for task work,

 

[JDARNELL]

Heated toilet seat. You’ll need an outlet