New house build necessities

I don't think he needs in-floor heat in Austin Texas....

 

Is it customary in new residential construction to run the IT stuff in conduit?

Ya know, so it can be replaced easily as technology marches onward?

 

I'm glad someone said Central vac. Best thing I did in my house. Kicks ass. You can watch TV or talk on the phone while vacuuming. The in kick floor sweeps are kick ass too.

 

I’ve literally never used the kick plate deal. Looked cool. But never have used it ... in 14 years.

 

Gotta have a bottomless pit hidden under a trap door in your office. Nothing I’ve ever owned has been as useful.

 

Can you yes but it's not needed. Would insist on nailing plates over all stud's drilled into to prevent accidents. Of course conduit would elminate that issue.
You can get "Plenum rated cable has a special insulation that has low smoke and low flame characteristics. Plenum cable is mandated to be installed in any "air handling" space. For example, most large office buildings use the ceiling to return air to the AC unit."

 

As long as it looks like this

 

I like the modern stuff that uses the attic area as a giant air return plenum for the HVAC.
I might entertain building it on piers depending upon your elevation and proximity to flooding.

 

I've read that it can be more effective (opex wise) to allow conditioned air in the attic … i.e., attic insulation is underneath roof, not above ceiling surfaces. A potential disadvantage is shorter roof life.

Regardless, it is important to keep air flowing in the attic space.

 

Ok Richie here is my full list since I have been getting back up to speed on building science and materials science since I am in the planning stages for the new house.

1. Without question go with controlled/conditioned attic space. It's got 2 very real advantages. You are creating a tighter envelope inside the house as the seal between the interior space and the attic space is greatly improved. You also get the advantage of far less temperature via the ducting in that attic space. It's also a much better environment for the equipment to live in and will make the equipment last longer.

2. Solar is fantastic for taking the high load items off the grid during peak energy usage hours. Even if you only do the A/C units they'll save you money as the very same time you need the A/C most is the time that solar will be producing the most power. I don't think it makes since to do the whole roof if you plan to use something like Tesla's solar shingles but picking the surface that will get the most direct sunlight and produce the most energy should be high on your list. If you are building in a planned neighborhood be sure to check the regs for the allowance of solar before purchasing.

3. Tankless water heater without question...

4. NG generator is a nice to have...you may want to talk to both the electrician and the HVAC guys to make sure that you can power one small A/C in a bedroom, the fridge and a few select lights. Although if you go with LED everywhere you could run most of the house off of a fairly small unit.

5. At least one CAT 6e outlet in every room. Even if they won't all get used. Pull a couple to central ceiling locations in the house for wireless access points. Use POE for those to eliminate the need to locate a power outlet close to them. Nice clean installations.

6. Have the plumbers run all outside hose faucet cut offs to a manifold in a central location. It's nice to not have to go searching for them when you need to cut them off on a below freezing night. Not a big deal in Texas but still makes for a nice clean installation.

Risinger Homes is in your area. Look up Matt Risinger onYouTube. He has a some good informational videos on modern building practices and material sciences. We can have a much longer discussion via TeamSpeak.

 

if I was building new... I would just go metal on the roof Put the under layment down on the decking and never worry for 20+ years. The whole attic plenum would look something like this

 

Temperature controlled storage space.

 

More outlets...too many is not possible.

 

My house was built on 95 with a four car garage and that's not enough.

I wired a timer in the garage with multiple outlets near the stalls as well as outside for the
Christmas lights. Now I have battery chargers in the timed outlets for bikes and sports cars.

 

Most important things:

1. Where will the dog live?

Make sure the dog has his own room that is cool and fun, with his own bed and TV.

2. Where will the people TVs go?

Make sure you have a flat spaces designated on the walls in the Bedroom, Living Room, and Mancave for at least an 85" (preferably 100") OLED TV.

3. Have a walkway/room between the garage and house with an area for people to store jackets, shoes, boots, bags, etc. I like having a place for people to dump shit as they come inside so shit doesn't end up laying all over the house.

 

Small accessory apartment

 

When you're instaling a back splash it is possible!

 

Ahh yes I forgot to add that one.

Another cool thing for the basement is a second stairwell going to the garage. It's super convenient.

 

Hope that's a fish-eye view. That's one crooked ass garage.