Ideas for building a house?

Them antipodean nails are a nightmare. Sometimes it's the whole box!

 

I hired all my subs for stuff that I couldn't / wouldn't do when I built my home. I did many parts of the project every spare minute that I wasn't at work. Two years and I fired as many fuckers as I kept. I ended up with a good home, but the two years took about 4 off of my life time, so who lost?

I later did the finishing of our metal building shop at work. Had an "erection" company put up the steel and those are the only guys that I've ever seen that cuss more than me. They did a good job though. So, for the metal building home coming up, I've seen about the whole ball o wax. Except I'm going to have to learn more about insulation.

 

If you want 2nd floor laundry, put the washer in a basin that A) can contain a whole load of water, and/or B) has a drainage system you can trust to keep up with any errant malfunctions.
Another consideration, spin cycles can shake the house to the foundation.

 

Yep, had a buddy that left work early one day to deal with the washing machine flood from up stairs. No way in hell I'd put one up there, except over a basement.

 

You guys do know I build shit for a living, right? All of the stuff you guys are complaining about, contractors, subs, etc., is what I fix all day, everyday.

Perhaps I should've said features, not ideas.

The reason for the thread, is that even I can get hasty in the process, and overlook simple things occasionally.

Hadn't thought of the nail thing though...

 

Gee you think???? Hindsight is everything but checking references,looking his other homes under construction and knowing someone who had a much different experience than we did with the same builder. Not sure how much more we could have done?When you hire a guy and he turns out to be someone other than the guy you hired what are you to do?

Got into it twice on 2 things? haha 2 things. That's funny. I find that hard to believe unless you weren't there everyday and or you don't know what you are looking at.

Did you build a custom home or was this a home built in a neighborhood w/ floorplan that was just built two doors down?

Maybe the experience would be different if we were building something that has been built before?

I mean the company who did the foundation is a well known name around here. They straight up poured footings then went to layout the stem walls and had missed their mark by 6-9" in some spots on 25% of the exterior walls. This company has been around 25 years and that's what they do is foundations. Their fix originally was to monopour the stem walls and footing extension WITHOUT rebar and epoxy until they got called out by the inspector who said he needed a letter from the engineer for an approved fix. Imagine if that would have happened?

I get shit happens but every trade has some sort of excuse why it's someone else's fault. Disposable world and there is Zero accountability. I have done as much as I can every evening and every weekend since we started. When the builder quit he quit via text message and I've picked up the pieces and we are getting close. Its aged me but the end product is going to be fucking sweet. Was it worth the stress? Not sure yet ask me in 20 years when I cash my chips.

I would seriously say if you enjoyed the process you don't give a shit, have no standard for quality or don't know what you are looking at or for. If you have even the slightest bit of OCD or desire for quality buckle up because its going to be one hell of a ride. I don't wish our experience on anyone.

 

ahh that’s a bummer. We thought about riding Sunday but it was gonna be so hot a nice street ride there and back was good enough.

 

So you already know a shitty GC and look forward to the fucking you’ll get?

Unless you’re building a separate one for Colleen, you prolly wanna ask her

I’m here for ya ‘foo.

 

Haha didnt know that but you for sure have seen it all then so ignore all my ramblings.
In that case dogwash station, oversize 3 car garage, seat in the shower and a wood burning stove ha...

 

Dog wash room / mud room.
And obviously big garage building.
But the main thing is I would not build a single thing with resale in mind, I'd build it exactly how I want and not give a shit if others like it or want it.

 

Yeah, you should have mentioned that Foo.

How about a gun vault room? I wish I'd made one.

How about a hidden spot to stash a small fireproof safe for your get away money?

Walk in shower, no freakin glass.

Steel reinforced door jambs for no knock red flags.

Outside wall with a window that has AR500 steel built into the wall.

Separate gravel pit for washing machine.

 

If you’re going with a 2 story, 1st floor master (His and her closets) and a 1st floor office (with a small closet).
Laundry on 1st floor and 2nd floor.
If you’re putting in a pool, pool house for the mechanicals and chemical storage along with a bath/changing room and sitting area.
Outdoor kitchen.
If you’re finishing the basement, have a fully functional kitchen (refrig, oven, dishwasher), bedroom and bathroom.
Easy access to the basement (walk in rather than steps).
Radiant heat in bathroom floors.
Each bedroom has walk-in closet.
Each garage bay is long enough to park a full size suburban and walk around it, and high enough to pull in a lifted Jeep.
Floor drains in garage.
Stairs to basement in garage.
Whole whose generator.
When you think you have more than enough cabinets in the kitchen, add more.
Already mentioned, but, dog washing set up.

 

52 posts and no mention of an inground bike service table??

A cool thing I saw in a custom house... a dumbwaiter type lift in the garage approximately 2'x4' in size to hoist stuff into the storage attic. Ceilings so high in garage you need a sweet retracting ladder assembly for scuttle.

 

Best suggestion so far and I know a guy who's local!

 

Walk-in, no sill, multi-headed shower.No glass, just a curved bar for an oversized curtain. and a sloped floor to the drain. Big enough for 2 and with enough heads for 2 to get a good shower experience. This is something that will be in every home the missus and I live in from now on.

I really love the house we've lived in for the past 20 years, and I REALLY want to build it, but fix the minor issues that we've had, bump a couple of walls out & the main thing would be move the garage to the other side of the house, but the footprint of things would make that a snap... anyway, I digress.

The homes we've been looking at, we're making sure they're master-down and have the footprint in the master bath for a retrofit. Thankfully most homes we're looking at have a garden tub that would be just about worthless to us, we're both 6' plus. That area & the existing shower make a decent footprint for it, but building it with intent & aforethought would obviously be better.

 

That's required for all new construction in my county.

 

It's a really great thing and in new construction you are talking about a 3-5% of construction costs, less than most people pay for fixtures. Your insurance rates will be cheaper every year so it will eventually pay for itself at worst and save your family's life at best. I know I'm in the business so yea I'm biased but it really is a winner. We are the only proactive fire protection system. No waiting for the fire department.

 

Exterior hose bib at the garage with both hot and cold. Back patio plumbed for natural gas for BBQ. Double oven. Attic storage. Back up gen ready, pad /power for hot tub.

It seems weird to say it now but we added x2 points in the garage for car chargers. No telling what we will be driving in 10-20+ years?

We did a walk in master shower, no step, no door x2 heads. Haven't used it yet. One thing the tile guy mentioned is losing heat without a door. Guess we'll see.

 

Not an issue with a shower curtain. Fixing to get into mine as soon as I get the current business attended to.

Edit : make one of those showerheads a hand-held waterpik style with 2 hoses and your walk-in shower will handle your dog wash station needs.

 

A few others:
Irrigation system
Humidity controlled exhaust fans
Range hood in the kitchen that vents outside
Depending on where you're going to be living, radiant heated driveway
This one's gonna sound weird, but I did it and it came in handy. Assuming you have a sidewalk that leads up to a front door, install a PVC 'conduit' under the sidewalk. We've used it for landscape lighting and for running extension cords for christmas lights so there's nothing going across the sidewalk.
I don't know what the code is for radon in your area. We installed a passive radon system which is nothing more than PVC pipes under the foundation going to a PVC pipe that runs up through the center of the house and out the roof. If it turns out we need to make it active, it's as simple as adding a motor to the plumbing.
I haven't had a use for it, but someone suggested it and I did it...have a 2" conduit from the basement to the attic. If you find that you need to make an additional run from the basement for anything in the future, the pathway is there.