Ideas for building a home needed ....
- Thread starter 4stang6
- Start date
A few off the top of my head...
- Insulate the garage slab w/ 4" rigid foam insulation.
- Install radiant heating in garage floors. Utilize geothermal if feasible.
- Standing seam metal roof would be great or go with quality asphalt shingles with a 130 mph upgrade. We have Certainteed Landmark Pro and it is a really good quality shingle that will last a long time.
- Ice shield over entire roof. The contractor might resist this because they claim tearing off old shingles are difficult where ice shields are installed which could lead to potential damage of the roof sheathing during removal requiring potential replacement. But worth it to check with the contractor. For steep slopes it is not critical to have ice shield over the entire surface but for sure at the eaves and valleys. When our shingles were replaced the contractor found a few valleys and eaves that did not have ice shield. And we had water leak to the interiors during an ice storm in those exact areas. The previous contractor probably ran out of material and was too sloppy to get more and do a proper installation.
- Downspouts should be led underground 8-10' from the footings / basement walls to popups in your landscape.
- Proper grading so the ground slopes away from the foundation walls. I am a fan of gravel along the perimeter / footprint of the house. A weed control barrier should go under the gravel.
- 2x6 Wood studs for the exterior load bearing walls.
- 2x4 Engineered floor trusses for first floor (and second also if there would be one). You'll want to install the main duct trunks at the same time the trusses go up by sliding the trusses through or leave an opening in the sheathing so the mechanical contractor can slide the duct work in later. If you wait until after they are installed at 16" o.c. you won't be able to get your trunks up in long sections making the open webs useless. Same goes for PVC pipes, electrical / low voltage conduits etc. I would slide a bunch on them in there while the trusses go up in case they are needed.
- Install attractive, modern ceiling fans in every room. Go as big as you can with these. We have two 7' ceiling fans with DC motors in the great room and it is just fantastic. You can't hear the fans and because they are so big move a lot of air even at slower speeds. They also come with LED built in.
- Do a super insulated unvented cathedral ceiling.
- Soffit vents and continuous ridge vents for the attic to prevent mold / humidity / excessive heat.
- R48 insulation for the roof. R19 for the 2x6 exterior walls.
- Do not install plumbing fixtures on the interior of exterior walls unless there is sufficient insulation behind the pipes. Pipes are known to freeze in those locations. It is really best to avoid placing them on an outside wall and instead locate them on an interior partition wall.
- Install an ejector pump system for basement fixtures if there will be any.
- Make sure the contractor has proper pitch for the lateral line of the sewage running from the house. Sometimes the pitch is not correct which can lead to potential backups in the basement. The pitch should not be too severe either which would result in solids waste staying behind / lingering in the line.
Edit: Just read again and saw you are in Texas. Do you ever get freak days where it goes below freezing? My comments are for a house in colder parts of the country lol!
An Unvented, Superinsulated Roof - Fine Homebuilding
- Insulate the garage slab w/ 4" rigid foam insulation.
- Install radiant heating in garage floors. Utilize geothermal if feasible.
- Standing seam metal roof would be great or go with quality asphalt shingles with a 130 mph upgrade. We have Certainteed Landmark Pro and it is a really good quality shingle that will last a long time.
- Ice shield over entire roof. The contractor might resist this because they claim tearing off old shingles are difficult where ice shields are installed which could lead to potential damage of the roof sheathing during removal requiring potential replacement. But worth it to check with the contractor. For steep slopes it is not critical to have ice shield over the entire surface but for sure at the eaves and valleys. When our shingles were replaced the contractor found a few valleys and eaves that did not have ice shield. And we had water leak to the interiors during an ice storm in those exact areas. The previous contractor probably ran out of material and was too sloppy to get more and do a proper installation.
- Downspouts should be led underground 8-10' from the footings / basement walls to popups in your landscape.
- Proper grading so the ground slopes away from the foundation walls. I am a fan of gravel along the perimeter / footprint of the house. A weed control barrier should go under the gravel.
- 2x6 Wood studs for the exterior load bearing walls.
- 2x4 Engineered floor trusses for first floor (and second also if there would be one). You'll want to install the main duct trunks at the same time the trusses go up by sliding the trusses through or leave an opening in the sheathing so the mechanical contractor can slide the duct work in later. If you wait until after they are installed at 16" o.c. you won't be able to get your trunks up in long sections making the open webs useless. Same goes for PVC pipes, electrical / low voltage conduits etc. I would slide a bunch on them in there while the trusses go up in case they are needed.
- Install attractive, modern ceiling fans in every room. Go as big as you can with these. We have two 7' ceiling fans with DC motors in the great room and it is just fantastic. You can't hear the fans and because they are so big move a lot of air even at slower speeds. They also come with LED built in.
- Do a super insulated unvented cathedral ceiling.
- Soffit vents and continuous ridge vents for the attic to prevent mold / humidity / excessive heat.
- R48 insulation for the roof. R19 for the 2x6 exterior walls.
- Do not install plumbing fixtures on the interior of exterior walls unless there is sufficient insulation behind the pipes. Pipes are known to freeze in those locations. It is really best to avoid placing them on an outside wall and instead locate them on an interior partition wall.
- Install an ejector pump system for basement fixtures if there will be any.
- Make sure the contractor has proper pitch for the lateral line of the sewage running from the house. Sometimes the pitch is not correct which can lead to potential backups in the basement. The pitch should not be too severe either which would result in solids waste staying behind / lingering in the line.
Edit: Just read again and saw you are in Texas. Do you ever get freak days where it goes below freezing? My comments are for a house in colder parts of the country lol!
An Unvented, Superinsulated Roof - Fine Homebuilding
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I second wired network everywhere. CAT6a or CAT7 which can both support 10 gigabit / second. It is only a matter of time before this becomes more common. With SSD drives so common today 1 gigabit /second is not adequate to really match the transfer rates of the drives.
Demystifying Ethernet Types — Cat5e, Cat 6, and Cat7
+1 on the central vacuum, but have a retractable in wall hose AND one suction point in the garage for your cars. I’ve heard tinting windows will void their warranty, so check into that.I think Mitsubishi makes 1-1.5 ton wall mount units. Put two in the garage don’t run it from the house. I worked with a guy that did run it from the house and regretted it. It’s been years since I worked with him and can’t remember the reason just that he hated it.
Three car garages are so 1980’s!Four car plus or bust! I have a four car garage and wish I did 5-6.
Do a central vacuum system in the house! The wife will love it and you!
Not sure where you are located but In Kamifornia they will only insulate the exterior facing walls. Have every wall in the entire house insulated. I did and I cuts down sound and help with the cooling and heat. You won’t regret it. Don’t stop at the garage.
Have a 100 amp sub panel wired into the garage. You can never go wrong with more POWWAAA!
Rain gutters! Not common in Kamifornia from the home builders.
Tint all of the windows. Great energy saver.
If you can swing it. Make every wall a shearwall, put plywood behind the drywall. The house will be like a brick shit house and make it easy to hang anything.
Put a urinal out in the garage with a sink for the boys!
Waterproof the walls in the garage put drains in the foundation so you can wash cars in the garage.
Run copper lines behind the walls and stub outlets for compressed air. It will be trick!
Have a hot water recirculating pump installed. You will get hot water in an instant! I love it. Did it in my first house and will do it in everyone ongoing.
I can keep going brother! I can spend your money for you with no problem! Free of charge! Lol!
Best of luck! I hope some of this helps.
Congrats!
Sent from my iPad using svtperformance.com
Four car plus or bust! I have a four car garage and wish I did 5-6.- prewire for Security cameras
- floor mounted outlet in living room
- in-ceiling speakers, even in the garage.
- consider a whole house vent fan. You mentioned vaulted ceilings , so you’ll have heat/cool all that additional space.
Good luck!
Oversize the garage. Builders generally make garages a standard size which isn't long enough for trucks and is so narrow you can't open car doors. Go a few feet longer and wider.
Run the garage on it's own HVAC system or a cheap mini-split. If it's tied into the house it will never reach the temperature you want. Cars store a lot of residual heat and your home's A/C unit won't keep up if it's just piped in from the main unit. It's like putting two blast furnaces in the middle of your house while simultaneously turning the A/C on. Add 220 while you're in there too. I've always wanted a drain system in my garage floor to clean it out easier.
That's a stunning house. You're looking at an easy 7 figures to get into that in AZ unless you build in the boonies.
Run the garage on it's own HVAC system or a cheap mini-split. If it's tied into the house it will never reach the temperature you want. Cars store a lot of residual heat and your home's A/C unit won't keep up if it's just piped in from the main unit. It's like putting two blast furnaces in the middle of your house while simultaneously turning the A/C on. Add 220 while you're in there too. I've always wanted a drain system in my garage floor to clean it out easier.
That's a stunning house. You're looking at an easy 7 figures to get into that in AZ unless you build in the boonies.
Okie doke, It really sounds like a NO for running duct to the garage, So maybe opt for a cheap mini split ....
Also I never heard of Geothermal HVAC and that sounds soooooooo feasible at this time, i will talk with the contractor on this.
The sink in the garage I really like, Because the floorplan has the laundry room butted up against the garage so running extra pipe won't be a big deal at all.
Thanks guys!!!!
Also I never heard of Geothermal HVAC and that sounds soooooooo feasible at this time, i will talk with the contractor on this.
The sink in the garage I really like, Because the floorplan has the laundry room butted up against the garage so running extra pipe won't be a big deal at all.
Thanks guys!!!!
We custom built in 06, there are a few things I would do different if I built again, but most have been covered here already.
Good luck.
Good luck.
We have Geo as well. It would be perfect for the TX heat. Ours struggles just a little if we get an extreme cold winter here in Indiana.
The oversized garage is something I didn't mention, glad somebody else did. I can park my F150, Crew Cab 6.5' bed in mine and still have a couple feet to spare.
Sent from my SM-G975U using the svtperformance.com mobile app
Thanks people!!
Pocket doors into master bath or any hallway access room and casement style windows
run wiring for hut tub...if you think you may get one, at min make sure your electrical is prepped for the added load.
Really sit down and look at all electrical layout, as if anything is ever added in my house its always electrical crap..
Consider running conduit in your garage, looks cool to me, makes adding stuff later stupid easy, and all your garage plugs should be 20amp......
Sex room hasn't been mentioned either, and 'Im a little disappointed SVT.......
good luck with the house man
Really sit down and look at all electrical layout, as if anything is ever added in my house its always electrical crap..
Consider running conduit in your garage, looks cool to me, makes adding stuff later stupid easy, and all your garage plugs should be 20amp......
Sex room hasn't been mentioned either, and 'Im a little disappointed SVT.......
good luck with the house man
It's SVT, it is a sex house, garage and yard....maybe even into the neighbors place.
Some really good ideas in this thread. Here are my suggestions:
1) Make sure that every appliance is serviceable (meaning, if they install a Jacuzzi, make sure you can get to the pump- my 1st house, it was sealed in by an idiot). Seems like a no-brainer, but it happens often. My parents bought a house where some idiot ran molding around the fridge, which had to get torn out the first time the fridge needed to get pulled out for service.
2) I saw a suggestion for in-ceiling speakers- make sure they add a nice junction box somewhere easy to reach that's close to where a stereo/amplifier would go. Ours has volume control in every room- another big plus.
3) If you have money to burn, you can get a multi-zone control HVAC system with electric dampers and sensors for each room. Thought about it for our house, got it quoted when our HVAC system crapped the bed in February, decided to hold off. Sure would be nice on crazy hot days though. EcoBee and Nest even have sensors that determine which room you are in to direct flow to "occupied" rooms. Pretty neat stuff.
4) Someone else already mentioned it, but a raised ceiling garage! I can't fit anything larger than a MaxxJaxx in my garage and I'm somewhat upset.
Don't forget outdoors:
5) Make sure the spigot placement actually makes sense. The number of homes I checked out where the spigots are all hidden in stupid, inaccessible places was ridiculous. Our first house had two spigots- one up behind the front porch about 20' from the driveway and surrounded by bushes, and the other in the back yard about 20' from the patio. Horrible layout, and you can't just add a second standalone valve and leave them on in SC heat or it'll balloon and bust the hose.
6) Drainage. The number of houses I see where the natural grading points TOWARDS the garage is crazy. Why. Grade away from the garage or add a recessed drain so you don't wind up with a flooded garage. "The wise man built his house up on the rock" as they taught me in Sunday school when I was like 4. Also make sure that surrounding landscaping doesn't force all run-off into your yard- often overlooked and ignored by contractors and inspectors don't care.
7) If you plan on ever doing irrigation or outdoor lighting, might as well do it early. Again, I suggest junction boxes for the electrical side. Everything at my place was run direct back to a single JB, but I really wish there were several smaller ones with terminals instead of daisy-chaining everything.
8) If the contractor puts any plants in, make sure the species is KNOWN and spacing is correct. Our neighbor is fighting a river birch right now, and we have a Japanese maple that needs to be removed because it wasn't actually a dwarf.
9) Avoid carpet in the garage, and put up a "no flip flops" sign
1) Make sure that every appliance is serviceable (meaning, if they install a Jacuzzi, make sure you can get to the pump- my 1st house, it was sealed in by an idiot). Seems like a no-brainer, but it happens often. My parents bought a house where some idiot ran molding around the fridge, which had to get torn out the first time the fridge needed to get pulled out for service.
2) I saw a suggestion for in-ceiling speakers- make sure they add a nice junction box somewhere easy to reach that's close to where a stereo/amplifier would go. Ours has volume control in every room- another big plus.
3) If you have money to burn, you can get a multi-zone control HVAC system with electric dampers and sensors for each room. Thought about it for our house, got it quoted when our HVAC system crapped the bed in February, decided to hold off. Sure would be nice on crazy hot days though. EcoBee and Nest even have sensors that determine which room you are in to direct flow to "occupied" rooms. Pretty neat stuff.
4) Someone else already mentioned it, but a raised ceiling garage! I can't fit anything larger than a MaxxJaxx in my garage and I'm somewhat upset.
Don't forget outdoors:
5) Make sure the spigot placement actually makes sense. The number of homes I checked out where the spigots are all hidden in stupid, inaccessible places was ridiculous. Our first house had two spigots- one up behind the front porch about 20' from the driveway and surrounded by bushes, and the other in the back yard about 20' from the patio. Horrible layout, and you can't just add a second standalone valve and leave them on in SC heat or it'll balloon and bust the hose.
6) Drainage. The number of houses I see where the natural grading points TOWARDS the garage is crazy. Why. Grade away from the garage or add a recessed drain so you don't wind up with a flooded garage. "The wise man built his house up on the rock" as they taught me in Sunday school when I was like 4. Also make sure that surrounding landscaping doesn't force all run-off into your yard- often overlooked and ignored by contractors and inspectors don't care.
7) If you plan on ever doing irrigation or outdoor lighting, might as well do it early. Again, I suggest junction boxes for the electrical side. Everything at my place was run direct back to a single JB, but I really wish there were several smaller ones with terminals instead of daisy-chaining everything.
8) If the contractor puts any plants in, make sure the species is KNOWN and spacing is correct. Our neighbor is fighting a river birch right now, and we have a Japanese maple that needs to be removed because it wasn't actually a dwarf.
9) Avoid carpet in the garage, and put up a "no flip flops" sign
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Have you considered any sort of home automation either now or potentially in the future?
Since window coverings are almost the last items considered for the home, you might want to think about what you want. We are seeing more and more motorized window coverings. Even if you are considering them now, you might want them in the future. Pre-running 24v wire or having 110v outlet in the top of the windows might be something you would want to consider. This would be optional, but if you go that far you might want to run cat5 or 6 to the same areas.
Just a thought. You might want this for later down the road.
Since window coverings are almost the last items considered for the home, you might want to think about what you want. We are seeing more and more motorized window coverings. Even if you are considering them now, you might want them in the future. Pre-running 24v wire or having 110v outlet in the top of the windows might be something you would want to consider. This would be optional, but if you go that far you might want to run cat5 or 6 to the same areas.
Just a thought. You might want this for later down the road.
Exactly. We pre-wired most windows on the main floor and the slider on the lower level for $100/window. To date, I’ve only installed 2 roller shades, but they are awesome (and pricey).
Love threads like these. I'm still quite a few years away from being able to build, but the ideas I would never think of are awesome!
Depends on the level of quality you go with, but yeah they can be pricey. I much prefer do plantation shutters on windows for looks anyways.
Man there is some good ideas for sure in here, I really appreciate it guys, Now i need to make sure I don't go too far over budget
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