Before the sheetrock goes up -- pre-wiring, HVAC, etc.
I'm looking for suggestion for things I should think about before my new house is built, things that are easier and cheaper to do before the sheetrock goes up, or any other cool ideas for a house that aren't hugely expensive -- we're already spending enough as it is!
The floor plan is pretty much set at this point, building permits have been obtained, and in the next week or work on the foundation should begin. Nothing too radical can change.
Things I'm already planning:
Three things I'm considering:
The floor plan is pretty much set at this point, building permits have been obtained, and in the next week or work on the foundation should begin. Nothing too radical can change.
Things I'm already planning:
- CAT-6 for gig Ethernet to most rooms. I'll have wi-fi too, but it's still great to have fast wired connections.
- Dual RG-6 coax, which will support either cable TV + rooftop antenna, or the dual coax used for dual-tuner satellite boxes.
- Even though I think I'll be dumping DirecTV and going back to Comcast cable, so I can do real Tivo with CableCARD, I'd like to pre-wire the attic for a future possible satellite dish and rooftop antenna.
- It almost seems old-fashioned now, but plenty of wired telephone jacks.
- Pre-wire for AC power and HDMI in the middle of the ceiling of my home theater, in case I decide to do a front projector, and pre-wire for surround sound speakers too.
- Central sucking (what I like to call central vacuum).
- Adding a humidifier/dehumidifier to the central forced air heating/cooling system. (One coworker warned me, however, that she'd heard stories from friends who'd ended up disconnecting humidifiers because of mold growth problems in ductwork.)
- Our builder will put in some sort of home security system as a standard feature, but I've never researched such things enough to know if I'd want to enhance the default system or not, or just leave that as-is.
Three things I'm considering:
- Running fiber optic cable if it's not too expensive. I might not bother installing any optical jacks now, just leave the fiber behind the wall near the wall plates for the RJ-45 Ethernet jacks.
- Some sort of home control system for lighting. I don't know much about this yet, however.
- HEPA filters -- another thing I don't know much about now, how expensive or effective home versions are, but our current house can get pretty dusty and we have two cats and two rabbits, so there's a lot of fur in the air sometimes. The central vacuum should help keep dust down more than regular vacuum cleaners, however, or so the advertising claims say. Maybe that's enough, without special air filtering.
Comments
Power your closet. We put a closet system in front entry with drawers. Now I wish I had power to charge the iPhone, iPod and laptops that get put there.
I work with a lady that has like a 2 inch pipe in the roof to the attic for sundry cables and what not. Keeps the installers from drilling holes wherever they want. One thing I hate about my house is that whenever an installer needed to get from outside to inside they just pulled out a drill and made a hole. (The previous owner was a f*%@ing moron.)
My wife hates central vac'. I don't think she's ever owned a house with it though.
We have one of those laundry chutes that is tucked in the space of the wall. We love it. If you're careful you can get almost anything down it.
How about solar water-heating and photovoltaic panels on the roof? Or will that make your neighbors accuse you of being a pot-smoking hippie?
I'd love to do solar heating and power, but it's still way too expensive for me -- unless you know of something that's cheaper than what I've heard of. If eventually I can afford it, all I'd have to do is convince a majority of five other households in a small six-home association.
We are doing what we can to improve the efficiency of the house, with 2x6 exterior walls, paying a few thousands extra for better insulation, double-pane windows (those I think might even be required by code at this point), and an updated HVAC system that will easily be more efficient than what we have in the current house.
Two closets are actually going to function as "pet bathrooms" for the cats and rabbits, with pet-sized doors for the pets, and larger doors for human access for cleaning.
one suggestion i have is to insulate the bathrooms and laundry rooms.
There's a good idea. I'd thought a lot about sound deadening for the room I'll be using as a home theater, but I hadn't thought about that. Better than a deliberately very noisy fan for masking noises.
No?
Why not just forgo walls and run the cables underfoot?
Now there's an idea... a terrible idea that I won't use, but an idea nevertheless.
Now there's an idea... a terrible idea that I won't use, but an idea nevertheless.
psh, it ain't terrible until you try it... and then report back here to tell us how terrible it is...
:-)
what you really need is the doors from star trek -- imagine wooshwooshing through every room...
what you really need is the doors from star trek -- imagine wooshwooshing through every room...
There are a few pocket door in the plan, but alas, they are completely manual and whooshless.
You don't need most of the things you listed, nor would I advise spending the money on them. The exceptions are:
Humidifier (A/C acts as a dehumidifier)
HEPA
Projector/theatre wiring (don't forget speaker locations)
Phone jacks are basically obsolete, and there's no reason to have house-wide ethernet with today's wi-fi performance. I would also not recommend central vac. It's really a pain in the ass dragging the hose around, connecting it to different outlets. Better off spending the money on a nice Rainbow cleaning system (the absolute best thing out there, bar none in my experience).
As for power outlets, I believe today's code is every 8 feet of wall space. Putting in a few extra and determining exactly where they will go may not be a bad idea.
This is a custom home, I'm assuming. Is there a builder, are you contracting it, doing some work yourself, etc?
Why not run conduit large enough to remove and pull wires? What you want now, someone will want to pull out 20 years from now and replace. That would cost some money!
I was going to say the same thing. Make sure all the wiring can easily be redone whenever you choose to do it. Conduit or even removable wall/floor panels set so that you can rewire yourself and re-arrange. You might one day change the location of you main home computer and will want to easily be able to redo the wiring. Cable types also change; ten years ago there wasn't any HDMI.
Yea, do the toilet as well. Here in Japan, where space is a premium, there are actually people who have small desks built in to the toilets that drop down and have a mobile computer or such; actually met a high school boy who preferred studying in this space to his bedroom, which he shared with two brothers. Another family re-did their toilet after the kids left for college and made space for a home server (after disconnecting the water pipes!). Honestly, you never know.
Is 24-hour ventilation standard in the US/elsewhere? Our apartment has a system that has in-vents in several rooms and a single drawing fan that helps bring fresh air into the apartment. Some people create a pre-heater (or cooler) that uses the out-going air to slightly warm. Supposedly this is healthy, and it lets you go away for days at a time and return to a fresh-smelling home. If it isn't already in the plans, it can be added rather easily. We live near an active volcano so I added filters outside to prevent ash from being sucked into the apartment (and my computers). I use a HEPA-style filter that also blocks pollen and other stuff; just cut it down to size.
Air filters are great, but make sure they have ionizers and then heavy dust and such will drop, allowing you to vacuum it easily. New ones have dust/odor sensors that pump up the fans when needed. We have a small one in each room and can honestly say they work: I haven't had a single cold since we installed them.
Passive solar is a great energy saver.
On security, what is the neighborhood like? That will determine your level. Most important is lighting on the exterior with sensor lights; the price of cameras has also dropped appreciatively, so you can grab a few of those if you want; I would suggest one for the front door so you can easily see what idiot salesman is standing out front. There are also now wireless home systems that work really well. Related to security but also for your safety, sensor lights inside are good, too. You can come home and the entrance hall lights up automatically, or the hall infront of the bathroom, whatever. As they also turn off automatically, you do have to worry about leaving them on while you're in Hawaii for the winter.
Humidifier (A/C acts as a dehumidifier)
Sort of, but a dedicated dehumidifier can save energy for you by making the air more comfortable at a higher temperature. With my current lack of a dehumidifier I often find the AC makes the air a little uncomfortably cool by time it gets comfortably dry enough for sleeping.
Projector/theatre wiring (don't forget speaker locations)
I've been thinking about having a dedicated home theater room for many years now, and finally being able to do really good speaker placement -- something very hard to do in the typical living room or family room -- is one of the biggest reasons for having the dedicated room.
What I haven't decided yet is if I'll splurge on a really good front projector right now, and if I use front projection, whether I'll do an acoustically transparent screen with the center channel placed behind it, or go for a more typical higher-gain screen with the center placed below it. I might just do a 72" rear projector at first. The room is designed so that there's an equipment closet behind the front of the room, and a rear projector can be recessed into the wall so that it's flush to the wall like a flat screen -- only much, much cheaper than a flat screen of the same size.
Since I'll have a 15'x24' room, it's hard to resist the idea of going for a 100" diagonal screen. But besides the cost for a good projector (like this Sony), I'm still not sure I'm happy about the picture brightness I'd get with a front projector on a screen that big, especially using the lower gain acoustically transparent screen.
Another reason I might hold off on buying a front projector now is that I'd like to see how far LED technology might go as a light source in front projectors. Samsung has gotten some pretty good results using LED for rear projection, LED is much more energy efficient than incandescent projector lamps, and LED gets rid of the problem of replacing those lamps.
The Sony I really like (from what I've read in reviews -- haven't seen one in person yet) uses a lamp that costs $1000 to replace, and is only rated for 1000 hours of service.
Phone jacks are basically obsolete, and there's no reason to have house-wide ethernet with today's wi-fi performance.
Wi-fi certainly isn't as good as gig ethernet for moving large files, and I routinely do back-ups where wired speed makes a HUGE difference, even over 802.11n.
I would also not recommend central vac. It's really a pain in the ass dragging the hose around, connecting it to different outlets. Better off spending the money on a nice Rainbow cleaning system (the absolute best thing out there, bar none in my experience).
Are those things heavy? I wouldn't mind myself, but I don't do most of the vacuuming. She who does would rather drag a long hose than a heavy vacuum cleaner. We'd end up buying three of these to have one on each floor.
This is a custom home, I'm assuming. Is there a builder, are you contracting it, doing some work yourself, etc?
We have a builder. We found someone who was creating a small six-unit development, who was willing to take one of their standard plans and do quite a bit of customization for a great price. For only a few thousand dollars extra, for example, the basement is being built a full foot deeper to give us better ceiling height for the theater, which will have a raised platform in the back section.
Are those things heavy? I wouldn't mind myself, but I don't do most of the vacuuming. She who does would rather drag a long hose than a heavy vacuum cleaner. We'd end up buying three of these to have one on each floor.
I love my Oreck!
Sort of, but a dedicated dehumidifier can save energy for you by making the air more comfortable at a higher temperature. With my current lack of a dehumidifier I often find the AC makes the air a little uncomfortably cool by time it gets comfortably dry enough for sleeping.
I've not really heard of people doing that. For one thing, you're going to need a blower unit for it to function. You might as well just turn the A/C on low. Think about it..you're only going to need it in the summer. That is, unless you buy a standalone one for the basement, if applicable.
I've been thinking about having a dedicated home theater room for many years now, and finally being able to do really good speaker placement -- something very hard to do in the typical living room or family room -- is one of the biggest reasons for having the dedicated room.
What I haven't decided yet is if I'll splurge on a really good front projector right now, and if I use front projection, whether I'll do an acoustically transparent screen with the center channel placed behind it, or go for a more typical higher-gain screen with the center placed below it. I might just do a 72" rear projector at first. The room is designed so that there's an equipment closet behind the front of the room, and a rear projector can be recessed into the wall so that it's flush to the wall like a flat screen -- only much, much cheaper than a flat screen of the same size.
Since I'll have a 15'x24' room, it's hard to resist the idea of going for a 100" diagonal screen. But besides the cost for a good projector (like this Sony), I'm still not sure I'm happy about the picture brightness I'd get with a front projector on a screen that big, especially using the lower gain acoustically transparent screen.
Another reason I might hold off on buying a front projector now is that I'd like to see how far LED technology might go as a light source in front projectors. Samsung has gotten some pretty good results using LED for rear projection, LED is much more energy efficient than incandescent projector lamps, and LED gets rid of the problem of replacing those lamps.
The Sony I really like (from what I've read in reviews -- haven't seen one in person yet) uses a lamp that costs $1000 to replace, and is only rated for 1000 hours of service.
It really depends on your budget. You don't need to spend $15,000 on a nice projector. For $5,000, you get one hell of a 1080p unit. But really, if you're going to spend that much, you might as well buy a nice 72" DLP or what not.
Wi-fi certainly isn't as good as gig ethernet for moving large files, and I routinely do back-ups where wired speed makes a HUGE difference, even over 802.11n.
I understand that, of course. But do you really need to wire the house for it? How often do you transfer large files? It's not a big cost, so whatever. I just don't see you using it, unless you're doing a shitload of transferring daily.
Are those things heavy? I wouldn't mind myself, but I don't do most of the vacuuming. She who does would rather drag a long hose than a heavy vacuum cleaner. We'd end up buying three of these to have one on each floor.
They are about like other vacuums. They are on wheels. I sold them part-time in college--one of the reasons was how good the product was. It is the best vacuum, hands down. You put water in the bottom of it, which acts as a filter. It never loses suction, and can double as a mini-wet vac. It literally cleans the air as it runs. They're not cheap, mind you...they run about $2500 or so. But in terms of comparing with central vac, you could get one for upstairs and one for down.
We have a builder. We found someone who was creating a small six-unit development, who was willing to take one of their standard plans and do quite a bit of customization for a great price. For only a few thousand dollars extra, for example, the basement is being built a full foot deeper to give us better ceiling height for the theater, which will have a raised platform in the back section.
Nice. The last home I built was with a medium sized developer in a 200 house neighborhood. Their were options, but not much customization. The current developer I have is more flexible, but I'm not doing much differently. I'm moving the kitchen counter-island back 12" to give more fridge space, having some decorative pillars removed for more space, adding a deck (12X20...for free), etc. It's only a 3 bedroom townhome, but it's going to be nice and perfect for my needs.
What I haven't decided yet is if I'll splurge on a really good front projector right now, and if I use front projection, whether I'll do an acoustically transparent screen with the center channel placed behind it, or go for a more typical higher-gain screen with the center placed below it. I might just do a 72" rear projector at first. The room is designed so that there's an equipment closet behind the front of the room, and a rear projector can be recessed into the wall so that it's flush to the wall like a flat screen -- only much, much cheaper than a flat screen of the same size.
I would go the route of a less expensive 100" FP setup if you have a dedicated room. Or even a mixed use room. Which is what I did.
The performance of a inexpensive 720p projector is quite good now even if you don't want to pony up for the 1080p Sony.
I'm still not sure I'm happy about the picture brightness I'd get with a front projector on a screen that big, especially using the lower gain acoustically transparent screen.
Go for a higher lumens 702p projector if you intend on sports as well as movies. Even with good lighting control watching sports in the dark is odd. And my wife always wants a light on anyway for reading even while I watch movies.
Another reason I might hold off on buying a front projector now is that I'd like to see how far LED technology might go as a light source in front projectors.
You can likely do a 100" FP for the cost of a 72" RP and you wont have a big hole in the wall.
However, if you have the space back there, consider a 100" RP using a mirror system and a short throw projector.
Wi-fi certainly isn't as good as gig ethernet for moving large files, and I routinely do back-ups where wired speed makes a HUGE difference, even over 802.11n.
Just run CAT6 vs telephone wire. And the conduit idea is best of all. Run Cat6a if you can afford to.
You know solar is a good investment if you plan on staying longer. The cost of building it in now is a lot less than getting the financing later to install one.
I increased the number of power outlets by about 25% over what was in the original plans.
I also had additional plumbing installed to two locations; the loft for a future bathroom as the kids get older, and the basement for a kitchen if we decide to convert a few rooms to a rentable apartment.
I also recommend taking pictures of all the wiring and plumbing before the walls go up. This can be useful if you ever do remodeling later.
We have central sucking. Think about where you will store the hose. I wish I had built a small closet just for its storage. It hangs in the laundry room now and isn't very convenient.
I also wish I had a water storage for rain runoff from the roof. The garden could use it during dry spells.