Building a new home- "Must Have" Upgrades?

[ken0042]

Somehow we ended up looking at new houses yesterday. Anyway- two things mentioned struck me as odd with respect to upgrades:

- Gas Fireplace. The sales lady said that it was a "must have" and that future home buyers would walk away if I didn't have it. I just don't get it- the cost is around $4500; the same for granite counters in the kitchen and tile flooring. Is it really that big of a deal for you? Or if you have one of these fireplaces- how often do you use it?

- Cat5e cable runs. Apparently these are not only "not standard", but at this builder they weren't even on the upgrade list. I would think that as we approach the 2nd decade of the 21st century these would be standard.

Thoughts?

[Antithesis]

That's bizarre. CAT5 wiring came standard on our (starter level) home when we purchased it almost 5 years ago.

I don't care about a gas fireplace; that being said my wife and I are happy staying indefinitely in our 1100 sq foot duplex (soon to be 1500 when I finish the basement) so we may not be in the norm. Even not having an ensuite bathroom isn't a big deal for us - though I suppose if we bought another house we'd probably want one.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Somehow we ended up looking at new houses yesterday. Anyway- two things mentioned struck me as odd with respect to upgrades:

- Gas Fireplace. The sales lady said that it was a "must have" and that future home buyers would walk away if I didn't have it. I just don't get it- the cost is around $4500; the same for granite counters in the kitchen and tile flooring. Is it really that big of a deal for you? Or if you have one of these fireplaces- how often do you use it?

- Cat5e cable runs. Apparently these are not only "not standard", but at this builder they weren't even on the upgrade list. I would think that as we approach the 2nd decade of the 21st century these would be standard.

Thoughts?

Gas fireplace was never on my must have list. And I agree, people who I knew who had it all really liked them....but they rarely used them. They may help sell your house but I doubt they are a must have.

And as far as the Cat5e, I'm betting that most people think the world will become more wireless. So even though I think I would like my future homes to be wired, I'm guessing John Q. Public could be convinced that it is a non-issue.

[North East Goon]

It's all more for style over substance, although Granite countertops and granite flooring is much more durable than your standard linoleum.

[Shazam]

Get the fireplace. I wouldn't say people would "walk away", but they'll ding you on their offers. I actually used mine all the time in winter before I had kids.

No one runs cat 5 anymore because of wireless networks. It's still worth it though if you can.

Anyhoo, other upgrades:

- Get better baseboards.
- Get the best underlay for your carpet.
- Wider garage.
- Get the three way switch in the mud room.
- Garburator.
- Water line for fridge.
- Lights over the kitchen island.
- Insulated walls for soundproofing.
- Speaker wire for surround sound.
- Elongated, dual flush toilets.
- Obscured glass brick for the bathrooms.
- Upgraded kitchen cabinets - dovetailed drawers.
- Wood capping for knee walls (for God's sake, do these).

REALLY expensive upgrades include:
- Box ceilings.
- Exotic woods for cabinets, floors, etc.
- Built-ins.

If you get a jetted tub, keep in mind you actually need to run it once in a while, or else the jets break from non-usage.

And for God's sake budget some money for good window coverings.

[Barnes]

For me, it was 9' ceilings on the main floor, washer and dryer upstairs and hardwood in any room that didn't have a couch or bed. Everything else was particular to the house we picked.

[metallicat]

The only thing I really want if I ever buy a house, or if I ever get to upgrade my current place, is a sweet shower, with a rain shower head, massaging jets, heated floor, a steamer...etc.

[Boblobla]

I LOVE my gas fire place. It looks awesome. Upgrades to door trims/baseboards/cupboard material are really nice as well and help distinguish your house from others around it.

I love having Cat5 run through the house.

[Bertuzzied]

You need a nook!

[DOK]

I would consider a gas fireplace a "must have". BUT, with that the fireplace MUST REALLY have a blower on it. That's the make or break point on these things. I had a fireplace with no blower and it warmed up the room, obviously the closer you got the warmer it was. We had a blower installed and it made a huge difference to the entire house. We would use it as a furnace in the winter. It would warm up the entire main floor nicely, and severely cut down our heating bills.

I'd also go with stainless steel appliances, they are nicer looking, and there's a new finish (or steel, I"m not sure) that they put on it that won't put fingerprints on the doors.

Flat top stove - awesome.
Wider garage - YES! It wouldn't be a deal breaker, but honeslty, we have a "2 car garage" and only one car fits in, from bumper to bumper we are maxed out. We have one rack for tools and junk and that is enough to not let another car park inside.
Garburators - excellent, but may be better off to install after the fact, depending on how much they are going to charge you to do it through the builders.
Ceiling fans - if possible.
High grade carpet - yes, lasts longer, stands up better, will save money down the road, and just feels better.

I wouldn't refuse a house without these things, but if it had a wood fireplace I would change it to gas before I moved in. The garage might be make or break for me, it is a huge pain over the winter cramming the cars in, come to think of it, one of us always parked outside even in the winter it was so bad.

Good luck with it! I would say most upgrades are good, some should probably not be considered upgrades but essential, but that's how they make their money. Always negotiate! Everything is negotiable. If you want something and don't want to pay extra, just say so. Or ask for lower. It's the same as buying a regular house, they all come with different things for different prices, it's all in how you negotiate and speak to them.

[drewboy12]

Ya Go for the highest ceilings you can get... Makes such a big difference.

[Shazam]

You can usually buy the blower at BBQ Galore afterwards if you forget.

Let me tell you, putting in a garburator after the fact is EXPENSIVE.

Yeah, get them to install ceiling fans. They're a PITA to install.

[Eagle Eye]

I think must have upgrades are things that are tougher to do after the house is built, wether it is phyiscally harder, or it looks better.

Things like:
raising ceilings on main and basement
widening garage
speaker wiring
extra exterior outlets/switches for lighting
outlet on island
rough in for garborator with switch on counter
drain in garage
finished basement stairs (that way they do a better job of the rough in)
upgrade railing (if you have stub walls)
vaulted ceilings
3 way switches where they do not exist
upgrade windows to more energy effiecient ones

[photon]

We use our gas fireplace a lot too, especially the one downstairs. And it could hurt resale value as well.

Cat5e everywhere is a great idea. Wireless is nice, but can be flaky in a big house depending on what's where; having a cable means you'll never have to worry about it.

Another related one is to get a conduit run from the attic down to wherever all the cabling comes together; lets you install things on the roof without having to have wires run down the outside of your house. I've spoken with guys that have gone in and run conduit around their house just for cabling down the road.

Granite and as much tile and hardwood as possible; we even have hardwood in our bedroom. So much easier to keep the floors clean (I hate carpet) and for the counters so much more durable and easier to keep clean as well.

High efficiency furnace(s); I really regret not doing this.. or at least a multi-stage furnace so it can run quietly.

We flipped the back half of our house so we could have a walkthrough pantry from the garage through to the kitchen; great for bringing in groceries.

Bigger baseboards and smooth door faces are upgrades that are pretty cheap but can really make a big difference in the look.

Agree with Shazam, wider garage!

Another inexpensive upgrade (depending on the cabinet maker) is higher cabinets, and then extending the cabinets to the ceiling. Ours are very tall, then at the top there's a crown molding (or whatever it's called), and then another piece of wood that goes all the way up to the ceiling with another piece of trim up there. Removes the dust gathering up there and makes a big difference in the look.. and for us it was pretty cheap to do too, but I've heard other cabinet companies charge a huge amount for it.

We also did a drop down ceiling above our kitchen island and painted it an offset colour; again a fairly cheap thing to do but makes things stand out more.

Do something with the outside train spouts so you don't have one over your main entrance sidewalk (if applicable).

[photon]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

finished basement stairs (that way they do a better job of the rough in)

Good call! Very much agree, plus it makes things look bigger upstairs rather than just having a door.

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

upgrade windows to more energy effiecient ones

Yeah I wish I had done this, we have 3 floors of huge south facing windows. I kid you not, in the summer all it takes is a 25+ day and our bedroom upstairs can get over 32 degrees.

[Shazam]

You don't have an HE furnace? At the very least, it should be 88% efficient. Most new homes just come with > 95% as standard.

[You Need a Thneed]

Upgraded appliances would be near the top of the must haves for me. Upgraded kitchen and bathroom would be high up there for me too.

I don't care so much for a fireplace.

Wiring for sound would be important, CAT5 would be a must I think. Even if the speed of wireless networks is improving, it's not as fast, reliable, and easy as a wired network. I seriously have to reconnect several times a day on my wireless network at home. if there was a neat place to tuck the wire, I'd go back to the wired connection.

Make sure you get cable jacks in all the rooms you might want to have cable in, in the future.

It's easy in the future for someone to repaint on put new baseboards on, stuff like that, that can renew the look of a space. Redoing the kitchen or the bathrooms is expensive, so don't cheap out in the first place.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah I wish I had done this, we have 3 floors of huge south facing windows. I kid you not, in the summer all it takes is a 25+ day and our bedroom upstairs can get over 32 degrees.

Unfortunately getting better windows makes little difference. I've never seen a window better than R4 (yours are probably R2). Apply window film instead.

[The Yen Man]

I guess it depends on what you consider "must haves" and what's in your budget. I'm actually on the verge of buying my first starter home. A lot of the must haves listed here is a little out of my price range. So I didn't go with the steel appliances or the granite. I went hardwood and tile (no lino anywhere in the house), bonus room, and upgraded ensuite bathroom. It comes standard with the fireplace already, so I didn't have to worry about that at least. I would like to have other stuff, but it's just not in my budget.

I guess things like gararators, wiring, etc, are details to be worked out afterwards, but I'm budgeting another 3K for all that stuff.

[Jordan!]

I'd say Cat 5 is very important.. For gaming at least, wireless is terrible.