Building a new home- "Must Have" Upgrades?

[Bobblehead]

I would think the "must haves" list would be things that should be completes as it is built.

Appliances seems like something you could easily upgrade later, widening your garage, not so much.

[loob job]

200 amp service is a big seller with houses as well.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Appliances seems like something you could easily upgrade later

If you know you want better appliances in the first place, there's no sense in paying for the cheaper ones first.

[4X4]

Garburator is anywhere from $125 to $250 at Rona and it's super easy to install yourself. Just make sure there's a plug under your sink. And fridge water line is also pretty easy to install yourself and the kit is ~$20 at Rona.

[flambers]

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?

Its not so much how often its used; but how it effects your home resell value....

When I built a home (sold it since), I found almost everything required an upgrade... it was shocking...

Some items I missed which I wish we would have upgraded back then were the Windows.

Things like the Kitchen, Flooring etc. have a large effect on resell value.

[Caged Great]

Here's some suggestions from a designer.

Make sure that small things like heating vents are in places that make sense. I have seen tons of examples of where heating vents are in such stupid places that it makes life difficult when putting furniture in. For example, in my house in the living room, the only place to put the sofa is over the heating vent. All the other walls are too small to accommodate one. Same with cold air returns, make sure if possible to put them in the most discrete place possible.

Put all the light switches in the entire house on dimmers if possible. It's not a big expense, but it's definitely a huge plus when you go to sell.

Get a time controlled air fan switch for your bathrooms with showers. It'll save a ton on electricity and is a decent feature to have when you go to sell.

Get a good underpad for carpet. 70% of what makes a carpet feel good is the underpad.

As for the rest of the things, it really depends on what exactly you're going for.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Garburator is anywhere from $125 to $250 at Rona and it's super easy to install yourself. Just make sure there's a plug under your sink. And fridge water line is also pretty easy to install yourself and the kit is ~$20 at Rona.

Depends. The house I just moved into requires me to move two pipes for the garburator. Total PITA.

Drilling through hardwood or tile for the water line is also a PITA.

[Shazam]

In regards to flooring, that's an iffy one. Lots of people don't like tile because of the grout. And after looking at a zillion houses, if you can't take care of hardwood, don't put it in. A floor with a billion scratches from your high heels and pets doesn't help resale.

[millhouse11]

- I have two fireplaces. I prefer the wood burning one to the gas one. Actually the wood burning has a gas starter, so that's kinda nice...Although we have a good size home. Small homes with fireplaces feel cluttered, and it takes away a wall that furniture could go if you in need of space.
- also, since we have an open main floor, speakers in the ceiling would've been nice. I'm not one for having speaker wire running everywhere, ie, under the couch on the hardwood, so I had to get a surround bar, which does sound awesome, but not the same as true surround.
- my favorite is the large garage. It's awesome, since the rest of the house is my wife's.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

If you know you want better appliances in the first place, there's no sense in paying for the cheaper ones first.

I agree that it would suck paying for 2 sets of appliances, but if retro-fitting something will cost more than new appliances AND not look as good/be as well built, then I would think you should consider the long term costs and benefits.

If your budget up front is an either/or situation then I would differ the one that is easier to do later.

Of course, that is the point where teh seller says, "If you get them up front you can finance them as part of your mortgage and it will only cost you a few extra dollars a month!". Of course they neglect to mention that you will end up paying 2 to 3 times as much (if not more) over the length of the mortgage.

[photon]

Originally Posted by 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.

Yeah we built almost 4 years ago, it's just the mid efficient with the single stage fan.. that stage being louder than I'd like

[photon]

Originally Posted by Shazam

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

See I've heard about that, but have never found anything that I would consider. Is there a good professional quality film you can put on?

Or do you mean those plastic things that you stick on then shrink with a dryer?

[photon]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Get a time controlled air fan switch for your bathrooms with showers. It'll save a ton on electricity and is a decent feature to have when you go to sell.

You can even get switches (and fans I think) that have built in humidistats that will run the fan until the humidity is at a reasonable level.

Good for rental units too!

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by photon

See I've heard about that, but have never found anything that I would consider. Is there a good professional quality film you can put on?

Or do you mean those plastic things that you stick on then shrink with a dryer?

Oh heavens no. Check out HD, they sell stuff that's supposed to be pretty good. It's virtually invisible, unless you want it tinted.

Cellular shades with blackout lining also work very well for this.

[Ethaniel]

Flat Island!!!!!!!
I love our Flat Island. It cost us about $500 bucks total, but we extended the Island and flatened the Raised Eating bar. Provides so much more room to work and more flow from the Kitchen to the Family room and Nook.
9' Ceilings and the other structural things people have mentioned are very important.
I love the spot lights on the exterior of the house instead of the traditional lighting as well.
More lights, over the Island and anywhere. Worst case scenario you turn them off.
Go Big on the bathroom and Kitchen or go home disappointed everyday.
There is alot of Yard work that needs to be done. Simply put.

Make sure your Basement Rough in makes sense ! I could not tell you how many plans are just horrible with their Rough in.
Railings are great and much better than Stub Wall.
Cabinets to the Ceiling is a nice feature to have with 8' with 9' it just extends but does not go to the ceiling(note you may need a step stool).
Garage and anything else structural like more light switches, more cable/telephone lines are all advised and get lots of them. Personally i like Wireless, but have my gaming machine plugged right into my router in the cpu room.
Gas BBQ line if needed.
Additional Hose Bibs if wanted.
Additional Exterior plugs if wanted(Christmas light plug).
Look at different options for your driveway as well if you don't like the standard one.

Must haves are structural and should be done at this level. Gas Fireplace is nice to have and the wife loves it. I don't really care for it myself, but it is nice.

And most important plan every room to make sure you have proper placement and proper requirements of all cable/telephone/plugs and furniture. Nothing worse than going into that bedroom to find out your dresser doesn't fit on that wall and you have to change the whole room including your TV that pulls it away from the perfectly placed cable outlet.

[photon]

Ok I'll check it out, though it seemed like a real pain to apply, I was hoping for something more professional (i.e. like the difference between buying the window tinting film at Canadian Tire and applying it yourself and having it go bubbly and purple in 6 months and going to a professional tinting place).

We put cellular blackout blinds in the basement to block light for the home theater down there, and it does keep it cooler down there.

[Shazam]

I'm fairly certain there's at least a couple of companies in town that will pro film for you.

[Shazam]

In regards to the 9 foot ceilings, for some plans this is very difficult as it requires more stair treads to be added.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah we built almost 4 years ago, it's just the mid efficient with the single stage fan.. that stage being louder than I'd like

Sorry off topic but awesome avatar.

[DOK]

Originally Posted by 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.

Just be sure that the fireplace can accept a blower. I had one house where the section under the fireplace was too small to install a blower, it had to be done at the manufacturers, so we didn't get one on that one.

Garburators - yes, if it's not roughed in then it's really expensive! Most new houses do rough them in with a switch somewhere. It's the actual garburator and installation that you can get on your own for around $300, not sure what the home developer would charge.

I am NOT a fan of flat islands. I like the eating top, it separates the kitchen from the rest of the house. Also hides any dishes in the sink, if you have people over for dinner and want to hang out in your living room.

Make sure to get outlets in your island! We have none, that's one thing I wish we had!