If you were building a house, what is your must have?

[btimbit]

Natural gas hookup in the garage for a heater. Even if you're like me and don't get the heater itself for a year or two, it's huge savings doing the hookup like this in the initial build vs adding it later

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

A motel?

Ha! Nope, it's an actual home, being built (or maybe they're done now) near Bragg Creek.

Link

[Rathji]

Cat6 to most of the rooms, probably double (or more) drops to anywhere there is a TV planned. The more costly approach is to run conduit to each of these locations, but gives you extreme flexibility lateron. Don't bother running HDMI, as it can be run over cat5 cabling, just make sure you account for it.

Proper backing to wall mount TVs, and conduit to run cables from components to those TVs.

Ceiling fans, either get them installed right away, or ensure that wiring and proper mounting area is in place to support them in the future.

Wiring in sound in at least the great/living room, but ideally throughout the common areas of the house and garage.

Upstairs laundry is $$

9 foot or vaulted ceilings where possible.

Washrooms on every level, including at least a shower in basement (if developed).

Walk in closets in all the rooms, possibly a his/hers in the master.

Big walk in shower in the Ensuite. My wife really likes the double sinks we have, but I find it really pointless.

We have double sinks in the main bathroom that the kids use, plus a sliding door to separate the shower/toilet and the rest of the bathrooms. At first I wasn't happy with the idea, but when my kids are older, it will be a nice bonus in the morning.

Ensure your natural gas pipe is large enough to support potential stove, BBQ and fireplace.

Run conduit from your attic to your basement. You never know when you will want to run some cables for security cameras, wireless access points, or even an OTA antenna

I really like the idea of putting each room on its own circuit, and the 220 service into the garage, and USB ports built into the wall plugs.

[Dion]

A slide in my bedroom that goes to a pool on the main floor. Nothing like a refreshing dip first thing in the morning.

[calgarywinning]

I really think maximizing and focusing on those things that you cannot change without great expense after the build has been completed.

So when it comes to a choice between asphalt shingles and longer term composite, asphalt shingles win, because you can change this down the road.

So to this effect I think if you are custom building, decide if you want an open layout or a closed layout. We really went open concept and all three levels of our home are very open and connected. However, you can't be in the basement without someone on the main level being able to hear you. Open concept really makes sound proofing not a worthwhile adventure.

Secondly, ceiling heights and maximizing window space to create openness. Massive windows are incredible for light and feel of the house.

Mechanical you definitely want to have multi-zone for the different levels. Want your basement not to be a basement? In floor heating is a must and not too expensive on a new build. I agree with the earlier poster to make sure your mechanical room has enough space. Ours is cramped.

Electrical for me is designing and having full control over the illumination of your home. The more pots the better. Especially in Calgary through the winter. More pots means you can run on a dimmer at a lower percentage, but have even light. I would also say, depending on the size of the house and the number of pot lights, fixtures you have the Lutron control switches are bar none. You can customize them and set scenes which will save you money and turn off the house when you leave or come home. More expensive, but hard to change down the road. Getting lighting right from the get go is important..

When it comes to toilets, TOTO are amazingly reliable and higher for easy sitting.

Another thing that is costly is to not view your outdoor space as another part of the house. So to this end, incorporate your decking and yard into the house as much as possible and budget for this. Cheaper to do at this point, including the gas lines for BBQ and outdoor fire pit

Then it comes down to configuration of space. When spending money in the kitchen and master ensuite cabinetry make sure the drawers are made out of wood and are dovetailed. This is one of the most commonly missed items in high use cabinetry areas.

Luxury items that are easy to add during the build are in wall speakers, maybe a central HDMI splitting area so you can access all your TV devices throughout the house.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

HDMI specs are updated fairly consistently, what are you going to do once you buy a new TV. etc?

[bigtmac19]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

Add in a closet type thing off the kitchen for recycleables. Ideally it would also be accesible from outside as well. Way easier to do compostables, blue bin stuff and even to collect for returning bottles.

That is an awesome idea!

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Secret bookcase door.

Originally Posted by Nyah

Sauna, huge kitchen, really lush backyard with lots of trees and shrubs and zero grass, master bedroom with a balcony, en suite with a window, awesome stone wine cellar.

Edit
Like this:



...but with more wine.

Here - take my card

[surferguy]

Id like a small independent studio in the back yard for guests.

[monkeyman]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Not just wider, but if possible, get it deeper. One of my regrets is not asking to see if they could extend my garage a few feet lengthwise. I have an extra long driveway, but my garage barely fits my car when I park it in front of my shelf.

I don't know why that never occurred to me, but as soon as I read it, I agreed with it.
There are some really great suggestions in this thread. good topic OP.

[taco.vidal]

Yeah Im surprised there hasnt been much mention of a laneway home. This is the one major thing I wish we had now and hope to have sooner rather than later if we have no approval issues.

[taco.vidal]

I am also surprised there has been no mention of fitness facilities whether its a home gym or a pain cave or other.

[wontondestruction]

Originally Posted by Minnie

Ha! Nope, it's an actual home, being built (or maybe they're done now) near Bragg Creek.

Link

I drove by that thing a few weeks ago. It looks done. Made me think of a country-Versailles. Don't know why anyone would spend that kind of money for a house in Alberta, let alone one just off the highway, but then again I'm poor.

[mikephoen]

One of the few regrets from our build was cutting the sink in the mudroom, I really wish we had that and it's a pain in the ass and a lot of $$$ to add it back now.

We also thought we would use the in-ceiling speakers a lot more than we do. I think we have 7 or 8 different zones that can all have different music... and we basically use none of them. The deck one once in a while I guess, but overall that wasn't worth the cost for us. Sure seemed like a cool idea though!

[mikephoen]

Oh yeah, also get lots of outlets in the garage! Code calls for very few and since I have my garage set up with a lot of woodwork stuff I find that I have way too few plugins. Not as big a deal if you're not finishing the inside, but once you drywall it all it's a pain to add more after the fact.

[GP_Matt]

A steam shower in the master is an awesome addition. Even if you aren't installing it right away seal the shower and leave space in the room behind the shower to install a generator later.

Our last house had a steam shower that I used all the time. In our current house the glass stops a foot from the roof so I will have to fully replace it now to add the steam unit.

[V]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

Electrical for me is designing and having full control over the illumination of your home. The more pots the better.

Ugh. You sound like an electrician. Pot lights are awful. You want to know which place had the lighting designed by an electrician? Look for all the pot lights.

[You Need a Thneed]

Blum undermount drawer slides with quality drawers, and no doors in lower cabinets

Lots of natural light, in every single room of the house.

Lots of colour and character

Dramatic living area

High quality LVP or LVT flooring, and good quality carpet.

Open stairwell

Good flow through the house, and minimal "wasted space" - ie hallways.

BBQ porch close to the kitchen.

Large garage, ready for a shop.

High efficiency everything

Large entry area, room for guests to come in.

Large mud room, with plenty of organizational units, etc.

Laundry room can't be an afterthought.

Wired for everything

Good quality windows, doors, and exterior finishes.

Smart features - well integrated and controlled.

Music studio

Can't look like a trillion other houses out there - leaning towards the modern.

[Minnie]

In regards to outlets and tons more than you usually see - recessed outlets and hookups, like this:



Same with the dryer box, though I think that's becoming more common.

Also this, that I ran across tonight, if your pantry wall is adjacent to the garage - a small door to unload groceries directly into the pantry as opposed to a dozen trips from vehicle into house, to pantry and back to vehicle:

[Violator]

Id probably build the house on acreage maybe an old farm with a barn in the back were i could build a skate rink that's covered.

Put Commercial strength WiFi in every room thus negating the need for cat7 cabling

Id have a wet garage and a dry garage

Put a lazy river instead of a pool with a bar/bbq/smoker and pizza oven in the middle.