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

[Reaper]

2x6 blocking around all the windows and doors - This makes it easier to install window treatments and chain locks in the future should they be required.

Interior insulation - This helps keep the house quieter from room to room.

All wiring for the house run in 2" conduit with access panels at major junction sites to allow for easier running of cables in the future.

Dual coax and dual network cables run to every room (you never know what you'll want linked to the home network in the future).

Run cabling for a 16 camera monitoring system so that you can look around your house without having to go outside.

Have all light switches dimable for every room for ultimate lighting flexibility.

Have one switched outlet per room.

Have all switch boxes one gang larger than currently required - this allows for the installation of future ceiling fans while maintaining separate controls for lighting.

[DropIt]

Im not a fan of central vac, however with the changes to the electrical code that states most useable plugs are to be AFCI protected I would take a hard look at installing Central Vac.

In the same vein, if you do go with central vac Id have kick sweeps everywhere!

Also inset/sunken sinks

[Nyah]

I love central vac and don't think I could go without it now.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by Minnie

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:

Lots of great suggestions, I've been skimming them and will be taking extensive notes later, but holy sweet Moses this blew my mind.

[bc-chris]

something not mentioned yet that we put into our place - a 'dog shower'

we don't even have a dog, but is it ever nice to have in the laundry room

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

something not mentioned yet that we put into our place - a 'dog shower'

we don't even have a dog, but is it ever nice to have in the laundry room

That's something I should have added for my kids!

[bc-chris]

our 3 year old has been hosed down on more than one occasion.... a 'pre-wash' before we hit the tub! ha! ha!

[mikephoen]

Haven't seen this mentioned, but the other thing you must have is a frikkin' ton of $$$$. Especially if you're taking notes from this thread!

[zzibradleyizz]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

something not mentioned yet that we put into our place - a 'dog shower'

we don't even have a dog, but is it ever nice to have in the laundry room

+1 to the dog wash! Saw one of these before in a showhome located in the mudroom, genius if you have a furry friend!

[FlamesAddiction]

A bidet. Plus a back-up bidet in case the main bidet gets broken.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Quad electrical outlets in the kitchen, living room, media room, basement, garage, and on the wall where you think your bed will go.

And in the bathroom if you tend to leave a lot of stuff plugged in.

[Also...those whole house surge protectors that Holmes on Homes repeatedly pushes might be worth installing]

[CaptainCrunch]

A sex room and two elevated observation points with armored firing slots.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

A sex room and two elevated observation points with armored firing slots.

why does a sex room need armored firing slo....oh, I get it.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by DropIt

Im not a fan of central vac, however with the changes to the electrical code that states most useable plugs are to be AFCI protected I would take a hard look at installing Central Vac.

In the same vein, if you do go with central vac Id have kick sweeps everywhere!

Also inset/sunken sinks

My parents have one in their kitchen. It's been about 13 years and every time I use it I appreciate it more and more. You'll never look at a dustpan without disappointment again.

[Zevo]

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.

Accessible from the cigar room...

[squiggs96]

I am currently in the process of having my house built, with a November possession date. When you start the process you think you'll have so much space to put everything you want, but you quickly learn how fast it disappears. Tough choices need to be made.

The must haves for me were:
-Wine room
-Laundry room upstairs
-Giant fridge
-Pot filler
-Large kitchen island
-Dual ovens
-Wide front door
-Patio doors off the back that slide all the way to the side
-Gas hookup for BBQ on patio
-Air conditioning

The above were non-negotiable. I really wanted to do hardwood floors throughout the entire house, but after some thought I went with a porcelain tile. It took me about a year to find one that I like, and was in my budget. Too many look like fake wood. I chose tile over wood, as I figured I'll drop pots, pans, plates eventually and I don't want to chip or wreck the floor. It happened in my townhome, and I loved the hardwood I had there.

On the upstairs I only went with three bedrooms, where most houses have four. I wanted the bedrooms to be a little bigger, and have full closets. Too many houses I saw had really tiny closets. If the bedrooms shared a wall there would be the builder would only give each room the equivalent of a half closet. They'd do a full closet in the space, and then split it with walls. I also put the laundry room upstairs, with some more cabinets in there and places for hangers. If I'm taking off my clothes upstairs, why would I want to go down to the basement to clean them? I can also have the laundry baskets in there, and I included a sink. There is a main bath, including a bathtub, upstairs, as well as the master bathroom. There is no tub in the master bath, but there are two shower heads. This way I can shower with a friend, and neither of us have to go without water.

My kitchen was very important to me. Here are my appliances from a previous post: http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpos...5&postcount=48. A pot filler over the stove was extremely important to me. I went with a single, large sink, as I think they work so much better than dual sinks. The island will be clear of any sinks, cook tops, etc.

I declined a central vacuum. I don't like it, and I think getting the Miele vacuum will work better for me. My heating is radiant, infloor heating throughout, and I have air conditioning on the main floor and upstairs.

I wish I had more room in the basement to make a games room or have a bigger media setup, but I went with a 400 SF secondary suite. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. It might be a guest suite, or I might rent it out to a doctor/nurse, as I'm near two hospitals.

My garage is pretty specific. It'll be a two car garage, but I only have one vehicle. It needs to be high enough that I can drive in with my Thule cargo box on top of the roof rack. I like to pack the night before I take ski trips, so this way everything can be locked and ready to go. It also needs to be long enough that the bike rack on the back of my SUV can be carrying my bikes, and the door can still shut. The other half of the garage will be for storage of my bikes, chest freezer, and will likely be a workout area (spin bike, yoga, etc.). I think the bikes will be stored on the wall of the garage, and can be hoisted by pulleys.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

I am currently in the process of having my house built, with a November possession date.

Thanked for "having my house built" over every new home buyer in Calgary's "building my house".

[DoubleF]

In a nutshell, personally, in a new build I'd consider...

1. Layout (Open, natural light, rooms, full bath/half bath, garage, size of rooms and things etc.)
2. Internals inside the walls (wiring, cables, reinforced framing for mounting TV, central vac etc.)
3A. Upgrades to existing items being built that improve quality of living space. (See #2, plus outer items like shelving, frames, doors, more outlets, sound isolation, roof, balcony).
3B. Things that can be upgraded but more easily renovated later can be ignored unless you really want it (deck, trim, cabinets, complete the basement etc.)
4. Chattel. Review #1 to see if something needs to be tweaked to fit some of the items such as appliances, furniture etc. A few inches here and there can make a huge difference.
5. Landscaping.

The house is being built anyways, but minor tweaks here and there for a more comfortable experience or so that you don't have any need to consider upgrading something at a later date that's typically built into walls are worth it.

Personally I'm not a fan of huge mansions. Too much space to maintain. I think my dream home would be about 2200-2400 sq ft and other than typical stuff:
- 9 ft ceilings
- 2 rooms upstairs both with ensuites and walk in closet for master
- Storage and laundry upstairs
- Open floor plan main floor
- Main floor den that can double into sleeping quarters
- bathroom main floor (guest use)
- Reasonable sized entertainment room in basement
- Two bedrooms in basement with ensuite, extra of the two rooms doubles as possible hot tub room or workout room or just bed room.
- Back yard
- Deck
- Deep double garage so I can store tools/tires.
- Short driveway. I have never understood the need for a driveway that fits 4-6 vehicles. So much shoveling. I've heard the RV reasoning, but I've rarely seen an RV on a driveway, always on street. Vehicles on driveway other than temporary just block cars from leaving garage.
- AC / smart thermostat

I already have 85% of this in a <1350 sq foot town house. I'm just missing a backyard, deck and double garage, main floor den and bedroom #2 in basement per above.

I have no real need for wine rooms, games room that can fit pool tables, super sized kitchens etc. I like it to be cozy. My understanding also, is that if I built this today, it would be around 800k new home build. If I wanted to completely "crazy". I'd see if I could implement geothermal. This is all crazy anyways since I've only been in my new place since February. Way too early to think about a new place.

[Minnie]

If dreams and wishes came to fruition, I want a pretty rustic place aesthetically speaking (but with all the mod-cons and quite techy) - my absolute dream of a fireplace is pretty much the fireplace at Bass Pro. Without all the dead critters etc, but that size. Was going to say I don't know why I want a fireplace that size but apparently size does matter.

I also want a pretty big front porch, big enough to put in 'porch swing beds' alongside other porch furniture. My grandparents had something like that, one end being screened in, and when we'd visit, we got to take turns sleeping out there (my siblings and I).

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Minnie

That looks like a death trap.