[jonnywolfet]

definitely needs a room designed with good acoustics, for speaker listening.
its what i would do!

 

[flamerz]

I wish I had a urinal in my bathroom...

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnywolfet /img/forum/go_quote.gif definitely needs a room designed with good acoustics, for speaker listening. its what i would do!

There will be at least 3 rooms designed for acoustics... my 2 channel room, my HT room and my office.

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnesto /img/forum/go_quote.gif How about a secret compartment where you can walk around inside your walls. Then put a giant picture of the Mona Lisa in your living room. The Mona Lisa should have 2 holes where the eyes go that you can use to spy on your guest.

We already have that in each of the rooms at the Radisson... j/k.

 

[sebastian589]

I've always loved a ceiling like this for a place with plenty of sun

I like this guys designs and alot of the elements of his design

And since you mentioned a view

Here's his website, alot of his stuff isn't exactly your style, but alot of the elements could work
http://www.bcj.com/

 

[ozstrike]

Remember to get computer network cabling wired in. Always comes in handy.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I have a day job, but I also help my Dad working on our apartments. Here's a few things I'll build (eventually) into a new place for myself:

1. Soundboard. Use it beneath the drywall on all the walls, even the interior ones. It might not seem that important, but it'll make the place dead quiet. You'll appreciate that, and it'll also add to the insulation of the house. Both are very good things.

2. High ceilings are wonderful. I'd go 10' everywhere, but 12' if possible. They really open up rooms and make even smaller spaces feel much larger. Going along with this, I love clerestory windows. They open up the room and let a lot more light in.

3. Put in an outdoor fire pit. I don't have one, but a number of my friends and family do. They get a lot of use, and I'd recommend running a dedicated gas line out to it and putting in some equipment so you can cook over it. I don't know if you like hanging around outside, but with your lot, it would make an inviting place to enjoy the views. They're relatively inexpensive, too. Somewhat along the same lines, put in a sandbox for the kiddo. Dad built one for me and my sister, and we got a lot of mileage out of it. Great, inexpensive fun.

4. I've developed a love for concrete. Countertops wear like nails and you can put hot pots right on them. Cleanup is easy, too. Terrazzo makes an excellent flooring. Counters aren't horribly expensive, but terrazzo requires a bit of labor. I think it's worth it. Also, subfloor heating is wonderful.

5. The Den. It has fallen out of fashion lately, but I've always wanted one. It'd be the perfect place to hang around with headphones and audio gear.

6. Handicapped access. Well, for one, you never know what's going to happen. Second, and more likely, you might care for an elderly relative. Putting in a front door without steps and wide enough for a wheelchair is a good idea. Make the dining, living, one bathroom, and one bedroom handicapped accessible. It won't cost much building from new, and it would be invaluable if you needed it. Wouldn't hurt with resale, either.

7. Consider sprinklers or some kind of fire suppression. Aside from the obvious benefits, it could get you an insurance reduction and will absolutely help resale.

8. Double pane windows are totally worth it.

9. Run a dedicated circuit to wherever you set up your audio gear.

That's all I can think of right now, but give this stuff some consideration.

 

[Computerpro3]

It's amazing the price difference in different areas of the country. I live in one of the priciest areas of CT (which apparantly is nothing compared to your area) and for only $750k we got 2.6 acres, 4280sqft (plus a 2600sqft unfinished basement). I can't imagine a million dollar house on only one acre!

As for things to make sure you have in your house - cat 5 wiring (a must), fibre (optional), I would do a dedicated electrical panel/circuit for your audio/HT stuff. Also, for your library/den/whatever get some really nice exotic wood builtins. We had a custom cabinetmaker come in and make us and incredible built-in combo maybe 25ft long and 12ft high, including glass display cases, shelves for books, etc. Goes amazing with the high ceilings. Congrats on the new house!

 

[KYTGuy]

Before you begin the build, buy two safes for the house - one for the master bedroom, either a floor or a wall safe, and think about where they should go... I put the wall safe in the wife's walk-in closet, and the big safe (Is also a Firesafe) in the most distant place from any entry, on the lower level, bolted to the foundation, in a room with doors too small to get it through.

Think about home automation: The Levitton/X-10 system requires a separate ground conductor to each gangbox. It allows things like "All lights on" when you approach the house, or when you want to allow quick exit, and will do things like set the lighting levels, turn off the alarm system, open the gate, and turn up the heat and hot water, and turn on the water, either by wireless remote when you near home, by telephone and/or by remote access to your control computer.

Give a lot of thought to the siting of the home relative to the Morning Sunrises, or prevailing winds, or views, or Sunsets, or when you approach the house it presents itself to best advantage, or hiding from prying eyes - try to capture as many of these features as you can - this is the province of the Architect, but you must lead. The way our house faces the Morning Sunrises is one of our favorite features of our present house - it provides a natural alarm clock, and the house warms up instantly most mornings - a good feature here in the Northwest. Then in the afternoons, it provides shade, as the opposite side of the house is facing 200 ft tall evergreens.

I wish I had installed the radiant floor heat, with room-by-room zoning. It is dead silent!

If I get/design/build another house, I will have "Tankless" gas hot water heaters, and built-in Electrolux vacuuming systems.

Think about siting/sound insulation for an Emergency (Natural Gas, if available) generator system just outside/near your main power distribution.

30 Amp outlets in the Garage, and outside the Garage, and maybe on the opposite side of the house exterior, along with a water faucet, and an air outlet/hose at the outside of the Garage - Air compressor just outside the garage is better than inside, but gets better maintenance and lasts longer inside.

Wire in your computer network, as it makes your info more private.

Each room in this house has multiple landline wiring, and cable and security wiring, and each circuit is already wired redundantly. 20 Amp outlets in every room, and never more than 10 feet between one and the next.

Wiring is such a headache after the fact - I am leaning towards either commercial raceways for power and communications wiring, or multiple conduits within each room for my future house, if I ever do it again.

I wish I had thought to make all the services machinery remote - outside, or in an outbuilding - refrigeration and airconditioning compressors are noisy, and so is the hot water exhaust blower, the heating plant ventilation blower, etc. Then the house would be blissfully dead quiet.

I like zoning each room's lighting and power outlets separately - two breakers for each room/zone.

In Handicap accessible suite, include a walk-in tub.

Sorry, for security purposes I won't show you my house, but I favor open design Kitchens that adjoin the Living Room, or the Den/Family room, as when you are entertaining, the KITCHEN is where the party is really happening. Lots of countertop/stools outboard of the counters, and convenience features opening/facing inboard.

The most expensive room in the house, the Kitchen is where I really like to go nuts - pull-out refrigerator drawers, lighting, island features like cutting board surfaces, sinks, gas cooktop with vent hood and lighting. Cool features like a dumbwaiter to the Wine Cellar below (we made ours big enough to handle the laundry also, as our Laundry is on lower level), a walk-in pantry, and a wine refrigerator facing the Great Room are nice too. I have 220v wiring in a couple places in my kitchen here in the U.S., because the British have got the electric teapot and Dualit toasters figured out - there is nothing better IMHO. 220 is great for the ovens, and a fryer, if you want one. Whichever of you is the cook should give a squint at all the wonderful oven technologies: Radiant, (Forced)Convection, Microwave, and so on - we wish on one of each!!!

We designed the house so that the Wine Cellar is beneath the Kitchen, and that is where the Kitchen fire supression system tanks and valves are - that way, if there is a house fire, the tanks will discharge to help save the wine and the Main Firesafe.

Hope this helps.

 

[ken36]

Always think of resale value, you might not always live there.

 

[c0mfortably_numb]

I was recently helping my parents find a new house, some of the areas of concern after looking at close to 50 houses...

- Storage, you won't believe how many houses I looked at recently that didn't consider this idea in there build, extra storage closets etc..

- Kitchen, as someone mentioned above think resell, in case you ever decide to move. Everyone is going granite these days, it's a pain in the neck to maintain, I'd go with Quartz, much nicer inmho, and pretty much maintenance free.

- Building materials, think about what your building the house with, go with a Architectural type shingle instead of the cheaper 3 tab, or better yet go with tiles. For wet areas of the house, I strongly suggest going with concrete board as opposed to the cheaper green board.

- Electricity, if your planning a home theater it would be nice to get a separate panel just for that room. Also mentioned above, try to wire the house for a computer network, wireless works, but if your doing a new build might as well wire it for computers.

I'm not sure what your budget will allow in the build, I'm just trying to throw a few ideas out to consider.

 

[Homeless]

I was just talking to my wife about our next house. I want something newer, possibly brand new and would love to have a dedicated home theatre room...have you considered this?

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebastian589 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've always loved a ceiling like this for a place with plenty of sun... Here's his website, alot of his stuff isn't exactly your style, but alot of the elements could work http://www.bcj.com/

Thanks for the pictures and link.

 

[splaz]

Wire your house with cat6 and have outlets all over the place, you can use phone over it. Then have a patch panel or two in a wall rack in the laundry or a back room, somewhere out of sight and mind. Then you just add networking gear in, if you have ADSL filters put them in there rather than at the telephone itself. Maybe put a UHF splitter and modulator in as well and wire a few places in the house with quad shield coax. Any room where you will have a tv or may have one in future. It's a lot better to put things in if you might use them in future than have to do it later.

3 phase in the garage/workshop.

 

[Dimitris]

I think this is your big chance of applying quality cable for your electric supply/equipment.

Other than this I would suggest something with lots of windows so that the sun comes in and you can enjoy the view.