quote:

I know a few guys who put them under the porch as it was cost effective.

Every builder around here who puts them in likes to do this as well for that same reason. In addition to the moisture in the ground itself, condensation can also be an issue due to (normally) lack of air flow and different temperatures between the inside if your basement and the ground outside.

quote:

but would you consult on it for a fee?

I'd never take money from a forum member for something so simple. Happy to point you or your builder in the right direction. Just call or e-mail when you're ready.

Exterior grade door with reinforced frame for your bedroom. If you ever have to retreat to your room with the family, you will want a real barrier. I think overdone "Safe Rooms" are excessive and somewhat silly, but I think this is a reasonable precaution.

Bruce

Plumbing manifold. Like this:

https://rethinkpex.viega1.us/?...ZEAAYASAAEgI0z_D_BwE
This thing has made every plumbing task in my house more manageable. Got a leak? Shut off only the source of the problem & fix it at your leisure without disrupting the water usage throughout the rest of the house.

That's a great setup, vinnybass. Like a breaker box for water.

I've had to do several plumbing jobs over the last year, replacing various fixtures and valves, and something like that would have come in really handy, rather than having to shut off the supply to the house at the street every time.

I'm adding that to my "wish list" for future house construction.

I'd not only pre-wire for an alarm system as many have suggested but also exterior cameras and one in the garage.

quote:

Originally posted by 95flhr:
If going with 2 doors, I suggest at least making them 10 X 10 doors and make the garage ceiling 12 feet high.

This, and a couple of other suggestions for the garage. Make the space between the two doors at least 4-5 ft wide, and also on either side (outside) of the doors, have at least 4ft from the door opening to the wall. No reason to crowd your vehicles into a tight space. In the front (near the house), there is usually a 4" step up to the slab where the HVAC/WH are located. The distance from the house wall to the step is typically 10-12 ft or less. Make that space 20+ feet. You will appreciate and find many uses for the extra spaces, for storage shelving, stationary power tools (air compressor, e.g.), etc. Also, in the garage, prewire several outlet boxes for 240v, and make all of the 120v wiring 12 gauge, for 20amp outlets. In fact, I would insist minimum 12 gauge wiring for the entire house, with all outlets wired with the screw terminals, rather than back stab.

Classy front exterior door, 36" doors thru out house. Upgrade kitchen cabinets and use slow close hardware on doors and drawers, include bathroom cabinets also. Plan out recessed lighting under kitchen cabinets, type, location and where to place switches. If plans will allow extra depth behind refrigerator, it is nice to have it even with counter front without buying the high priced counter depth style of refrigerator.
An island in the kitchen is always nice if there is room. We spend a lot of time at ours.

Thank you for letting us help spend your money.

We built a house 4 years ago and everyone is giving great suggestions. I would emphasize the bigger garage recommendations. Even if you are not a car guy most builders make them as small as possible because it doesn’t add to the square footage of the house and they look huge when empty. I have even seen them as small as 20x20 for a 2 car which is ridiculous. You have to remember kids bicycles, lawnmowers, trash cans. I even pull my bbq pits in the garage and they still look like new 4 years later with no covers needed. You don’t want to go through the process of building a house and then have to keep a car out in the driveway or have trash cans sitting on the side of your house.

The only other suggestion is to run two conduit pipes between floors. That way if you need to run any electrical work later on it’s simple to go from the basement where the box is to anywhere you will need it. I was told to run two. One for “hot” wire and one for all the others like cable tv or speaker wire.

Lots of great suggestions. Love the plumbing manifold!

Would add:
1. Recirculating pump for hot water (if don’t have instant-on)
2. Wife loves laundry tub in laundry area (in our house that’s next to garage service door)
3. If planning home theater system somewhere, get speaker wires, HDMI, cable, digital TSLINK audio, power in place for TV, electronics, speakers.
4. For overhead lights: surface mount LED’s are much easier to install than can recessed lights, work great. Best thing we did in our house remodel
5. Absolutely try to get bigger garage
6. You can never have too much storage area

What part of PA? I’m in SW PA, all the newer subdivision’s have bird issues on all exterior vents. The builders won’t upgrade to bird proof vents. If you can, get the bird proof vents.

Electric outlets in the eaves for Christmas lights. Make allowance for a stackable washer/dryer in master suite. Outlet for towel warmer in master bath. Auto switches on door jams for lights. Warmer tray in kitchen. Make sure all toilets have at least 42”+ for man spreading. Extend a space 6’ for heated/ac shop with sink along length of garage. Built-in book cases. Extend ceiling in one car garage for hydraulic lift. As previously mention, 2 outlets at 220v. Wire house for backup generator. Sprinkler system (fed by water well if available). Gas lines to fireplace(s) for gas log option. Same for BBQ if you don’t use wood/charcoal (shame!). Rear access for media components, along with cooling/venting fan accommodation. Floored attic space if appropriate. Before foundation is poured, have dirt treated for termites (Chlordane if no one is watching). Sound insulation between walls and joists. When pouring foundation, have extra large pad poured for backyard patio ( with sufficient rebar/depth to support patio cover at some point). Lastly, have your wife bring donuts every morning to GC, so you can chew his ass every afternoon for his screw-ups that day (good cop, bad cop). Oh yeah, budget some beer (cerveza mas fria) money for the workers to get them to do those “little favors” the GC doesn’t know about.

Thanks for all the replies. It's been so helpful in fact that we are most likely building a larger home to make room for some of the upgrades. There is only so much room to expand the garage. Building in SE PA for who asked.

Things I wish I had the option, or had done, upgrades on:

1. Wider garage, Either garage doors, overall width of the garage, side witdh of the garage, depth of garage or (really, in EVERY SINGLE WAY add at min 3 feet to the dimensions of the garage)

2. MORE OUTLETS. Just bite the bullet and put outlets every 4 to 6 feet. On the places where you are already sure you are going to put outlets, opt for a 4 outlet set as opposed to a 2. Trust me.

2.1 Wire the whole damn thing for Cat6e. Yes wireless is awesome but wire it anyway.

3 Get higher energy efficiency windows/doors.

4. you can change EVERYTHING EXCEPT the layout. Put the bathrooms, sinks, and anything with a drain, gas/electric line, and water in line where it should be. Do not plan to move it later.

Think you mentioned porch on the house. Put a roof on it, it protects the porch furniture, protects the house walls from weather and gets the groceries out of the rain if you are entering from that direction. Outdoor mud room sort of thing. Also, it is the difference between walking out into a bright sunshine without a hat vs. walking out with a ball cap on.

I’m in south central PA. We have covered porch, probably 8’ wide minimum, almost all the way around the house.

Your walk out basement - make it double doors. My basement is workshop (about 2000 sq.ft.). You need that access for machines and projects. I have some heavy iron in the shop (metal lathes, Bridgeport mill, etc) and the extra width makes it possible. Even built a 20’ boat there and was able to get it out.

Wheelchair accessible. At least the main floor. Any rooms on that floor that could be a bedroom for in-laws or handicapped? This feature also makes a bit better for moving furniture and final resale.

If possible, keep trees and shrubs away from the house. Solve gutter issues now and forever. Shrubbery is so often too close to the house. You should (imo) be able to walk all the way around the house between the house and any shrubs without touching either - 10 years after moving in.

Geothermal hvac? Got and love it.

Solar panels? Cut our electric bills by 75%.

Be happy to talk details over when sitting on my front porch.....

Put in a huge pantry off the kitchen.

While you may not see the utility now, I guarantee it'll get filled up.

4 car garage, at a minimum! Room for two cars, plus space to work on a project. You have kids? When they are 18, they will want a spot for their car as well.

Where is your welding booth? What about the table saw, is that in a separate room? Where are you going to put the metal working bandsaw vs the wood working band saw?

Where are you going to store your electric forklift, the one you use for unloading large deliveries of ammo? Where is your loading bench/room? Is your gun workshop in the house or in the garage? Do you have hidden firing ports to cover the front of the house? What about fiberglass and steel high security front and back doors?

If there is a home invasion, do you have a safe room that you can hole up in until the police get there? Did I miss anything important?

Claymores, Steve. You forgot the claymores.

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
Add more outlets throughout the entire house and require all outlrs and switches have screwed connections instead of pushed connections.

Add a 220 outlet in the garage.

Upgrade the padding under any installed carpet.

Separate switches for all ceiling fans and ceiling fan lights.

Reenforced exterior door frames.

Cat6 cable to all rooms.

Echo the suggestion to add more outlets. I wish we had thought of this when we built 3 years ago. This is especially true of pantry and closets. So many things are wireless now. Our printer sits inside the office closet (wireless), but we had to have an electrician come out and put an outlet there, and in the master closet. Rechargeable stick vacuum hangs in the office closet because we didn’t put an outlet in the pantry. Nice to have the paper shredder out of sight in the closet too.

Our house is completely wired for cable, but that hasn’t been used much—wireless.

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:
Claymores, Steve. You forgot the claymores.
Bruce

I left something out, but thought I better put it in so the owner can "Be prepared". What about the vents on the roof? Do you have a system to shut those off, or re-route them to the side? Do you know how near impenetrable Fort Drum in the Philippines was taken?

Diesel and gasoline were pumped into the roof vents, then ignited. The roof is the weak point in almost any reinforced house. You should think about this "what if".

quote:

Originally posted by kimber1911:
Plan for internet router placement, upper floor

^^^This. If you're not going to opt to pre-wire the house with CAT5/6 cable in all the appropriate rooms, then install at least one run of CAT cable to a central point on the second floor and another run to a central point in the basement for WAP's or MESH installation.

And if your wife drives like mine, the two separate garage entrances are going to cost you a bundle to repair over time. Get the large single door. You'll thank all of us for that suggestion.