We are building a new house, just wanting to see what others wish they did during the build process. We will have a 1 story.

So far:
1) Adding a ton of Cat 6 cable drops throughout the house
2) Epoxy grout for all tile
3) Electrical wiring in floor in living room and office
4) Conduit under Driveway and entryway sidewalk for future electrical runs

Water drop in the garage for the beer fridge. Can never have too much ice.

There have been several threads on this with lots of responses. Might have to search a bit.

Hose bib in garage.
Outlets in your soffits and locations you might want security cameras/lighting.
Conduit to above fireplace for future tv placement.
Remember cable and outlets don't have to be low to ground. We put a set up high above a closet door in one room and mounted a tv there. Also in master we did 48" aff and tv is on dresser. Don't know why we didn't think to raise our night stand outlets, but might as well do that too.

Make sure in your paperwork on those Cat6 cables you specify they also install Cat6 rated ends/outlets. Otherwise the Cat6 cable isn't worth it.

What I could think of off the top of my head:
Conditioned attic
Metal roof
Appropriate exterior insulation
Insulation in every interior wall
Actual waterproofing
Air sealing
Designed HVAC system
Insulated metal duct
Thoughtfully designed electrical circuiting
Masonry or metal panel rain screen all 4 sides
Polished/honed concrete floors
LED everything
Network and electrical closet
Gun closet/safe room
Solid core doors
TV back boxes in appropriate rooms
Curbless showers/wet bathrooms
4 Car detached garage
220V to garage
Wood burning stove/ no fireplace

Spray foam insulation
Electrical outlets outside for christmas lights or other things
As many smart light switches and other components as possible
Sound proofing on bedroom wall
Add natural gas tonpatio
Extra outlets on patio
Turf in backyard if you have trees

Plumb a return line for a hot water recirculating pump. (Even if you don't put a pump on it now, you may wish you could later.)

Wall urinals
Dual shower heads with built in bench and foot bench
Taller toilets
Pocket doors with silent rollers
3 foot doors throughout house
Music room set up
No instant / water heaters in attic
Outdoor living area that includes screened area
Larger garage that includes adequate work area

Make sure you have a deep garage in case you want to pull your truck in. A lot of garages these days barely fit a 4 door truck.

Make your driveway as wide as possible

Outlet next to the toilet.

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Solid core doors

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+1

24 ft deep garage minimum
18 ft insulated garage door
Driveway 2 ft wider than garage door on each side
Switched electrical outlets in the soffit for Christmas lights
2x12 Blocking in the shower/tub area where future grab bars may be mounted
Shower heads at 78 inches

Grey water irrigation system you'd be surprised at how much water could be recycled for irrigation instead of sending it down the sewer lines

JP76 said:

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Switched electrical outlets in the soffit for Christmas lights

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that means you need to turn them on and off.

Instead make it just a regular old plug but use a light sensing timer.

62strat said:

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JP76 said:

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Switched electrical outlets in the soffit for Christmas lights

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that means you need to turn them on and off.

Instead make it just a regular old plug but use a light sensing timer.

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I've seen issues before with photo sensors that are placed in shade under soffits.

You could always do this if your too lazy to flip the switch

https://m.lowes.com/pd/Intermatic-15-Amp-Digital-Residential-Hardwired-Lighting-Timer/1000349821?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA_ONLY-_-RoughPlumbingElectrical-_-SosExtCordsWorklights-_-1000349821:Intermatic&CAWELAID=&kpid=1000349821&CAGPSPN=pla&k_clickID=go_625671316_50990413579_243309643679_pla-398331063740_m_1026481&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7pLX3q7G3gIVBUSGCh3E7QAMEAYYASABEgLOxfD_BwE


Or put it on a wifi switch

62strat said:

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JP76 said:

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Switched electrical outlets in the soffit for Christmas lights

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that means you need to turn them on and off.

Instead make it just a regular old plug but use a light sensing timer.

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Here is how you do it: dedicated circuit to the soffits with a leviton in-wall timer switch for the circuit.

Vernada said:

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Solid core doors

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+1

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No joke. I'm looking at replacing at least 17 to 19 hollow core doors in the future. They are just so damn cheap and can puncture easily.

with a 1 story, much of the in wall and in ceiling stuff can potentially be added later through the attic. there are also so many wireless options for so many things these days. of course, add all the things you want while building, it will be a bit less expensive.
that being said, focus on the floor plan and layout and try not to compromise on where you want certain rooms. those things aren't changed so easily.

If surrounded by trees, design less roof obstructions to avoid build up of leaves.
Leafless gutters
mosquito fogging system
attic radiant barrier
windows in garage for cross breezes
pre-setups in garage if you'll use it as a man cave or entertainment area
cathedral ceilings where you can do them.
more windows
whirlpool tub and separate shower in master
mud room
washer dryer separate from kitchen
covered walkway if you have detached garage
insulation in all interior walls
wet bar
instant hot water at stove
place for coffee bar
mentally walk through the house you're designing
extra electrical plug ins in bathrooms and kitchen

Go look at a lot of other houses and ask what they would change personally and show you.

Put your doorbell so that it doesn't face the street. Then you can install a ring doorbell that will not be triggered by people or cars passing by but only people who approach your door.

Think about making an area or nook for boxes to be delivered so that they are not visible from the street.

Use pex pipes instead of cpvc. Put felt where the pipe goes through any wood so that it can move freely.

Have an extra 220 plug run to the garage.

Mount a switch controlled plug in the ceiling of your garage that you can use for fans or anything else.

Make sure each room with a fan has a separate wire for the fan and the lights.

Go with grey trim and lighter walls versus white trim, it will hide marks better.

One more thing. Before they hang the drywall take photos of every wall in every room so you know roughly where everything is in your walls. Then you won't accidentally put a screw through your water main when your stud finder accidentally reads it as a stud.

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Then you won't accidentally put a screw through your water main when your stud finder accidentally reads it as a stud.

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Sounds like that was a comment made from experience.

pathAG04 said:

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with a 1 story, much of the in wall and in ceiling stuff can potentially be added later through the attic. there are also so many wireless options for so many things these days. of course, add all the things you want while building, it will be a bit less expensive.
that being said, focus on the floor plan and layout and try not to compromise on where you want certain rooms. those things aren't changed so easily.

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We have Cat5 panels in every room, even kitchen counter backsplash, and i wish they were all gone. We use none of them. Streaming tv and wireless everything.

Agree with above on garage dimensions. I drive an extended cab 1/2 ton and it will not fit in garage unless both mirrors are folded in and trailer hitch is removed. This is pathetic and unacceptable in 21st Century Texas.

Re: the garage, you'll want at least a 9ft door if using a single bay entry. So many builders in DFW use 8ft doors it is ridiculous. Even if you fold your mirrors in, you are operating w/very little room for error.

Also consider running a sidewalk from the front of the house to the back, particularly if your garages aren't on the back of the house. It makes it hella easy to move things to the back porch, and you can put your trash cans there if you don't want them in the garage.

I haven't seen it stressed that you should add a recirculating hot water system. Once you've had instant hot water (within 2 seconds of turning on a faucet), it's hard to go back.

In addition to a gas line for a grill, also consider if you want gas lanterns in front of the house. Now's the easiest time to add those gas lines, even if you don't put a lantern up until later.

Anywhere you think you might put a tv, run power to that location on the wall and consider a conduit at the base of the wall to run lines to satellite, blu-ray player, etc. You can always put art over the outlet if you don't put a tv up.

Make sure you have cable/power on your patio. Run extra outlets outside of the home - if you don't do landscape lighting on day 1 it's a lot easier if there's already an outlet to put the junction box once you do add lighting.


We're building again now. We've gone through most of the budget doing structural changes. Fortunately its a 1 story home so I can skimp on some of the "nice to haves" such as speakers in the ceiling in every room. I can always add those later. The critical thing is to make sure I have the appropriate amount of conduit run to my interior closet that will house all electronic equipment.

Adam Ag 98 said:

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Re: the garage, you'll want at least a 9ft door if using a single bay entry. So many builders in DFW use 8ft doors it is ridiculous. Even if you fold your mirrors in, you are operating w/very little room for error.

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My parents have a 20' wide door and it makes parking a breeze. The house was custom built as a show home and the builder lived there briefly. He could park 2 F-250s in the garage without issue.

The only lookout on a 20' door is if anything needs to be maintained it can be hard to find a residential service company to work on it.

There are 2 gotcha's I can warn about, luckily I inadvertently escaped them.

1. Pay attention to the depth of the tire stop at the back of the garage. if it is too intrusive, you'll be backing your truck in.

2. Note the depth and realize that ft/in measurements often go through a wall. A measurement that counts the 4in of wall thickness in the length could be a key difference in whether or not a vehicle fits.

If you plan to do an outdoor kitchen in the future make sure you stub out H/C water lines now, add a fresh circuit from your panel, plumb the sewer and can it off and...figure out where your grill will go and run gas line and cap that off. Easy to do up front, huge PITA to retro fit later. This is really true for sewer and gas line if irrigation lines and wires conflict.

And for the garage, 20A 120v circuits, 4 plugs on each wall and a minimum of one 30A 220v. You may not use tools but it'll help with resell. Plus a utility sink with H/C water. I'd also say a 10' apron/extension across the back of the garage. Place for tools/storage and still be Able to park cars. And a LOT of lights so it's usable. 4 10' lights would do the trick.

Electrical outlets on roofline for Xmas lights