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new house "must haves"

Bio248

Bio248

DUI BABY
new subject. i'm building a new house to live in, hopefully construction will be done later this year.

i've been coming up with ideas for things i want out of this house. a lot of them have to do with the garage. let's hear your ideas about stuff that are "must haves" according to you. don't limit it to the garage, either. i want to hear about everything.


for the garage i'm thinking i want a 4 car, two 8ft doors, 10ft ceiling height. in one bay i'd put up loft trusses so i could put another little room and in the other bay make sure i can put up 14ft ceilings for a lift. a sanitary sink is a must so i can wash my hands out in the garage. a drain in the floor so i could wash cars inside and let snow melt, etc. would be sweet, too.
 


ideas from other people since i started a post about this on facebook, too...

- 220V in the garage (two outlets), a separate breaker box for the garage with more circuits available
- CAT5 in every room, on at least two walls
- epoxy the garage floor
- side shaft garage door openers so there's no overhead operator
- radiant heat in the floors, and garage if possible
- french drains in the garage instead of a central floor drain
- install ceiling fan boxes in every room instead of just the light box so they can easily be added later
- take whatever garage depth you think is deep enough and add a couple feet
- install ledger boards and headers where you think you might add a deck or sliding doors in the future
- HVAC returns in every room
- outlets specifically for christmas lights and integral timers
- air hoses ran through the walls in the garage with quick connects so you don't have a hose draped across the entire garage from the compressor
- Highest CFM bathroom fan you can get and stay under 2.0 sones. 1.0 sone is ideal but sometimes can't be achieved due to CFM needed or looks desired

clearly there's a ton more, but that's a generous start
 
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my brothers got the drains in the garage and water out in his barn style garage he had built, its even plumbed for a crapper. but not installed. heat, a/c are always nice out there.

the drains are one of the small things that make a difference. worth the extra money for sure. and you'll really want to seal the cement floor with epoxy coating.

im not a drinker any more, but having a spot plumbed for a wet bar cant hurt.
 
yeah, garage fridge for sure.

the basement will be setup for another bedroom, a full bathroom, and a recreation area with a wet bar, but won't be finished until later on down the line. that's something i'll handle myself.
 


220v outlets in the garage! Heated and insulated. 2.1speaker system hooked up now and still need to wire that compressor. Mini fridge is mandatory its like under a 100 bucks for a mini fridge if you pay attention to sales at like menards and walmart. I still need to pick one up and a deep freezer for the basement.

Im impressed my wife managed to score this house while I was gone. Its too nice to even feel like my house yet. And the 220v for the heater in the garage saved me from having to trench it or get it dropped from the power line. I just need a bigger box something with like 8-10 breakers. All I have now is a small 2 breaker box rest of the breakers for the 110 power is in the basement of the house.

Even the little shed here is heated and insulated with cabinets in it.

STEEL siding and maintenance free composite decking it awesome too! I will never have to stain or paint the front or back decks!
 
i can't have steel, aluminum, or vinyl siding on my house. it has to be natural materials. therefore the cheapest stuff i can put up is hari-plank (cement) siding.

this isn't a do whatever i want neighborhood and there will never be another external building besides MAYBE a shed to store lawn equipment.
 
Bio248 said:
i can't have steel, aluminum, or vinyl siding on my house. it has to be natural materials. therefore the cheapest stuff i can put up is hari-plank (cement) siding.

this isn't a do whatever i want neighborhood and there will never be another external building besides MAYBE a shed to store lawn equipment.
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Well then build the house where you can do whatever you want. Who the h311 want to be told what they can and can't do on their own property? To each his own tho.

As far as idea for your garage make sure it has really good lighting and finish the walls/celing and paint them white. It makes a huge difference. I would also second epoxying the floors. My buddies dad had it done on his garage and the floor in there cleaned up so well you'd never even know a car had been torn apart in there.
 


Maybe some exhaust ports in the garage doors to allow running a car with the door closed using tubing attached to the pipes. Barring that, some type of exhaust system to pull fumes out of the garage?

A dispenser for hand cleaning solutions (Lava, Fast Orange, Goop, etc), some pads to stand on while working on cars (keep the feet off the concrete), towel dispensers, steel trash cans for flammable rags.
 
Radiant floor heat in garage will be running all the time(boiler). I have it in the basement with 3 zones, sure its cozy but takes a long time to stabilize. The top floor has the furnace.
I guess it works OK in this situation. And no, the floors aren't always toasty.

A couple separate 20 amp branch circuits and the same with the 110 in garage. 220,(one high for radiant heat) like Vet said and whatever juice box it takes for a good welder.

R-49 in the garage attic and the the usual in the walls. And bookoo lighting,,,,,I went 4 light T-5 fixtures at 10 feet ....bright as fvck but a little glare.....so maybe T-8s(cheaper)
That sink is mandatory in the garage and one in the basement too, upper floor laundry with another one.
I get by without a floor drain during winter doing rinseless washes. I broom what little water(6-7 gallons) under the garage door.



Most important make sure the grade is away( a lot) from the house. Of course drain tile and a sump pump pit.

First floor walkout access front and back.
 
I would put a 100a subpanel in the garage then you can add outlets where you need them for 220 or 110 stuff. Radiant floor heating in the garage not a good idea due to the slow recovery time. Open the door, the heat goes out, and it takes 10 hrs to get the temp back up. Go elec or gas forced air. Not sure where you are but many local codes prohibit garage floor drains. Friend in OH built on 10 acres last year with a 40x60 garage and they would not let him put in any kind of floor drain. Def seal the concrete, makes it so much easier to keep clean.

Think carefully about lighting and the kind of work you will be doing. Neighbor in Louisville had a 30x60 and put in t5 hi-output strip lights....man, you could get a tan in there....
 
I'm going to try to word this so it makes sense....

If possible, position your tub and shower fixtures so that they are adjacent to a closet. This way, if you ever have to do any repairs, you can get to the back side through an access panel that's hidden in a closet. Way more convenient than having to patch a visible wall in a bedroom or hallway.

http://www.oatey.com/products/rough-in-products/access-panel

In my house, every single tub/shower valve is on the opposite side of an adjacent closet... SMH
 
I never have or will be able to think in terms of being able to must have. All I can think of to add might be a few chain pots in the slab. You never know what all uses they may have until they are there. If body repairs float your boat, that is. Its amazing what can be done with just a floor jack and those.

There are a few considerations you could make towards having it be paint-friendly. Shhh. Wait, I'm thinking of more silly crap hang on-

I would also want the mother of all benches. Damn near too heavy to move. With wood, steel plate, and stainless top sections. Wicked bench vise, anvil of decent size.

Make garage bathroom totally washable walls and all and include drain.

Usable windows. Ceiling fan.

In the crib-

Good desk and book shelf. Old style sit-in video game cabinet with wheel, shifter, and pedals loaded with killer PC and audio.

Sensory deprivation chamber.

A good safe.

Indoor air rifle range.

Oh yeah and maybe what... hang some planters on the windowsills for the lady? Ha. If theres a her shes gonna want must-haves too.
 


That painting thing is a good idea. I'm using some lacquer bombs now and it is a major stink fest.
I would like to go urethane but the smell, ventilation, etc is the only thing holding me back
 
spazzz said:
That painting thing is a good idea. I'm using some lacquer bombs now and it is a major stink fest.
I would like to go urethane but the smell, ventilation, etc is the only thing holding me back
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Urethane is like haispray, man... without that ventilation! Just keep in mind if theres no explosion proof fan motor, you want to push air in that scenario rather than pull it through the spray area.
 
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