Good and novel house ideas.

TomTom

I am about to embark on building my own house. I have rented and renovated in the past and as part of the build I am trying to build a list of all the things over the years I wanted in my own home and also a list of things that annoyed me.

While there are a few disjointed lists on boards already, what are peoples ideas on must have, creative, time saving, energy/money saving ideas for new houses.

My wife wants to put a laundry room upstairs as most of the clothes originate there and go back there so no need to be lumbering it up and down the stairs.

We are putting in a play room but I am designing it in a way that if either of my parents need to move in later in life, it can easily be converted into a down stairs bedroom.

All ideas are welcome as I only intend on building once so would like to incorporate as many ideas as possible and do it right the first time.

Outkast_IRE

TomTom wrote: »

I am about to embark on building my own house. I have rented and renovated in the past and as part of the build I am trying to build a list of all the things over the years I wanted in my own home and also a list of things that annoyed me.

While there are a few disjointed lists on boards already, what are peoples ideas on must have, creative, time saving, energy/money saving ideas for new houses.

My wife wants to put a laundry room upstairs as most of the clothes originate there and go back there so no need to be lumbering it up and down the stairs.

We are putting in a play room but I am designing it in a way that if either of my parents need to move in later in life, it can easily be converted into a down stairs bedroom.

All ideas are welcome as I only intend on building once so would like to incorporate as many ideas as possible and do it right the first time.

If theres a proper under the stairs space get custom made shelving and cupboards to maximise usage , and it ensure it doesnt become a spot where stuff just gets stuffed into

dory

Great idea with the laundry room. Wouldn't want to be the one carrying the washing machine upstairs though.

If I were to build a house the main thing I would want is some where sunny to sit and read. Some nice little corner, maybe not even a conservatory, just somewhere peaceful.

I hope you get more ideas on this thread for my future plans!

Bicycle

We're coming to the end of an extensive renovation.

One thing we put in was light tunnels. We have three of them in three different dark areas and they are incredible. They are like very bright lights during the day and even at night, there is some light coming through.

We're also going with solar panels on a south facing roof in addition to a stove insert that will heat radiators using any form of solid fuel. This is an adjunct to and will work with the oil fired central heating.

BostonB

I've love to be able to design a house from the start throwing out all traditional stuff.

Put a light over the kitchen sink.

Put a stop valve on the mains between the kitchen and the sink, that way if someone working on the plumbing you still can use the sink. TBH if you break up the whole system you'd be able to isolate rooms at a time.

Make sure all pipe work is insulated especially outside taps, and pipes in outside walls, considering our -10, -18 temps last winter.

One thing that bugs me about current houses (I won't call them modern) is the way they bury all the services, electrics, pluming, in places you can't get them. So I would try move these into some form of service area where you can access pumps, relays junction boxes, valves.

TomTom

Cheers so far, I have a fairly good architect who is making maximum use of sunlight. The back of the house is south facing so I will have light tunnels in kitchen and the kitchen and sun room surround a paved area so plenty of place to sit in natural light and read.

Good idea with isolating the main tap, and the solar panels are a must. What are peoples views on heating system? It's the main bone of contention at the moment.

athtrasna

Kitchen storage and worktops are always underestimated in my experience. On an average worktop you have a kettle, toaster, microwave...that eats into your space. Add on some occasional use items like steamer, fryer, sandwich toaster...doesn't leave a lot of working space. Never enough sockets either and all these things need to be stored. Good lighting too, especially in the kitchen.

Outdoor sockets if you're going to want to plug in anything, we have some on the wall outside our kitchen and we use them more than we'd thought (lights, music..some powertools...). Sockets in your hall and on landings for the hoover.

Depending on whether you will have an open fire or not, some of our friends have built in systems for emptying the ashes directly into a pan by turning a lever, that's a pretty useful thing.

Oh and make sure you have room for the Christmas tree

BostonB

Socket and light in attic and shed. Intercom between shed, and house, or similar locations. Kitchen and front door.

Plan the wiring and pluming in the attic so its accessible, but also tucked out of the way. My house they ran it all over, nightmare to change things afterwards. Or find things.

Run all TV/Internet/Phones points to a central point in the attic. Have one in every room, and remember if you may need dual tv cables for some systems.

Split the heating in zones, and also split hot water from heating.

I've seen some people make the airing cupboard oversized, like a walk in wardrobe with towel rails etc, and move the tank even up to the attic. Most airing cupboards are badly laid out.

BostonB

Try to avoid bends in drains, waste pipes, stops them blocking, also try to run them as little as possible under the house. If there is a problem, and its under the house, its a big problem.

All bathrooms, showers must have a window. I'd probably go with a wet room, or completely tiled, stops problem with damps on walls, leaks damaging floors and walls.

Handy to have some extra sockets as a charging corner for laptops, phones, Nintendos, headsets etc.

Network, and telephone sockets to TV points for internet and media boxes. Though perhaps not run in the wall beside power, as surges can jump from mains, to network/phone cable and blow computers.

You can never have enough storage. Especially in a kitchen.

the_syco

TomTom wrote: »

My wife wants to put a laundry room upstairs as most of the clothes originate there and go back there so no need to be lumbering it up and down the stairs.

Please remember that the washing machine should not be near a place of sleep, otherwise you can say goodbye to all hope of a sleep in. Think I'm being over dramatic? Look through all the threads in this forum about people in apartments that can hear the machines. Have it far away from the bedrooms as possible, to ensure bliss.

=-=

Batsh|t insane idea number one: build a sunroom which has a clotheslines, so even on a cold day, the sun will dry the clothes?

TomTom

Oddly enough when I looked at the first draft of the plans, the first thing that went through my head was, the christmas tree will never fit in there.

Outdoor sockets, that a great idea that I'd say so many people over look. As for all the cabled all running back to a central point, I made a mistake with that before. First was putting them all to the attic, as storage filled up the attics access to the cables got harder, especially with magic eyes, multi-room and the like I needed access to it more and more. @nd mistake I made was running all the data cabling into one room. Now that room is very hard to re-purpose. I plan on having a small storage closet with half dedicated to cables, somewhere to put routers, switched and the like.

Personally I don't like the washing machine idea upstairs, I far prefer the laundry chute approach, with concrete ceilings I figure vibration would be reduced but I reckon it will still be noticed enough to be annoying.

the_syco

TomTom wrote: »

I plan on having a small storage closet with half dedicated to cables, somewhere to put routers, switched and the like.

"Is that the hot press?"
"No, that's the switch room with all the cables, switch, NAS box, etc"
"... it's warm. Can I put my clothes in there to dry?"
:pac:

=-=

Two things about the outdoor socket. Firstly, ensure it's linked to a switch that can be easily turned on and off, and secondly, try to ensure it has it's own "switch" on the main fuse board, so if it gets frosty and trips the switch, it'll only trip one, and not the entire house.

Balmed Out

Id think about an upstairs laundry room. It means you cant really use it if anyone in bed and you would want to be sure no ones gonna be working v late or nights. If someones sick or something their not gonna be too happy with the washing machine on next door. A laundry chute would be what id go for.

dandelion

A basement
A cut roof so the attic can be converted later.
Rain water harvesting system for flushing toilets and washing machines.
Stainless steel laundry chute from bathroom to utility room.
The biggest workshop you can fit.
Small windows on the North and East side, big windows on South and West, don't care what the artichoke says, it doesnt matter if it doesnt look right.
Solar heating
12 volt lighting system througout the house powered by a wind vane/solar/ battery system.
Covered drains around the house to prevent leaves etc from blocking them.
Bathrooms all tiled white, you'll never have to do them again.

BostonB

++++1 on the cut roof. We've a double hipped roof and its a nightmare for moving around in and storing stuff. Converting it would be too expensive.

+1 I think I'd be trying to make it as energy efficient as possible, rain water harvesting, solar panels, insulated to polar levels. But where its simple to maintain, especially if we have more hard winters. If its too complicated and expensive it will most likely break your heart with no real savings.

cowhands

Just on my side of things I would be interested in future proofing my house for any up and coming technologies that will become available.
Things like the cabling for data networks and tv would be inportant as we dont exactly know where broadcasting is going to go in the next few year but most certainly it will be expanding.
The quantity of socket outlets is also important to me , theres never enough power outlets - phone charger, hair straightener, laptop, ipod....

Flexibilty is also another factor I would be concerned about changing the function of a room like a bedroom into study if needed without restricting the services I require.

Security aswell would be vital - maybe a system where it ties up to my telephone and TV so I can actually see and hear whats going on..maybe some sort of remote internet thing so I can log on to my house when Im away.

Energy saving would also be important - not having the heating running when no one is home or when Im stuck in the office late heating an empty house - again some sort of digital internet timclock I could control from my PC or iphone?

I would also love a lighting system not only to create different scenes for me like one when im preparing dinner and another when Im dining, definately incorporating this into the garden lighting and maybe hooking it up to my security system so that if I got broken into all the lights would flash or come on or something like that.

Then if there was anything else on my wish list I would love some distributed music around the house and maybe a home cinema.

Also would love the idea of having a laundry room with a massive drying space cause nothing annoys me more than my other half hanging under pants and sockets on the rads.

Oh and if we could make the house self cleaning that would be great too.

Anyway thats what I would like but its probably never going to happen but I can dream right?

Ray Palmer

I'd go with conduit skirting. If you want to add extra sockets etc easy to do . You can also take the skirting off when painting. Putting conduit section in the walls that you can run cables in at some point in the future.

Balmed Out

with water charges coming look into a well.

Dades

TomTom wrote: »

I plan on having a small storage closet with half dedicated to cables, somewhere to put routers, switched and the like.

I've seen a bunch of houses (inc my brothers) all wired for data/ethernet which has no become defunct with household wireless. Do you really need data connections in multiple rooms? Cable TV - definitely - as cable broadband is the best and most futureproof option.

Also a laundry room upstairs is only useful if the laundry remains upstairs. Unless it's in the dryer isn't it only going to have to be brought downstairs to a washing line/utility room space to dry? And I second the notion that washing machines are bloody noisy so unless you have serious space upstairs, somebody's bedroom is going to be compromised by noise/vibration.

+1 on outdoor sockets, storage = kitchen counter space, and underfloor heating.

Interesting thread.

mymo

My dad has a washing machine upstairs, don't do it!
Its a nightmare, the noise and vibration are one thing, but if it leaks, and they do, you're in trouble. Its really not worth the hassle. What about a laundry shute instead? I know someone with one, clothes just land in big basket thing in the utility.

BostonB

Wireless is a lot slower than wired and data services, and things that require it are only going to get faster. I'd be thinking if you have the trunking for passing cables from attic to ground floor in every room you can pass new cables as required easily. You might need more than one cable for cable TV etc.

At the moment Sky are throwing their cables over the roof then down the front of a house then into the wall from the outside. So sloppy. If there was an easy way to route cables they wouldn't have to do this.

Jo King

I would regard an upstairs laundry room is a disaster. It clearly implies that you will be using a machine instead of a clothesline. this all-consuming a lot of energy as well as not being good for your clothes. if you want to save the labour of moving around laundry, you could install a chute or indeed a dumb waiter which would save all the hauling.

Idbatterim

if its a two storey or more house a valve beside boiler that can segregate upstairs and downstairs if needs be... i.e at night you may wish to heat bedrooms only, during day only living areas... Id also get a gas combi boiler, no bloody archaic hot water storage tank, unlimited hot water, no pump etc... also maybe sensors in communal areas like corridors and landing, which knock on and off lighting as required, obviously you should be able to override that and just set them as on... Op when you say the heating is main bone of contention at the moment, main bone of contention for yourself or between you and someone else? as far as im concerned the whole solar thing is a joke! when you need it winter (it doesnt deliver) and when you dont (summer) im sure you could turn house into sauna, you always need a main system, Id love to know what the repayment time for these systems actually are! rainwater harvesting is a good idea, can be used for toilets, outside tap... not the thing that would be worth retrofitting possibly but when building from scratch, worth installing considering the imminent water charges... also upstairs laundry room if bedrooms are on same level would not be my cup of tea!

antiskeptic

TomTom wrote: »

I am about to embark on building my own house. I have rented and renovated in the past and as part of the build I am trying to build a list of all the things over the years I wanted in my own home and also a list of things that annoyed me.

While there are a few disjointed lists on boards already, what are peoples ideas on must have, creative, time saving, energy/money saving ideas for new houses.

My wife wants to put a laundry room upstairs as most of the clothes originate there and go back there so no need to be lumbering it up and down the stairs.

We are putting in a play room but I am designing it in a way that if either of my parents need to move in later in life, it can easily be converted into a down stairs bedroom.

All ideas are welcome as I only intend on building once so would like to incorporate as many ideas as possible and do it right the first time.

Things that spring to mind:

Consider ceiling height in your proportioning just as you would length and breadth. In a larger living room, an extra 6-12" ceiling height maintains proportions. In small rooms (utility, bathroom) a signficantly taller ceiling transforms the space. In Holland, they quote the volume of the living space as well as the square footage. It's the forgotten dimension.


Tall windows. They give more interesting views than wide n' short. They also get light penetrating better front to back in a room.

Interesting architraves. The framing of a window/door is as important as the view through either. Just as the frame around a painting sets off the painting. How often do you see even expensive houses with poorly considered framing.

Wider stairs with sightly deeper thread. Just to give a sense of space.

Moonbeam

underfloor heating.
We laid fibre upstairs and cat5e around the whole house,it is very useful.
We also wired the house with speaker cable which will be nice when we get around to putting up speakers!
The space under the stairs makes great rack space,away from kids.
Would definitely have a playroom,a living room and a sitting room.
Would love to be building from scratch:)
Led lighting is worth looking in to too.

TomTom

Reading up, there is a lot of great ideas. To give people a better perception I'll give more details. This is a rural house, about 1 acre of lawn around it. South facing with open plan kitchen/dining/family room/sun room at the back catching run rise to sun set.

I am defo running cable, not too sure if fibre is needed with gig electrical available in cat 6. There are three water heating methods in the house, solar, open fire and solid fuel or gas. The solar will only be used for heating water for bath/kitchen and the like, not for house heating. I have seen a few demos of the solar at this stage and few mates have it in there house, they still get warm water in the winter. The issues with heating are things like gas or oil, under floor or not, to bother with a heat recovery system. I am thinking underfloor for just bathrooms. The house will be zoned from a heating point of view as there is no pointing in heating bedrooms during the day unless needed.

I like the speaker cabling idea, the rain water recover is up in the air at the moment, low voltage lighting is a great idea. I am getting the possibility of a generator input wired as it can be very handy, I have this setup currently with batteries but a generator would provider longer lasting option.

It will be a cut roof, I will be doing it with my brother so I want to sheet it out for storage. A basement is out as it is not needed, had one in my parents house and apart from being very prone to flooding it was just not needed once the sheds were weather proofed.


That conduit behind skirting is a genius idea.

the_syco

TomTom wrote: »

I far prefer the laundry chute approach

Laundry chute + child = super slide. Maybe saw "Home Alone" one too many times

BostonB

If you had the laundry room downstairs with an outside door directly to some area that could be covered, and uncovered it would be a better arrangement I reckon. No point having an energy efficient house then using the dryer all day.

HardyEustace

Things that spring to mind -

pantry/cold room for storage. If you can afford the cost/space, I think it's a fantastic idea that frees up a lot of the kitchen.

Utility room with washing machine/dryer/storage. I have one now and it is just FANTASTIC.

Outside roofed area - for hanging washing during rainy summer days (rare as they are of course, ahem) and summer bbqs!

ztoical

HardyEustace wrote: »

pantry/cold room for storage. If you can afford the cost/space, I think it's a fantastic idea that frees up a lot of the kitchen.

Utility room with washing machine/dryer/storage. I have one now and it is just FANTASTIC.

Second a pantry if you've the space...frees up room in the kitchen but I also I think it's better for your eating habbits as you can walk in and see everything you have rather then having cans/packets get pushed to the back of the press never to be seen again.

If you can fit a sink into a utlitity room do it. My mum just did that and she's found it great. Keeps all the dogs bowls and food out there and she can wash off the mud when she comes in from the garden both from her hands and her work boots. If not a sink then an outside tap near the back door.

Think about storage....too often when people have larger spaces to play with they don't think about their storage options and wind up with the same amount of storage they'd have in a small flat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWaO5TJS00

This guy is clearly working with a very small space but there's no reason you can't take some of the ideas and use them for a larger space. I like when spaces is used in a more though ful way otherwise I find you end up with wardrobes and presses that just have stuff chucked into them and lost/forgotten.

Senna

Great ideas in this thread. If i was building from scratch i'd put in a back boiler, i had one in a rented house, but none in my current home. If you like to have open fires (like me) then they can give a nice heat through out the house with little extra cost.

funnyname

Great thread and best of luck with the build.

I saw this in another thread and think it's a great idea especially given that you are thinking of other green solutions for your house.

Having said all that I would change our building regulations wiring specs right now to ensure that a length of cooker wire is run from the Fuse Board to the front door....for future electric car charging and that the fuseboard is big enough for Interlocks . We don't want a repeat of the comms ducting ballsup of the last decade

monkeybutter

On back boilers I would say don't, they do have a cost, they take heat out of the fire, I had one, you got not heat out of it as it was constantly circulating energy away from the fire.

Once it was shut down you could feel roughly twice the heat out of it as before, add in the cost of it and the size, i'd say it's not worth it.

It also takes eons to heat the water to a temp where it will circulate. So you need to have gas or oil either way.

On another point, keep you attic as an attic, I found even with insulation if you use this space as a bedroom it just gets too hot during the summer, you need a gap between the roof and the first floor/ground floor. This is with concrete tiles anyway, as they absorb a lot of heat and hold onto it.

mel.b

I just don't understand why so few houses have attached garages given the shocking weather that Ireland experiences most of the time. This will be the number one thing on my list when I either buy or build An attached garage with direct access to the house without having to go outside is essential I think. Keeps you dry from the rain when bring in the groceries, loading kids into the car etc & saves having to defrost the car every morning for months on end.

BostonB

True Very few garages these days.

StillWaters

Stuff already mentioned, attached garage, storage for recycling, pantry, covered clothes line. Also using wood for heating, on an acre you could be self sufficient, with oil as a back up.

Boot room, ie back porch for when kids are running in and out, likewise a lop they can use without traipsing through hall. No to upstairs laundry, its a fire hazard.
Walk in wardrobe, storage cubby for cleaning products, hoover etc upstairs. Lots of storage for toys.

Fozzie Bear

TomTom wrote: »

I am about to embark on building my own house. I have rented and renovated in the past and as part of the build I am trying to build a list of all the things over the years I wanted in my own home and also a list of things that annoyed me.

While there are a few disjointed lists on boards already, what are peoples ideas on must have, creative, time saving, energy/money saving ideas for new houses.

My wife wants to put a laundry room upstairs as most of the clothes originate there and go back there so no need to be lumbering it up and down the stairs.

We are putting in a play room but I am designing it in a way that if either of my parents need to move in later in life, it can easily be converted into a down stairs bedroom.

All ideas are welcome as I only intend on building once so would like to incorporate as many ideas as possible and do it right the first time.

THIS thread over in the construction forum is full of similar ideas from people OP. You should have a good read of it, some great advice in there.

TomTom

Wiring for the electric car is a super idea. I applied for an electric car trial in work and when they seen my commute mileage I was declined as they were not sure the cars on trial would get me home. But I have high hopes for the future.

I wanted to put an attached garage but my wife was too against it. Instead I am going for a larger shed so I can drive my car in during the winter. I leave for work at 5:30 am most mornings and it drives me mad defrosting the car.

Cheers for the link Fozzie Bear, reposting usual drives me mad. I could not find the construction form to be honest.