[kaisen]

I designed my own home that was built in late 2003, and later moved into a builder's model home built in late 2007. So here are my thoughts:

2x6 is the norm. It's not just insulation, but also structure and sound. I wouldn't even think of doing 2x4.

The biggest single deviation from normal that we incorporated into the 2003 home was in-floor heating. We did electric cables buried in washed sand under a thicker-than-normal slab surrounded by buried foam insulation panels. This created a massive thermal heat sink under the slab. Our electric company had a reduced rate for off-peak, so it was on its own meter and would heat overnight. It was supplemental, we still had forced HVAC, but it made a HUGE difference in the comfort of the downstairs bedrooms and bathrooms, and cost very little to build (about $1 psf of slab), the electric co paid for the meter and hook ups, and the cost of running it was pennies.

Today, I would also consider PEX buried in-slab that could be zoned through a central manifold and you could run hot water heat either through a indoor or outdoor gas/wood boiler, geothermal, a normal hot water heater, solar, or any combination thereof. Several homes around the Midwest use in-floor hot water heat as the sole heat source and it's very comfy. I'd definitely do the garage too!! And maybe even the front porch/steps (no snow/ice!).

Which brings the next idea: a concrete main/second floor (not just the basement slab). One method involves a normal wood substrate with poured concrete (with flex agents) a couple inches thick over the entire floor, burying PEX for a heated floor. This gives a huge sound deadening effect between floors as well. Another method is to use pre-stressed concrete panels that are set in place. I'm sure it's regional, but we have a couple factories here that will make entire concrete houses panel-by-panel, deliver them to site, and have a crane set them. Basically like poured concrete walls/foundations, but pre-engineered off-site. Anyway, these floors are structurally engineered for the span, reinforced, and have open 'tubes' to run plumbing, wiring, ducting, and other mechanical. Because of their strength they require no center supports so you can clear-span large areas beneath (basement).

They also use this for garages! So if you are doing a rambler with bedrooms below I assume you're doing a walk-out or look-out for legal bedroom egress. If so, you usually have to build-up under/around the rear of the garage. I would do a tuck-under garage back there, basically continuing the two-story to the first couple bays of the garage. People do that here, and store their lawnmower, seasonal toys (PWC, snowmobiles, etc) and pool toys/seasonal furniture down there. Or make a hobby shop/woodshop, or whatever. Then the outermost bay (3rd or fourth stall) could be traditional slab-on-grade so you can do a hoist/lift or heavy (like RV) there.

If you don't do a concrete floor, at the very least do engineered trusses. Again, for longer spans and hidden mechanical (no drop-downs). We did that and it was rock-solid. No flex, couldn't hear walking/stomping upstairs. We even did a few extra trusses in high-stress areas like under the kitchen (commercial range? granite slabs? -- they're heavy) and under the master bath (a filled two-person jacuzzi weighs a lot!). It was cheap.

We also did 9 ft ceilings in the basement (and upstairs too, but that's more common). Didn't cost much. But man did it feel bigger! Didn't feel like a basement at all. Probably the second best deviation we planned.

We built the master suite with doubled-up wall construction. I'm not sure of the correct term. But I had staggered 2x4 studs so that the inner wall shared no studs with the outer wall. Acoustically de-coupled. Then we stuffed the crap out of them with standard fiberglass insulation (not sure that helped but felt like it did). I also designed that the master bedroom didn't share an interior wall with any part of the house. It was buffered by walk-in closets. If you were in the other parts of the house, you couldn't hear anything from the master bedroom -- period.

The 2008 home had a bonus-room over the garage. I would do that again in a heartbeat. Since you're going to heat and insulate your garage --right?-- then the costs off adding serious square footage there is very minimal. I had a 16x24 room up there over a barely-oversize three car garage. The tougher part was heating and cooling it. It was a long run (24ft) by the time it terminated at the outer windows. I'm sure they could have engineered it better. Again, it's a no brainer.

Other little things:

I did central vac. Do the toe-kick dustpans under bathroom and kitchen cabinets where there is tile -- it's awesome. Also, consider buying a second head/hose for downstairs so you're not lugging it. And if you have hardwood, get a hose sock. Central vac rules.

Wire a total alarm system before the house is sheetrocked in. Hard wire to each and every window and door. Wireless is the norm nowadays, but they don't work as well and they're not as foolproof. The only reason they're the norm is because they're easier to retrofit.

Tile/stone everything that might be vinyl. Or at least engineer the floors to accept tile/stone. Vinyl flooring sucks.

The 2008 house had outlets under the soffits every 20 feet for Christmas lights. They had a wall switch and a GFI breaker. Made it much easier, if you're into that sort of thing.

Consider running wiring for home theater and/or whole-house sound. Or at least the routes/pulls so you can pull later. For sure plan a spot for a wall-mounted flat-screen TV and hide power/cable/HDMI/etc behind it so there are no wires when hung.

Run both hot and cold water 'outdoor' spigot to the garage to was cars/feet/etc

Do as many built-ins as you can. I had a custom cabinet maker build just about everything I wanted for storage, home theater, kitchen, bath, pantry, hobby, and linen closets for about the same cost as halfway decent furniture. If I recall correctly it was $12 per inch of width for either over or under, or a full linen closet face.

Consider door-jamb light switches for the pantry, laundry, and utility/mechanical rooms. Door open = light on, closed = off.

Lots of recessed lighting. Ceiling fans. More outlets than normal/code. Think it through. I even planned wiring and outlets to be inside kitchen cabinets rather than backsplash for things like the kitchen phone/computer/cell phone chargers and routed a desk-grommet through the countertop. Much cleaner.

Run both gas and 220V to your kitchen (range) and laundry (dryer). You or the next buyer may change your preference. Cheap to do it now. Expensive later. Also run 220V to the garage and to the back patio where there may be a hot tub.

Build your garage like it was just another room. Sheetrock, finishes, mouldings, lighting, insulaton, outlets..... way cheaper to bid it when it's built. Run TV cable too. And sound.

If you don't do a full alarm, add a simple open/closed circuit sensor for when the overhead garage door is open or closed and wire it to a little LED light in your nightstand. If it's on, the garage is open. Have another wireless transmitter in your nightstand to be able to close it without getting dressed and walking out there.

Wire the main panels to be generator friendly. That way you can either add a permanent back-up generator or hook-up a little one when the power goes out. Cheaper than losing a fridge full of food, or a freezer full of meat.

Do a direct-vent furnace and hot water heater(s). One less thing sticking through the roof, and they're higher efficiency. Do a heat-capture air exchanger too, although it might be code there.

Consider a cantilever deck by extending the house's floor trusses. They'd have to be treated, but the expense would still be less than an add-on structure and the end result would be stronger and better looking.

Consider all of your outdoor landscaping and electrical needs when planning the house, even if they come much later. Doing a conduit and trench for wiring or plumbing is way easier before driveways and sod. Example, having a light at the end of the driveway operated by a switch in the house.


I'll add more as I think of them, if you care