# New Home Build Ideas



## Assetologist (Apr 19, 2009)

Hi Everyone

We are in the design phase of building a new home for our family and would be interested in what CMFers think are:

* essential features 
* unusual or interesting or just cool design/construction features

Current Plans include:
in-floor radiant heating on all levels
covered back terrace
games room
roughed-in wine cellar area
underground rain water cistern for yard irrigation

Thanks for your comments!


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

Some nice options/upgrades are:hrv system(it recycles fresh air into the home),a double bench or seating in a shower stall,a kitchen island,a gas fireplace,with cultred stone,a vault in the main room(great room),or over 9'celings,a outside porch.....there are a ton of nice upgrades you can get,from light switches all the way to acrylic stucco,the list above are a few things i would start with if it was me.


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## crazyjackcsa (Aug 8, 2010)

Things I always wanted but never (yet) got.

A turret, with a vaulted ceiling on the uppermost floor.

A spiral staircase.

A "hidden" room. I always though a little room hidden behind a book case or invisible door would be interesting.

A cistern for yard irrigation? You must live in the city? Out in the country, we use a cistern for everything. Best water you can get!


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Solar hot domestic water is a good idea (actually has reasonable return on investment). If you're more adventurous, you could also use solar hot water for your radiant floor heating.

My parents' house has a really nice octagonal room with windows on 5 of the 8 sides--makes for a really nice sitting room if you have a view.

The cistern is a good idea if you prioritize having a nice green lawn in the middle of august. You could also use the cistern for grey water like toilets (biggest water use in most houses) though this would be frowned upon by the city (read, probably illegal).

9' ceilings are nice and make quite a difference to a space.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

essential features depends on how long you plan to stay there ,if this is your forever home and one you plan to keep for your golden years I would make it so it is adaptable to common aging problems and suggest a bedroom on main floor ,showers with seats and a jacuzzi tub IMO Must have.
Granite counters 9+ ft ceilings ,walking in closets are number of things I would throw in as well.make sure to do your rough in for central vac during the construction process and figure out your electrical outlets ,surround sound etc as part of the plan.It is a very exciting time for sure and also stressful.


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

how about geo-thermal heating and cooling? I don't know enough about it, but I have friends who don't like air conditioning so they installed geo-thermal and their bills are amazingly low now. I also love the idea of solar, wind and other alternative energy sources as they will save you big $$ in the long run.


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Addy said:


> how about geo-thermal heating and cooling? I don't know enough about it, but I have friends who don't like air conditioning so they installed geo-thermal and their bills are amazingly low now. I also love the idea of solar, wind and other alternative energy sources as they will save you big $$ in the long run.


Depending upon location, Geo-thermal would be interesting to look into. I would make sure the builder used an experienced installation company for this.

Alt energy sources would be great to keep rising energy costs down as well. You could be almost self sufficient.


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## daddybigbucks (Jan 30, 2011)

id personally stay away from geothermal. 
ive seen a few systems fail and they just stayed on their backup as opposed to fixing the problem.


i would get conduit linking all the rooms so as technology changes, you can just "fish" the new wire thru.
I dont think we are going to end at hdmi.

I like the turrent idea but i would rather have like a star room up there.

most good ideas turn out to be duds, so i would just leave alot of room empty so you can upgrade as your needs change.


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## grimace (Feb 20, 2010)

*Icf*

Hi

Our home is ICF and I love it. Exterior is no maintenance stucco and cultured stone...another awesome feature. We have 9 foot ceilings and they make the house feel huge...Just my preferences


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

All good suggestions so far.

I would look at heating from a fireplace. At design stages (e.g. great room) this can be cost-effective. Wood pellets with gas as backup would be ideal.

We have radiant electric heat in our ceilings. Floor is a better idea. But there will be cold spots, especially by the windows and doors. Also it makes AC impossible. Fortunately we live in BC on the ocean so usually outside area is cool enough. When it is not, we close the blinds and use fans. Installing heaing/cooling units below a couple of windows, e.g. great room and master bedroom, should make the radiant heating fine.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

For stone counters, I'd vote for quartz over granite. Quartz is harder, less porous, looks great.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

quartz is harder but it looked too 'manufactured' to me so i went with granite ,it is a personal preference things ,cost is about the same .We keep loads of cutting boards in the island and just a matter of getting into habit of using cutting boards.My friends have granite counters for about 30 years and still looks great.


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## Assetologist (Apr 19, 2009)

Wow! Thanks everyone for your thoughts and experiences.

We would like to be as 'off-the-grid' as possible but there many alternate energy sources which each have a cost benefit ratio. I do think energy costs will continue to climb but with claims of abundant natural gas maybe this is the fuel of the future. High efficiency gas boilers may turn out to be the best?!?

We are thinking of having a combined dining/library/sitting room to make better use of space. We are planning a good sized kitchen with a large island as this is where people gravitate. High ceilings for sure - as code will allow anyhow.
We are partial to hardwood and granite as well as carpet in bedrooms.
A hidden room would be cool and I am working on it.
Conduit is a must to future-proof technology - I am partial to wired as opposed to wireless if possible.

Thanks again!


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## Assetologist (Apr 19, 2009)

kcowan said:


> All good suggestions so far.
> 
> I would look at heating from a fireplace. At design stages (e.g. great room) this can be cost-effective. Wood pellets with gas as backup would be ideal.
> 
> We have radiant electric heat in our ceilings. Floor is a better idea. But there will be cold spots, especially by the windows and doors. Also it makes AC impossible. Fortunately we live in BC on the ocean so usually outside area is cool enough. When it is not, we close the blinds and use fans. Installing heaing/cooling units below a couple of windows, e.g. great room and master bedroom, should make the radiant heating fine.


Are the heating/cooling units separate of part of a duct system?

This is one area (of many) that I am clueless. I think radiant will cover the heating part well as we live in BC near the ocean but I am worried about the few days we need cooling! I'm not sure ceiling fans would cover it.


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## bbsj (Aug 26, 2010)

Nearly 20 years ago we built a certified R-2000 home and it has been great living in it. I am sure the R-2000 ( sealed home with continuous fresh air intake) technology is now much more advanced. So, I suggest you go for it. Of course, placement of windows and their sizes is important as well.


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## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

We built an R2000 Home but our main floor does not approach a basketball court, designed so that the space we occupy 95% of the time is about 1100 sq. ft to minimise energy costs.

I regret not having put a Natural Gas Fireplace in the basement, the thermostat on the main level may register 20 C but the basement is more like 15C, so I have bought a couple of ceramic heaters to add additional heat.

Countertops are Corian, at the time our Budget was $300,000 to build and we opted for tiled showers rather than enclosures.

Garage is fully drywalled and insulated, wall of windows on main floor brings in much heat during day, we open windows rather than turn on AC.

The house was built almost twelve years ago, now there are things that we would do differantly, but at the time they made sense.

I did not even think of geothermal or in floor heating, today I might?


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

kcowan said:


> All good suggestions so far.
> 
> I would look at heating from a fireplace. At design stages (e.g. great room) this can be cost-effective. Wood pellets with gas as backup would be ideal.


I wouldn't want pellets as my primary source. Gas is my primary with a pellet backup. The pellet stove needs to be cleaned at least 3 times a week if you use it everyday. It's not as high maintenance as a real wood stove, but it is certainly not hands free like gas.


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## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

I have heard of people being denied Insurance because of a wood stove??


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

They shouldn't be if it is properly installed and WETT certified.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Assetologist said:


> Are the heating/cooling units separate of part of a duct system?
> 
> This is one area (of many) that I am clueless. I think radiant will cover the heating part well as we live in BC near the ocean but I am worried about the few days we need cooling! I'm not sure ceiling fans would cover it.


We are in BC too. We have a wood-burning fireplace. A friend has a pellet FP in his place on Mayne Island. Another friend who lives totally off-grid on Galiano has the through the wall units in his great room and MBR to supplement his FP. No ductwork.

Check out radiant heating water baseboards as they are very effective in the winter when it is damp.


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## NotMe (Jan 10, 2011)

Love the idea of having a secret room behind a bookcase. Like the bookcase could be a pocket door or something. I just want someday to have something like the entrance to the batcave. that would be so sweet.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

+1 on Secret room ,I would be in there all day lol


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

marina628 said:


> +1 on Secret room ,I would be in there all day lol


I guess we can't call it a man cave then!


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## OK-bachelor (May 24, 2011)

http://zigloo.ca/

Check these out ^

I like off beat / off the grid , and non- traditional / non - cookie cutter .


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## Maybe Later (Feb 19, 2011)

Walk-through pantry. We have one between the entry from the garage and the kitchen, it's about 9 feet long and about as wide as a hallway. Love it! 9 foot ceilings in the main living areas, but not as important in the bedrooms and bathrooms. 9 foot basement so you can drop a ceiling below the floor joists and still not have it feel low - make sure the basement windows have enough space above them before the floot joists (that was a mistake we did make).


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Maybe Later said:


> 9 foot basement so you can drop a ceiling below the floor joists and still not have it feel low - make sure the basement windows have enough space above them before the floot joists (that was a mistake we did make).



I think I'd go with bigger windows in the basement and just drywall the ceiling immediately around them (sloping down to the level of the drop ceiling. More light is better. Having the ceiling just above the windows inaccessible shouldn't be a big deal.


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## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

Income Properties on HGTV is really good for ideas, especially when it comes to basement areas.

We have the 9 ft ceilings with double hung windows, but I should have put insulation around the pipes and also insulated the ceiling for noise.


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