Home features you wish you would have...
 

I am planning to start building on a 1 acre lot next year and currently working on the plans. I would like to learn from your ideas or experiences to make sure I am not overlooking anything. List anything you would like to add or change to your current or future home.

I wish I had a fish and game cleaning table with sink and water hooked up to it, also my friend built his garage for his boat and he has shelves, cabinets, and rod racks that is on the wall next to his boat that are high enough so that he can access all of it from inside the boat and not have to get in and out the boat while loading or unloading.

Panic room

Panic type room, that is tornado proof. Zombie proof wouldn't hurt either!! Built in gun safe. Utiliy room with full bathroom. So you don't have to track mud through the house after hunting trips.

Bathroom on the patio.

Bathroom in the shop.

When I build I will definately have a built in, concealed, fire proof storage area for guns, paperwork, jewelry, and stuff like that. I will have a nice shop with outdoor kitchen/ bathroom.

Make it ready for an upstairs even if you only make a single story house. I built my last house and didn't do it ready for upstairs but when I saw all the room I had I wished I had so this house I am building will have option of adding another 2000 sqft up stairs.

A BIG Utility room, at least 12x14, big enough for washer, dryer, extra freezer, Ironing table, tv, extra refrigerator, a big sink, folding table for clothes, a bar to hang the clothes that you just ironed, room for a folding table and chairs that you will use when you have bar be ques and crawfish boils along with the a few chairs, a rod-n-reel rack to keep them in climate control, and a shelf to put blender, mixer, juicer, larger pots.

My grand parents had a room like this and it is reallt nice.

Also, I been in a house that had nice wicker swing like people have on there porch in the living room. I thought that was the coolest thing. The homeowners said they liked it as well, so my next house will have a swing in the living room and a big utility room.

You may want to also consider a Florida room if you have small kids, its basically a playroom/party room in the back of the house that seals off from the rest of your house. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...om&FORM=HDRSC2

Don't underestimate the need for storage...also a central vaccume system is cheap, and easy to install...will last a lifetime and will make the little lady happy enough to let you take on those rodholders and gun storage projects!

An enclosure for the crapper. I need some privacy.

i put this in my house but figured i would say it anyway.....hot water outside is a must makes it so easy to wash stuff.....built in gun safe

Outdoor Kitchen, More Storage, and look at the on demand hot water system, or tankless hot water heater, gas only not electric, its the best thing I did, and then there is more storage, and did I mention more storage.

i also installed a manifold system on my water. its nice cause if you have a leak you can isolate just one faucet instead of turning off the whole house. also distrubutes the water better to keep your pressure up....tankless hot water is a must too

My mom has a 1,800 sq ft house with 2 big water heaters with a spicket on the outside of the house. We fill the boiling pots with hot water and it boils much quicker. Also nice to clean up with. One thing you have to do is make 2 hoses that splice into one so you don't burn yourslef when you washing pots and what not.

Also I don't know what you plan on doing i your kitchen and whether or not you have natural gas available but we have duel fuel range. Which is a gas stove combined with an electric oven. Best of both worlds to me.

Also if you cook outside and plan on having natural gas have the plumber install a 3/4" valve where you plan to cook so you don't have to get propane. I also have this, takes a little longer to get the water boiling but its worth it. You just need a different burner.

Put 2X6 blocking around all windows where you will eventually hang curtains. Also, 2X6 blocks in the walls in the bathrooms where you will mount your T Paper holders. Run Cat 5 wireing thru out the house or whatever wiring is on the horizon, design your electrical service so that you can easily install a whole house generato. Floor your entire attic......

Also a direct gas connection on back patio to hook up gas grill is handy

^^^^

Things I did and love
Hot water outside on the drive way and by the back patio
natural gas on the back patio
Double throw disconnect even if you don’t have a large generator for the house. You can hook up a small one and not run extension cords all over the place.
Pot filler behind the stove.
two separate hot water heaters.
Put a 2 inch pipe in the wall behind the TV. Make it come into a 4 gang box. That way when new technology comes out easy to get wires to TV.
If you have a fireplace put plywood under the sheet rock so you can hang things every where you want.
I also have the entire wall between the living room and master bed room sheeted with OSB. The kids can yell in the living room and I cannot hear them in the bed room.
Stub out several places through the slab with conduit and wire or at least rope running back to the breaker box so if you ever want to run additional wiring out you have it. Be sure to cap it off.
Make sure you stub your water and electrical out for future shed. It will make it much easier when the time comes.
Run a few pieces of 1 inch OVC capped off under drive way and sidewalks in case you ever need to run electrical or water across it.
sunken floor safe in the closet


Things that I wish I would have done
Used area under the stairs as a gun safe. It is a lot cheaper than you would think.
Floor receptacles in the living room
2x6 behind where the toilet paper and other areas where you would hang things.
More faucets outside
Door coming into the utility room
Floor drain for ice machine in the garage
Ac duct in the work shop. It is insulated but does not have ac
Larger patio. We spend more time out there than in the house
Stub out for speaker wires out to the patio. Running them after the fact was a pain in the butt