If you were building a new house...

[HeyMikey]

No water lines In ATTIC..... no AC/heat unit or Hotwater heater..either.....someone said 3' higher and I agree....lots of great ideas kicked around...

^^^ this right here!
I'm still fighting breaks in water lines in the eaves/attic, and 2 water heaters also reside in the attic (one on each side of the house). I didn't build this house, but have definitely come to realize the guy that did, didn't think it through, when he did.

[ColinR]

* valve that will shut off water to all outside hose bibs so they can be drained.
* decked attic space for storage and a walk way from one of of house to the other with lights.
* Spray foam insulation so the attic stays mostly climate controlled.

[Lungbustr]

Icf construction, really heavy gauge metal roof, semi conditioned attic with spray foam, built in roll up hurricane shutters, raise elevation of house another foot around surrounding area, vault in center of house.

[wes]

What is the benefit of raising the elevation of the house?

[Charles]

More storage space. Bigger closets. Larger covered patio.

[Jet Black]

What is the benefit of raising the elevation of the house?

flood

[Big pig]

Build 3' higher....

I did and I love the extra view off the porch

BUT . . .

On the downhill side of the house I had to add a three foot retention wall and stairs as opposed to sloping the pad down to ground level.

Lotta extra sweat cause we did all of the backfill ourselves.

[Big pig]

Build 3' higher....

I did. Elongated worry about any runoff water from uphill side and I love the extra view off the porch

BUT . . .

On the downhill side of the house I had to add a three foot retention wall and stairs as opposed to sloping the pad down to ground level.

Lotta extra sweat ( and money) cause we did all of the backfill ourselves.

[Huntingfool]

built a new home two years ago - power and water was out for 5 days. When I got home I was nervous about pipes. Called my builder and he said all plumbing was in the attic. He said Pex was used plus my attic foam sprayed - went up into the attic and it was amazingly not very cold and not a single leak anywhere -

So my advice is to spray foam the heck out of your new home - our electric bills are super low too

[tdwinklr]

house:
-2x6 outer walls.
-at least a 7-pitch roof.
-METAL ROOF!
-no brick.
-pier and beam foundation with at least 2-3' clearance.
-the best windows I could afford.
-a solar option.


shop:
-add a small restroom WITH sink.
-add a window or two.
-raise up doors vs. slide doors.

[Mike D]

If you were building a new house...

We finished ours in 2019. I only have one regret and that is deciding to remove the concrete safe room/vault.

We did MANY of the the things suggested here.

* Total foam encapsulation. Im convinced that is some of the best money spent on my build. 99% of my water lines are run in the attic and I had none freeze. Like someone else said it was very comfortable up there even though it was sub zero temperatures outside. We did not and would not recommend wasting money insulating the garage. Assuming you are actually going to use it as a garage, you are trapping heat inside the garage from your vehicle.

* Speaking of garage, go taller, wider and deeper than standard, especially if you have a truck or large SUV. The garage for my truck is 26’ deep, 13’ wide and has 10’ ceilings. My door is 11’ wide and 9’ tall. It’s nice to be able to fully open the doors and be able to walk around all 4 sides when it’s in the garage.

* Wood burning stove. This thing has been awesome and worth every penny spent on it and it wasn’t cheap. I can literally heat my entire house and it’s not small. I have a thermostatically controlled fan and ducting in my attic that feeds the master end of the house.

* This is planned to be our forever home so all doors are ADA compatible, all floors are at the same level at the transitions from wood to tile and our shower is an oversized walk in/roll in shower. Blocking is already in the walls for grab bars if ever needed.

* We installed a whole house generator as part of our build. The only thing we can’t run is one of the AC units, ovens and the pool. But I have a pigtail wired in so I can put the pool on a portable Gen if needed.

* We are on a water well. I poured a slab and built a metal building around it and sprayed 2” of closed cell foam insulation. It never froze even though we had no heat in it the entire time through the below zero temps.

* NO CARPET, PERIOD.

* I wanted a standing seam metal roof but after talking to our insurance and what they considered replaceable damage and cosmetic damage I elected to go with composite shingle roof and saved that additional $30k.

* Gas cooking appliances/water heaters/HVAC. We have gas cooktop and water heaters but have heat pump HVAC. We can run the smaller unit on the generator and our aux heat never kicked on during all of the weather. I attribute that to the foam insulation.


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[MIHunter]

following

[trophyhunter01]

2x6 walls
Stained concrete floors

[glen]

With material cost today id add a money tree to the landscaping

[Backwoods101]

^^^ this right here!
I'm still fighting breaks in water lines in the eaves/attic, and 2 water heaters also reside in the attic (one on each side of the house). I didn't build this house, but have definitely come to realize the guy that did, didn't think it through, when he did.

You need too put some respect behind that mans name...he built you up high and dry lol. Wish I was still in the area bud...I’d help you out with the pipes and the miller lite [emoji12]


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