If you were building a new house...

[Hollywood]

So glad my plumbing is underground.
Try to design where all plumbing comes up into an interior wall. Make closets bigger. Always put in a hot water timed loop to minimize waste & time to get hot water at faucets.
Huge kitchen & pantry.
For the shop, bigger & taller is better. Spray on Insulation is a must.
Closet & pantry light switches in the jambs, door open -on, door closed off.
No carpet
All LED lighting.

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[Preacher Man]

No jetted bath tub

Transfer switch on electrical is a no brainer

No gas fireplace

Double paned insulated windows from the start

[rvd]

No jetted bath tub

Transfer switch on electrical is a no brainer

No gas fireplace

Double paned insulated windows from the start

Why no gas fireplace? We’ve always had wood fireplaces but have thought about adding a gas one in our bedroom at our bay house.

I’m with you on no jetted tub, we’ve had them for more than 25 years and haven’t used more than 5 times total.

[kingranch]

Water enter the house on the south side of the house to shield artic northern blast

Winner

[Roscoe]

If you were building a new house...

Water manifold. Went by 83 yr old neighbors house to check on him & his wife today. He has a water manifold in the utility room about 10’ from where water enters the house. One side of the manifold is hot and the other is cold. All done in pex. If he wants to shut just the water off to master toilet, guest shower hot, kitchen sink cold etc. he can do just those individual lines.

He has a string of 5 heat lamps across his attic with a switch downstairs.

He also had a plug out under his carport so he could plug his little generator directly into his pellet stove in the living room.

Our last home had all outside faucets on a separate supply line so we could shut just them off. We didn’t end up having any issues, but I’d sure rather had that ability last week.


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[Gutpileaddict]

Outlets in floor. Spaced out under eves of house for Christmas lights. More outliers outside.
French drains sprinkler and misters .
Deck out attic .
AC unit on shady side of house.


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[PYBUCK]

Foam insulation everywhere, walls,attic,roof, garage door. Pex water lines, gas furnace and water heater, electric plugs every 4-6 ft and in floor where couch's are going. If you think the kitchen is big enough, add 400sq ft. 8x8 walk in closet. LED lighting, big porch front and back.

[Traildust]

Huge mud room/laundry room/storage/pantry room. Smaller bedrooms, bathrooms. Bigger kitchen and twice as much storage as you think you'll need.

Spray foam insulation and the very best windows you can afford.

[Box-R]

Careful with those 'heat lamps'.
I had one on a northside, outside faucet last year; I loosely wrapped a towel around it for insulation.
Yep, the heat lamp ignited the towel and the fire lasted long enough to melt through the PEX tubing (the metal got hot from fire and transferred heat to PEX) which resulted in an in-wall flood.

[chicken fried]

I agree on putting the water on the south side and direct sunlight for cold winter days. Stand alone generator. Wood burning stove and good windows.

[KingsX]

I built this past year and only part I would change is a bigger back porch but that’s easily fixed with adding on. Shop is spray foamed and house is insulated very well with top of the line windows. To me that’s the most important thing. My electric bills have been very good. Also I built a oversized garage that has payed off especially with 2 trucks and outside freezer plus frigerator. 9ft ceiling in the garage too for bigger trucks is a must. I built on 21acres but if I had a choice you cannot own enough land. On the shop build it big enough. Mine is 40x40x14 and it’s enough for me but I will most likely add on side awnings later. If you think you’ll ever need awnings it’s easier to do it when you build it. As others have said: pex water lines,all weather flooring,high ceilings,granite counter tops,storage etc. A good architect can give you a good idea on how to size rooms so it flows good for your needs. Another thing is build a long enough concrete driveway and sidewalk to the front door,it sure pays off for many reasons. For us the double oven and big kitchen island with bar seating has been most useful in the kitchen.
Keep researching and go look at as many houses being built as possible before you finalize your plans.

[cbd10pt]

Figure vin at least one room with a mini split hvac so when the power goes out you can stay cool with a reasonable sized generator

[Preacher Man]

Why no gas fireplace? We’ve always had wood fireplaces but have thought about adding a gas one in our bedroom at our bay house.

I’m with you on no jetted tub, we’ve had them for more than 25 years and haven’t used more than 5 times total.

Personal preference on the gas fireplace. They’re convenient, but don’t put out as much heat in my opinion.

[flywise]

My buddy had foam sprayed in his 3ksqft house and said it never dropped below 60 during this event with no power

[SwampRanger]

Build 3' higher....