Cool features in your next house??

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Yes, I have plumbing (waste line) however it might not be very useable due to space.

The garage is 20 x 30' sideways , so it is only 20' deep. My Dodge Dakota fits nicely, not much to spare in front of the truck.

I put six lighting outlets in the ceiling. Planning on going 5" deep concrete with 10x10" mesh. Thinking about adding fiber but the contractor says it leaves "Hairs" on the surface.

12' ceiling, so I wanted to make the floor strong for a future lift (maybe)

Floor heat, ruled it out, too costly for how little I would probably want to run it. They say you need to let it run 24/7 , I think that is a waste.

Edited March 18, 2012 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[BobD]

Talking of lighting outlets, one the things I keep meaning to get around to is putting a relay on the garage door opener to operate the outside lighting. Would be nice to have the outside lights go on at night as you pull up.

[kieran]

whats the aspect of your garage door? depending on how much sunlight & when, you might want to adjust the colour of the floor to suit.

front tyre stop blocks. beer fridge, comfy chair, mini urinal in a cupboard?

Edited March 18, 2012 by kieran

[Corey]

Assuming there's a slight rise from the driveway to the garage, put in some kind of stud/threaded pocket/loop so you can attach a come-along/winch to drag a dead car in. Then a tow truck can drop a broken car in the driveway and you can get it in the garage with minimal help.

I've had a bunch of friends help push a WRX with a broken transmission into my garage - it sucked REAL bad.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Assuming there's a slight rise from the driveway to the garage, put in some kind of stud/threaded pocket/loop so you can attach a come-along/winch to drag a dead car in. Then a tow truck can drop a broken car in the driveway and you can get it in the garage with minimal help.

I've had a bunch of friends help push a WRX with a broken transmission into my garage - it sucked REAL bad.

Great ideas guys. Here are my "Garage Groomers" from today. Plan to pour on Tuesday.

Mini Ductless HP equipment arrived this week too!! Outdoor unit and three zones. I hope to move in by Thanksgiving!!

Corey, I could put a big eye bolt in the back of the garage to facilitate a winch. Hopefully that doesn't come up anytime soon.

Edited March 31, 2012 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

whats the aspect of your garage door? depending on how much sunlight & when, you might want to adjust the colour of the floor to suit.

front tyre stop blocks. beer fridge, comfy chair, mini urinal in a cupboard?

The garage door faces East, not much light, no direct sunlight.

After talking with the concrete contractor, I dug out a couple more inches, put down plastic then put back an inche.

The slab will end up being 5" thick with #10 6x6 mesh. Even with 3500 PSI concrete it should be plenty strong for a four post lift if I ever decide to get one.

Edited March 31, 2012 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[RobertAlexander]

20000 to 30000 gallon hot water heat storage, collect the heat in the summer with only a few panels and using the correct insulation/building, have a whole winters worth of btu already in the form of hot water. I almost had two 6000 gallon tanks for free including delivery, however, my road was posted due to mud, they went far far away to be cut up.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Robert , I like the idea. I hope to use some of the ideas in the next project. I have looked for inexpensive sisterns, so far the payback time frame exceeds my expected life span. I am doing some rain water collection and I looked at "Grey water" use , but same thing. Need to keep the initial costs down to where it makes financial sense. I dont use that much hot water. The concrete guy just did a 2000sq ft addition to his own home with heated concrete floors. He is just using a water heater for it's source. Solar hot water would seem to be a good addition to such systems. If I lived in a very cold climate. I would be looking at "Ground source" coupled with Solar and perhaps a wood burning boiler. It would be really cool to provide heating cooling for little or no additional cost. We have had record rain this March. I am currently using rainwater to water down (settle) sand and gravel plus water recent shrubs etc. Washing the truck, I seldom go over the "Minimum" that the water company charges for use each month.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

I did pick up some HID outdoor lights, you can see a couple mounted temporarily in the garage. I plan to pole mount a couple and wall mount a couple more. They have "adjustable light shields" and are "Cut Off" type fixtures to help reduce "Light Pollution" and over lighting adjacent properties. I have some salvage light poles that I have been waiting 20 years to use :). The fixtures are metal halide 75 watt multi-tap ballasts. The ideal being I can light some areas for evening gatherings without casting off too much light and keeping costs down (power use)

I would love to find some outdoor flood LEDs for a good price. They are really expensive up front.

Edited March 31, 2012 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[Dan]

A couple of thoughts from our ongoing kitchen remodel.

-Foot-pedal-operated faucets for kitchen sink

-built-in microwave so it's not taking up counter space (this probably goes without saying in new construction)

-Not sure if this exact product is out there, but slide-out trash containers (i.e., built into base cabinets) with a pedal actuator would be sweet. That is, when you come over with a double handful of chicken bones or something else you don't want to smear on the cabinet, you step on the pedal to pop out the trash container, rather than having to open it with your foot.

-integral or undermount sink. Looks like we're doing a stainless countertop with integral undermount sink -- I think this is going to be very cool. They're going to weld in the sink we bought, then finish it so the seam is invisible. Punching out the countertop to give you a sink to your custom dimensions is another option.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Hi Dan. Good ideas! I had not thought about foot pedals. Being the plumber, I will look into that.

Love to see photos of your kitchen remodel. SS counter tops?? I am into the industrial look. I was thinking concrete.

My Dad is an expert in metal work and I have some time welding, perhaps this too is something I should look at.

Struggling with all the options on the IT end right now. Need to get everything in the walls before we insulate. Today the concrete flat work in the garage is top priority. Hope to pour Tuesday. Concrete truck company needs to verify they can get up the driveway ok. Thanks for the great ideas!! Bryan

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

whats the aspect of your garage door? depending on how much sunlight & when, you might want to adjust the colour of the floor to suit.

front tyre stop blocks. beer fridge, comfy chair, mini urinal in a cupboard?

I am going to go down and look at concrete die colors in the next few days. I don't want it too fancy, but I would like to

do some accent die to give it the high end look.

[Dan]

Hi Dan. Good ideas! I had not thought about foot pedals. Being the plumber, I will look into that.

Love to see photos of your kitchen remodel. SS counter tops?? I am into the industrial look. I was thinking concrete.

My Dad is an expert in metal work and I have some time welding, perhaps this too is something I should look at.

Struggling with all the options on the IT end right now. Need to get everything in the walls before we insulate. Today the concrete flat work in the garage is top priority. Hope to pour Tuesday. Concrete truck company needs to verify they can get up the driveway ok. Thanks for the great ideas!! Bryan

Things still look pretty rough, and I'm holding off on the public reveal until we get things a little more licked into shape. :)

The biggest task right now is the floors. We have old-growth wood floors that are pretty amazing, with planks the length of the floor so there's no end joints. Some !@#@ covered them with glue, tarpaper, then subfloor with a couple of layers of vinyl. We got the subfloor/vinyl out, and we're now hand-scraping the glue and tar paper off...about 2/3 done now, with maybe 60 hours into it. After trying a number of different approaches to soften the glue, we're now using a wallpaper steamer, which makes things go much faster, but it's still a chore. We've agreed to hire out the refinishing. :)

I love the look of concrete countertops, but the logistics of DIY for big counters discouraged me. Either muscling around a big/heavy concrete slab that's prone to breaking, or pouring in place and taking a lot of time/generating a lot of dust indoors to sand/finish the countertops. Our floors might not have supported concrete too :) - I don't recall if you have a crawlspace under your kitchen, but even if you do, it should be less of a concern for new construction.

Here are some <a href="http://tinyurl.com/cdn5e52">pics of stainless counters with integral sinks</a>. I hope that ours comes out as well as these.

On the IT options, are you talking about what kind of networking cable to run? Is it possible to have conduits so you can just fish through new cables when standards evolve post-construction?

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Long day! Ended up 11.5 yards total. Closer to 6" thick. 4000 PSI mix with no air and .5 calcium. Looking forward to be able to use it!@!

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Updates on the progress.

Since this "Pour" in the garage.

Mini Ductless Split system piping installed (3 zones)

Insulated (R28 walls, R38 ceiling)

Sheetrock hung, first two layers of tape and mud.

Thanks again for all the great input. Getting excited now!!

I can already see the boards on the walls!!

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Edited December 2, 2012 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[C5 Golfer]

I would like to have a couple of these auto storage lifts.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

I am guessing the insurance company may have a fit over these. Very cool though.

Not quite as cool as the "Green Hornet" model but very cool.

I will be pleased if I end up with a 4 post lift in the next shop.

They are getting pretty affordable.

[floBoot]

off the grid...

I'm definitely a cynic of the 'smart' technologies creeping into peoples homes...I see the dark-side of it...

I just want to get my house so well insulated that a joss-stick burning would warm the rooms...still thinking about ways of lighting...hmmm...like the idea of a range cooker..good old fashioned larder, not a fridge/freezer...

Currently...demolished most of the top floor in my house...been tinkering with the radiators...all this helps me think and gain ideas...

I'm very hands on with these jobs...do about 80% of the work myself...quite therapeutic:D

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

off the grid...

I'm definitely a cynic of the 'smart' technologies creeping into peoples homes...I see the dark-side of it...

I just want to get my house so well insulated that a joss-stick burning would warm the rooms...still thinking about ways of lighting...hmmm...like the idea of a range cooker..good old fashioned larder, not a fridge/freezer...

Currently...demolished most of the top floor in my house...been tinkering with the radiators...all this helps me think and gain ideas...

I'm very hands on with these jobs...do about 80% of the work myself...quite therapeutic:D

I think it is possible to have the best of both worlds. You can have it without being dependent on it?

As an electrician by trade, I have put more wire into this house than normal. Much of it allows for options.

Extra circuits for future solar in the attic. Dual options for "Tankless" water heater or conventional.

Super high efficency ductless heat pump / three zone. Also added 8 1000w to 2000w wall heaters as backup.

They are currently keeping the house nice and toasty to dry the tape/mud work. Hate to see the next electric bill

The contractors just finished the blown in insulation. Code now requires R49 (approx. 16.5") ended up with 24" , approx R60.

6" wall with R29 Eco-Green insulation bats.

Lighting is 95% CFL LED is still too rich. I will incorporate it when the prices come down.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Started dragging out all the paint I have collected over the last couple years. Approx. 50 gallons so far. :)

Need to let it warm up and sort out what will go where.

[floBoot]

I think it is possible to have the best of both worlds. You can have it without being dependent on it?

As an electrician by trade, I Hate to see the next electric bill

....

progress pics are looking great...:biggthumpmy last house I had a concrete floor put in and then covered it with real slate...I done all the electrical work myself including a new consumer unit, got passed by anelectrician for building control but I couldn't tell:) him I done the work as I'm sure he would have failed the circuits etc thinking a female couldn't possibly do this stuff...I know not all men think like this but I couldn't take a chance...

Anyway these pics are spurring me on to to start ripping out the kitchen although I haven't finished upstairs yet:rolleyes:

Edited December 6, 2012 by floBoot

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Floboot. Yes, when I was an apprentice 35 years ago it was fairly rare to work with a female electrician. Now our local (Local 48 of the IBEW) has dozens of women electricians and they are an excellent trades persons.

http://www.ibew48.com/index.cfm

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http://www.tradeswomen.net/

Our site seems to be slow right now, the video provides some links also.

Edited December 6, 2012 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Final pass on the mud

Today

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[poutanen]

One feature I had in my first house that I will build into my next house is a roof fed cistern. The house was built in the mid-50's in Ontario, in an area where drilling would have been too costly, so they built a concrete cistern into the ground beside the house. All the roof surface area drained into the cistern, then it passed through a sediment filter before going to the various faucets, except the kitchen faucet where it passed through a ceramic filter before cooking or drinking.

I lived there three years and never had a water bill, never ran out of water! :)

I also plan on using concrete, rammed earth, and a few other fancy pants construction techniques in my next house.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Poutanen, I agree, I like the rainwater recovery idea. The key is to keep the construction costs down to make it a viable option. I do collect in 50g barrel in various locations. Here is saves cost on the sewer fees too. They are linked to water use, so more water from utilities means higher sewer costs.

Update. Drywall primer Monday, Snowboard Powder Tuesday and Texture spraying today !!!