Elements for a perfect house?
Discussion
Before I start.. This is NOT a gadget thread :D I'm not interested in gizmos, but good tools for living.
Now, we're building our own house from scratch so we can do pretty much whatever we like, give or take the occasional opinion of the local planning department. If you were in that situation, what clever features would you incorporate? What have you seen that would make a house better to live in (rather than clever widgets you show off to visitors and never actually use).
It can be as simple as a farm style split back door, or something not usually seen in the UK such as constant circulation hot water systems, or clever grey water recycling. However, it's got to be things that have real value and improve our quality of life, not just novelty or pose factor.
We will have whole house networking and probably TV/audio, but things like that should be 'invisible technology' - stuff that just gets on with the job in the background, rather than landing you with a remote control the size of a donkey and taking five hours to program.
The aim is that the house should be like a discrete top quality hotel where your stay is made comfortable by all the work going on in the background, out of sight.
So - over to you - ideas?
Now, we're building our own house from scratch so we can do pretty much whatever we like, give or take the occasional opinion of the local planning department. If you were in that situation, what clever features would you incorporate? What have you seen that would make a house better to live in (rather than clever widgets you show off to visitors and never actually use).
It can be as simple as a farm style split back door, or something not usually seen in the UK such as constant circulation hot water systems, or clever grey water recycling. However, it's got to be things that have real value and improve our quality of life, not just novelty or pose factor.
We will have whole house networking and probably TV/audio, but things like that should be 'invisible technology' - stuff that just gets on with the job in the background, rather than landing you with a remote control the size of a donkey and taking five hours to program.
The aim is that the house should be like a discrete top quality hotel where your stay is made comfortable by all the work going on in the background, out of sight.
So - over to you - ideas?
I work for an exclusive house-builder and two of my bugbears whenever I walk into some of our houses are that
a) the formal dining room is on the other side of the house to the kitchen so the food is cooling by the time it gets to the table.
and b) they have no coat closet in the lobby/hallway, which means that if you're entertaining, you have to schlep upstairs with a handful of coats to chuck on one of the beds.
Also, depending on how big your house is going to be, a broom cupboard upstairs for keeping the a hoover and other cleaning equipment in is a good idea in a big sprawling mansion.
a) the formal dining room is on the other side of the house to the kitchen so the food is cooling by the time it gets to the table.
and b) they have no coat closet in the lobby/hallway, which means that if you're entertaining, you have to schlep upstairs with a handful of coats to chuck on one of the beds.
Also, depending on how big your house is going to be, a broom cupboard upstairs for keeping the a hoover and other cleaning equipment in is a good idea in a big sprawling mansion.
One of the best things we had designed into our house was a plumbed in hoover system. The motor and collection bin is in the garage and being fixed to the wall is larger and more powerfull. There are suction points on each floor and you just plug the hose in and turn it on via the handle. All the dirt then gets sucked through the house to the garage. Easy. No more dragging the upright around.
We've also got underfloor heating on the third floor which can be run through a cooler at this time of the year.
We've also got underfloor heating on the third floor which can be run through a cooler at this time of the year.
a central vacuum cleaner system sounds pretty good, as does one of these wine cellars www.spiralcellars.com/
Hi Tuna, Yes remote control lighting is nice.
Other than that lots of insulation to keep the house warm/cool and very quiet is nice and big windows for lots of natural light. A good set of big doors is nice so you can move furniture in/out without having to take it apart. Window sills big enough for plant pots? A lot of things like counters not covered by cupboards and the height of cupboard doors so you don’t bang your heads will depend on your own habits and geometry. Make sure rooms are well ventilated by whatever system you choose.
I have to say I would build a room which was quite small with thick soft carpets and well insulated from the rest of the house as a “quiet room” for working, relaxing and personal space. That is personal preference however to working under those conditions.
P.S. If you are wondering what the soft carpet is for its so you can throw some pillows down on the ground and lye down when you work, I like it best that way
Other than that lots of insulation to keep the house warm/cool and very quiet is nice and big windows for lots of natural light. A good set of big doors is nice so you can move furniture in/out without having to take it apart. Window sills big enough for plant pots? A lot of things like counters not covered by cupboards and the height of cupboard doors so you don’t bang your heads will depend on your own habits and geometry. Make sure rooms are well ventilated by whatever system you choose.
I have to say I would build a room which was quite small with thick soft carpets and well insulated from the rest of the house as a “quiet room” for working, relaxing and personal space. That is personal preference however to working under those conditions.
P.S. If you are wondering what the soft carpet is for its so you can throw some pillows down on the ground and lye down when you work, I like it best that way
mrs trackside said:
...in a big sprawling mansion.
Hahahahaha.. ha.. hahahaha.. haha..
Definately not going to be a big sprawling anything, though the garage is going to be huuuuge
There are some good points here (it's details like coat cupboards and lighting that doesn't blind that makes all the difference). I'm not certain about built in vacuums (though I will happily watch the demos at shows where they have transparent pipes with things zooming around inside
). We had thought of building the whole house at an angle so all the rubbish naturally slid down to one end.. As to Cat5/6, it's difficult to decide. Whilst wireless is definately taking off, things like TV and so on will always take up valuable airspace, so the temptation is to install a wired 'backbone' to get the important signals around the house, but not go to the lengths of having multiple sockets in every last room.
>> Edited by Tuna on Tuesday 21st June 12:54
IF I were building a house, I'd use a system that has worked well since the 1800's here. A stepped roof system, with drainage, feeding to a large holding tank under the house (approx 30-40,000 Gals) with a pump embedded in the holding tank.
As we have no mains, this is our only source of water, but allied with a mains source you can use this water for flushing toilets/Washing clothes and when the hosepipe ban comes in - water the garden !
As we have no mains, this is our only source of water, but allied with a mains source you can use this water for flushing toilets/Washing clothes and when the hosepipe ban comes in - water the garden !
anonymous said:
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Agreed, and make sure you don't have them placed over glazing as the birds constantly crap over it
anonymous said:
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No, it's great. If you want a demo and you live near. Mail me
anonymous said:
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We went for a sentry camera wired to the TV. Just switch to c9 when the door bell goes
anonymous said:
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Yep, we had ours tied to the extractor switch. anonymous said:
[redacted]
It's lazy but worth it Would say love having split rear ‘farmhouse’ door - can't beat A the sound and feel of hearing a solid wooden door shut and throwing the bolts and also the ability to lean out for a cigarette if you don't like smoking in the house but don't want to get wet when raining (but then it wouldn't do anything for you as IIRC you don't smoke!)It's nice to have just the top bit open in the summer to.
A/C is a great idea, but if you’re not going to have it in the whole of the house I would say all upstairs rooms should have it. Warm air rising and all that insulation BR now requires makes these rooms saunas on a hot summer night I find.
Heated bathroom tiles are a major ++ as I have found out by not having them...
If you are going the gas route have a small hot water tank and a combi boiler for the hot water - one will cut the time hot water takes to get to the tap and the other will stop you ever running out of it!!!
Hating external water and electrics is a must in this day and age.
Always spec more plug sockets than you need - you will always end up using them
I like fitted wardrobes myself on a basic level and a shoe cupboard that the kids can just chuck theirs into is great.
Don't go for built-in appliances in the kitchen, get full size ones as the dishwasher will almost certainly die before the kitchen will. As for the kitchen itself I am a snob and would say spend the money and get a proper hand made, on site, wooden one. you won't get better quality plastic ones and if you ever want to change it a little to put in some new appliance or whatever it in so much easier.
Remember to ensure that you have a good size utility with lots of worktop space. Everyone who lives in the house should be able to stand in their comfortably at the same time to judge a good size. (Think of wash day and all the clothes sorting, etc!)
Slight gizmo but i have a mate who has a tile TV in the bathroom which he thinks is the best thing in the world as he likes to lounge in the bath when he has time.
A/C is a great idea, but if you’re not going to have it in the whole of the house I would say all upstairs rooms should have it. Warm air rising and all that insulation BR now requires makes these rooms saunas on a hot summer night I find.
Heated bathroom tiles are a major ++ as I have found out by not having them...
If you are going the gas route have a small hot water tank and a combi boiler for the hot water - one will cut the time hot water takes to get to the tap and the other will stop you ever running out of it!!!
Hating external water and electrics is a must in this day and age.
Always spec more plug sockets than you need - you will always end up using them
I like fitted wardrobes myself on a basic level and a shoe cupboard that the kids can just chuck theirs into is great.
Don't go for built-in appliances in the kitchen, get full size ones as the dishwasher will almost certainly die before the kitchen will. As for the kitchen itself I am a snob and would say spend the money and get a proper hand made, on site, wooden one. you won't get better quality plastic ones and if you ever want to change it a little to put in some new appliance or whatever it in so much easier.
Remember to ensure that you have a good size utility with lots of worktop space. Everyone who lives in the house should be able to stand in their comfortably at the same time to judge a good size. (Think of wash day and all the clothes sorting, etc!)
Slight gizmo but i have a mate who has a tile TV in the bathroom which he thinks is the best thing in the world as he likes to lounge in the bath when he has time.
Krusty said:
It's lazy but worth it
Banham's standard alarms now come with tag technology.
When you want to set it you just touch the key pad with the tag and it switches on, the same goes for dissarming. There's still a key pad just in case the tag is lost and it has an intelligent setting system which sets the ground floor sensors on whilst the 1st floor is innactive.
Fit the following:
A garage, double if possible
A conservatory possibly integrated with other living space so that forms a real extension to the home as opposed to being a tagged on afterthought on the back door.
Remember to put in a floor plus a power point and a light in the attic for those future excursion upwards to check the water tank or put away the Christmas tree. You really don't want to be waving an inspection light around in one hand while using an extension lead and power tool in the other to fix a dripping tank. Or better still make the attic into another floor of the house.
Some clear route for wires and cables with access for maintenance and adding new stuff. Every time I've fitted new or additional sockets for anything I've ended up digging into the plaster and drilling through walls, replastering and repainting half the house! The alternative is to stapple wires to the skirting boards which I hate as it looks really amateurish.
Air con or forced ventilation (extractor fans for example) upstairs. For those of you who boil alive every summer and curse the modern heat efficient home one tip is to open the loft door , this gives the hot air somewhere to rise up to as opposed to accumulating upstairs. I've just opened mine and will probably close it again in September!
A garage, double if possible
A conservatory possibly integrated with other living space so that forms a real extension to the home as opposed to being a tagged on afterthought on the back door.
Remember to put in a floor plus a power point and a light in the attic for those future excursion upwards to check the water tank or put away the Christmas tree. You really don't want to be waving an inspection light around in one hand while using an extension lead and power tool in the other to fix a dripping tank. Or better still make the attic into another floor of the house.
Some clear route for wires and cables with access for maintenance and adding new stuff. Every time I've fitted new or additional sockets for anything I've ended up digging into the plaster and drilling through walls, replastering and repainting half the house! The alternative is to stapple wires to the skirting boards which I hate as it looks really amateurish.
Air con or forced ventilation (extractor fans for example) upstairs. For those of you who boil alive every summer and curse the modern heat efficient home one tip is to open the loft door , this gives the hot air somewhere to rise up to as opposed to accumulating upstairs. I've just opened mine and will probably close it again in September!
rude-boy said:
Heated bathroom tiles are a major ++ as I have found out by not having them...
Indeed. There's something very pleasant about bare feet / cool tiles thing in the summer, but not when you are freezing your knackers off.
Electic under-tile heating mat (Devimat for instance) is a good and relatively cheap solution - very even heat distribution and no complex pipe work.
You can get underfloor heating solutions for any kind of flooring surface, and I think they even have technology now where you can remotely adjust the temperature in your home (via the net?) whilst you are away. It's good for those with two houses or a holiday home.
AC79xxx said:
Banham's standard alarms now come with tag technology.
When you want to set it you just touch the key pad with the tag and it switches on, the same goes for dissarming.
So if you lose your keys, whoever finds them can also disarm the alarm? Sounds a bit dubious to me...
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Would love one, but can't afford the space in the kitchen unfortunately. anonymous said:
[redacted]
Even if it has to go in the garage, you will always need the extra space from time to time (e.g. Christmas) and at other times you can slip a crate of beer and a few bottles of wine in... pdV6 said:
Banham's standard alarms now come with tag technology.
When you want to set it you just touch the key pad with the tag and it switches on, the same goes for dissarming.
So if you lose your keys, whoever finds them can also disarm the alarm? Sounds a bit dubious to me...
Only if you're silly enough to put an address tag on your keys
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