With the comments on it being very difficult on your marriage....I’ve been married almost 20 years and we dreaded building the house because we’ve heard how it really put a strain on some people. It was one of the easiest things we did honestly. I really left most of it up to her and put in my input where things I really wanted and let her make most of the decisions. The ONLY stipulation that I gave her was you HAVE to stay on budget. If it went out of budget I cleared it after a short discussion. We went over by $20k and I think we got a great house.

DO NOT go el-cheapo on insulation , use quality exterior doors and windows. Put in 10' garage doors for each stall , not 9s or one big one for both stalls. Outa be against the law to put anything other than 10 footers in a garage.

Amen. I actually ruled a house out when house hunting because it had narrow stalls, and a 20' bay length. Wouldn't even fit a full size truck, which is absolutely ridiculous.

You can work your way backwards to find out who does good work and who doesn't. Talk to a good painter , they'll tell you who the best trim and sheetrock guys are, sheet rock guys can tell ya who the good framers are, framers can tell ya who can lay a square foundation.

A really great painter make every ones work look good.

Only if you can speak Spanish.

Put your septic tank in the front yard.

What he is saying is build a bigger service with two disconnects. It’s a very good suggestion.

I wish my house had an attic exhaust fan.

Agreed.

I just skimmed thru the rest of the posts and didnt see mentioned but if its somewhere yall plan on being in for a long time make sure you have wide doorways and a well layed out master bath. Thats one thing I noticed with my grandparents and parents getting older is you may one day need to be wheel chair accessible to continue to live in the home. .

When I build mine I will be using pocket doors over regular doors in as many as i can.

A hidden book case door for "discreet" storage might be nice also. You can get them pre made online for $750ish. I think home depot offers them also.

Radiant floor heating will be a must have for me.

Another is I like it cold when I sleep so I will have a separate mini split AC just in the bedroom. No need to chill the whole house at night when I can just do the one room.

I will have at least one LP wall heater in a room for emergencies. After the snow storm of 93 and almost a week of no heat I wont be caught dependent on power to have heat. I will have at least the one room to stay warm in.

Extra outlets have already been mentioned but dont let them cheap out on bare minimum guage wiring.

Have cable/internet wires etc ran into walls ahead of time for a cleaner look.

Under cabinet led strip lighting in kitchen.

All corners of the house wired for outdoor security lighting boxes. If you do xmas lights under eave outlets.

Plenty of drain clean outs.



if I have a indoor water heater and dont go tankless I will have one of these auto leak detection shut offs. Seems I hear a lot of busted water heaters causing a lot of $$$ damage.

https://www.grainger.com/product/11K221?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuILti4r74gIVCUsNCh3zXAsWEAQYFCABEgJvmvD_BwE&cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMIuILti4r74gIVCUsNCh3zXAsWEAQYFCABEgJvmvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!50916761037!!!g!82128381117!?cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA?campaignid=175663197

Solid advice. Do not have any exterior door exposed directly to rain. It will lead to water issues down the road.
Place plenty of lighting in the attic.
Proper AC air vent placement is important for efficient cooling and lower power bills. Contractors often cut corners with these to run least amount of duct work possible. Ask contractor for layout and have someone that knows what to do review before installing.

It sounds like you have made good decisions already.

This is the issue we went through. A significant remodel and she had a vision in her head that the original make-up and design of the home did not allow for without significantly exceeding our budget. I planned to stay out of the design as much as possible but because I was the point of contact for the GC I caught the hell. Lesson learned!

I know you think you will never leave, but respectfully, at 34, you do not know what life might hand you.

Whatever you build should be something that you can sell if needed, so make sure to build to code plus.

Some really good advice in this thread.

If I were building would do 2x6 exterior walls, light colored metal roof, variable speed heat pumps, spray foam insulation, tankless water heater. Cat6 run to both sides of the house for wifi router points, concrete reinforced safe room/tornado shelter.

Thabks to everyone for the advice. I’m one step ahead on a lot of what’s been mentioned but have a bunch of new notes now.

Why 2x6 walls?

It allows for more insulation, hence more efficient heating and cooling.

All of these are very good ideas. Use good quality windows with low E glazing.

Another thing to look into is a cable or rod tie down system. This type system will tie the top plate of the walls to the concrete foundation and make the whole house more resistant in severe weather.

Always told it's not needed in this part of the country, especially on a brick. Don't know how long it would take to overcome cost of 6" lumber and insulation. I guess it causes issue setting doors and windows too.

A lot of houses are framed with 2x6 now. Some places have code that require it under their energy code. You can either use 2x6 and use traditional insulation or you can do 2x4 and use spray foam. You have to get a certain R factor. Also, any wall that supports 3 stories has to be 2x6.

Not sure about you, but I run my AC or heat 90% of all days.
According to my research the additional cost is under $2000 and results in energy savings of up to 20% which can be recouped in as little as one year.

https://info.turnerandsonhomes.com/blog/cost-to-build-a-house-2x6-walls


https://www.finehomebuilding.com/forum/r13-vs-r19