| Author | Message | ||
     Geforce |
If all goes well, my wife and I will be buying a new home next year and I will have the chance to specify/integrate some modern technology into it as it is built. I've had this insatiable fascination recently with adding "gadgets" to the home that would be nothing more than just convenient and "neat" to me. I wanted to start a thread about these gadgets and see what my fellow badwebbers have/want in your homes or your dream homes. These gadgets include: o Interior/Exterior motion sensor lighting with manual switch panels. o Intercom system with a few cameras in places both interior/exterior. o LAN drops to each room with a switch in the utility room. (Good place for a hub, modem, etc.) o LED lighting all around in accents and a few tastefully placed strips. o Pocket doors... I have some in my current home and LOVE them. Just wished they were automated. (Star Trek) Ha! o Home security system with the ability to monitor the home and perhaps turn on/off a few lights and adjust settings over the net or mobile. Stuff like this just really interests me and I often spend time looking at toys on the interwebz. I don't have to have it, but I like cool gadgets in my home so long as they are practical and convenient with a manual backup of some sort. Any other cool stuff out there I can look at? Or what do you have or want in your dream home? | ||
| Froggy |
Getting CAT6 wiring for LAN is a must if the walls are still open, that way there is minimal cost to install it. While everything is pushing towards WiFi, good old fashioned Ethernet can't be beat for speed and reliability. | ||
| Strokizator |
I don't know the technical name for it but I've wanted programmable light switches. Instead of the usual hard wiring between a switch and a lamp, all lights and switches go back to a computer. You can then program any switch to activate any light, or combination of lights with different settings for different times of the day. So at night, you can have one switch turn on the lights in the hall and the kitchen or the hall and the bathroom or turn off all the lights in your house from the bedroom. Heated floors are neat. I've got eleven 1x4 flourescent light fixtures in my garage (22x42)and it's one of the smarter things I've done. You should also consider fire sprinklers; something that is mandatory for all new homes in Calif. Remember, a smoke detector is simply a device that when it goes off tells you that you should have had sprinklers. | ||
| Skntpig |
^^^Lutron or Crestron lighting. Hold on to your wallet. Outdoor kitchen: grill/tv/beverage chiller/icemaker/dishwasher. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
outdoor built in BBQ range and refigerator, bar, sink, smoker and cook top all surrounded in rock or decorative brick. nom nom nom | ||
| Just_ziptab |
I built a pocket into the bedroom wall with four outlets for charging pager,camera,cell phone....controlled with a switch. Turn on at night to charge all,turn off in the AM. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Central vacuum cleaning, We will never be without. It means you only have to haul the hose about not the whole vacuum cleaner. But the big plus is for any allergy sufferers, because the system is vented to the outside all the micro-dust & stuff that escapes the filtration system, be it cyclonic or paper filter, gets put out rather than just whirled up in the air. The other thing I'd highly recommend is underfloor heating using a low temperature geo-thermal heat pump. Nothing better on a cold morning when you get out of bed than putting your feet on a nice warm floor. If it's tiled your wife will love you as it's so easy to keep clean & smart looking. We installed that system when we renovated the farmhouse in Brittany, sadly not got it here but the next place definitely will. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Already got: cat6 in every room Surround sound wiring in the tv room LED exterior lighting Gonna get: Dimmable/programmable LED interior lights Surround sound in the bedroom Security system with web cams and mobile access Retractable compressor hoses in garage Compressed air outlets in a few strategic places around the house Overhead engine hoist in garage 30' electric perimeter fence with razor wire 12' deep, 20' wide moat with shark/gator hybrid patrols (thanks for the idea, Barack) 40' guard towers with cybernetic guards | ||
| Doz |
Not high tech but as the population grows older, an elevator would be nice. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Automating those pocket doors "like star trek" is actually pretty simple to do using pneumatics. It would not be very expensive. Those handicap doors in public buildings with the big button you push and the door opens are operated by a small compressor. One compressor could run several doors, though maybe not all at once. The only thing is they are silent. No funny sound like star trek. One advantage to pneumatic pocket doors is that they may last a lot longer. Kids or any rough hand can have a pocket door messed up in no time but an air ram opening it at the same gentle rate every time would have them lasting nearly forever. I have installed aprox 2000 pneumatic sliding doors for a dentention equipment company I worked for. This is very doable. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I ran CAT5 all through the house when we had ours built. Never actually *needed* any of it, but use it in a couple places to save money (i.e. the XBox, which lacks built in wireless and needs some stupid $50 adapter or something). Same with the cable lines... have them several places I never used, and will probably never use. I think TV will soon be just another Internet browser, which work fine over wireless. The stuff that I wish I could do over was more about just having AC outlets in the right places... but its hard to guess where you want them until you have lived in the house for a while. I also wished for just more lighting... or at least roughed in boxes. So hard to add after the fact, so easy before. So I'd spend most of your time and energy just picking 5 or 10 places to "add an outlet" and 5 places to "add a light fixture rough in" just in case. Dirt cheap, and lots of bang for the buck. | ||
| Ratbuell |
If not an elevator, plan for a first floor living suite for "when the time comes". Full bath, no steps, close to kitchen and entry/exit. +1,000 on all the LED lighting you can lay your hands on. Forget changing light bulbs. If you don't want to automate the household, you can still get programmable switches that fit in regular switch boxes. Stainless outdoor kitchen is cool. Don't forget the hot tub (like the first floor master - for purely medicinal purposes!). And as a part of the man-cave...I've always wanted a urinal at home. Forget leaving the seat down, she can stay OUT of that bathroom!! I'll be wiring a new home theatre soon and figuring out a lot of the same things myself. Difference is, mine's already built so I have to do it as renovations - you have the luck/luxury of doing it as new construction. I hadn't thought of webcam security...definitely going to have to look into that. Oh - and since 'tis the season (nearly), one other thing my place has is outlets at the eaves, with switches by the back door. String the lights, plug 'em in right there, turn 'em on and off with a switch. It's the little touches that are neat  And always remember...you can NEVER have too many wall outlets, and they can NEVER be on too many individual circuits. (Message edited by ratbuell on November 26, 2011) | ||
| Argentcorvid |
Having some passive solar heating features wouldn't be a bad thing to build in. That can help lower heating costs, but can dictate the design more than most people want. | ||
| Geforce |
Wow, lots of good ideas going here. I've seen a central vac system before at my friends house. They had one installed on their build and it looks pretty neat. As far as lighting goes... I'd love to convert to solid LEDs but the innovation I wanted to ensure that made it in the home is IR motion activation for each room with preset timers and manual touch sensors on each switch plate. I have also been looking at Geothermal heat pumps for heating/cooling. Expensive to install, but should help with utility costs and maintenance costs. I'd love to build the surrounding property up so that I can be self sufficient if needed. I will have to drill for water and I'll be out in the country a ways. I'm most concerned about building a nice workshop with three bays, a large tool room, and a craft/project room for my wife. This shop will need to be connected to the home security system and have some neat features also. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
I have two empty conduits in the walls ,going from the basement to the attic..... to simplify....if I ever want to add an outlet,switch,light fixture or speakers. I also put outdoor speakers in the back veranda overhang. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
dont forget the "panic " room lol | ||
| Leftcoastal |
My son does home automation. Vantage and Crestron systems. Too bad you're a bit out of his area, he's here in LA. Although one of his clients flew him to the French Alps to work on their system there. You could turn your alarm on or off, unlock a door to let in a friend, set your heating or A/C, program your sound system or TV, feed the dog, turn on or off any lights in the house or shop, etc. on and on, from your Iphone, from your Lear or Gulfstream, half way to Singapore. Get a wheelbarrow, fill it with large denomination currency. Anything can be done. | ||
| Xdigitalx |
don't forget the heated autoflush his&hers toilet.... | ||
| Geforce |
"Get a wheelbarrow, fill it with large denomination currency. Anything can be done." Very true, I'm looking for reasonable stuff. Heated floors and toilet seats won't be on the list unfortunately. We are also thinking about going solid tile... basically no carpet anywhere in the house. | ||
| Slaughter |
I love tile floors but DO NOT ATTEMPT to do it yourself. Also do your research on contractor to get the work done. Trust me, the people who are building your house will almost always be substandard in quality when it comes to tile floors. DAMHIK With tile you will love the utility. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
With our geothermal system we were getting 4 for 1. That's 4 kw of heat for 1 kw of electricity. Don't know about the US but most european countries give tax breaks for installing "green" systems. When we calculated the running costs & installation against oil or gas fired, the break even point was 7-10 years, but fuel costs far outstripped projections & we passed the break point in 4 years. Next place, I'll be looking for a stream running through the property so I can stick a wheel or a turbine on it, & a swimming hole of course. | ||
| Fahren |
Central vac: www.thinkvacuums.com. You can run a line to your shop as well, and you can get a wet/dry adaptor that allows you to do true shop-vac tasks with it. OnQ central panel board for data and coax lines to be home run to; suggest double runs of data wiring, just in case one gets a nail in it, or if you need to expand. Two sinks in the kitchen is great; double vanities in bedrooms are over-rated (do you really want to brush your teeth next to your significant other?). I would put a foot controlled faucet on one of the kitchen sinks, so you can turn on/of the water w/ full or grubby hands. If you decide you can't do floor heat, consider low voltage floor warming pads (Lowes, etc) that use very low amount of electricity, but will make your life on tile floors in winter HUGELY better. Really. Really. Think about it - no, make that, "DO IT." If you can build slab on grade, you can do a really nice stained and sealed concrete floor finish and save huge money over tile. And still have pex tubing (pressurized and) laid down just before pouring the slab. You can opt to do floor heat later, if budget and interest coincide. Switches for outlets (watt killers) - so you can switch off stuff and kill the vampire electric loads. Definitely plan for holiday lighting outlets and switches, including window candles if you are into that sort of thing. Use inexpensive conservation measures to save energy: insulation and tight sealing against air infiltration; learn when low-E glass is appropriate and when it's better not to have it for passive solar gain; plant deciduous trees appropriately for summer shading/winter sun; get an ERV or HRV ventilator for introducing pre-conditioned fresh air into your tightly sealed home; Consider solar hot water, with propane or gas back-up. Good incentive programs, best solar bang for buck. Can be used for snow melt, pool heat also. Pre plan your backup energy systems: how will you heat your home if power is out? What will you run off a generator? (hook it up that way from the get-go). Will you have a backup, low tech fuel source, like a wood stove or kerosene heaters? How about for cooking? I'd definitely pre-wire a home theater. PVC wire chases from bottom to top, strategically placed, for future pulls. If you are going with pocket doors, consider putting them into a 2x6 wall, so you can have 2x studs laid on the flat (1.5") on either side of the pocket. It's much, much sturdier than the 2x4 pocket door frames sold by Johnson and others. As to the Star Trek "Whoosh," you can make that sound yourself as you approach the door (I forget what spoof comedy movie that came from :-) Consider closed cell, polyurethane spray foam insulation, rather than batt. Solatube lighting - expensive at around $400 a pop, but lets natural light in where you can't get a window or skylight. | ||
| Geforce |
Senior Grump, Did you lay the heat exchangers vertically or horizontally? - The home will be built in the West Texas region on the Permian Basin near Midland, TX. We are trying to balance budget *200K +-25k* with realistic desires. After a little research, we decided to go with Palm Harbor modular homes. There is one floor plan that we REALLY like (Hacienda), it's simple, and we can have a hand in deciding some of the customizations as each section is built. There are some headaches with modular construction but we feel it would be better than paying for an entirely site built home. The rest of the budget will go towards laying two slabs (Home and Detached Workshop) and securing a couple of acres to stake out our claim. I am really enjoying reading about some of the ideas coming out here. Keep 'em coming! | ||
| Fahren |
I've never seen a modular home company who can provide a box to go onto a slab-on-grade. They have always told me they need the floor structure to make the box(es) rigid enough for transport. Modular (factory-built) is a great option. Consider not customizing, though. You get turnkey from them, at minimum cost, and you can upgrade yourselves if/when you want. There is seldom any real savings when you delete the factory standard stuff. Have you ever thought of putting together two basic modular boxes, with a space in between that you can roof over yourself, to make a lanai, or outdoor living room? Huge extra "built" space for most of the year, with very little additional cost. | ||
| Fahren |
Pole barn for detached workshop - great bang for buck. | ||
| Geforce |
That's a really good idea actually, Fahren. I'll know more about it this Spring when we tour their factory and take a look at what options they have already. Until then... it never hurts to look at new ideas and technology. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
If you're going tile throughout, a wise move to my mind, talk to your tiler about the underfloor. As has been previously stated, you don't have to hook it up immediately, but the extra cost of getting it laid at the same time is worth it. Also, if you do decide to go that way you'll need to allow 4-6" for the insulation & the float. The nice thing about the underfloor setup is that you don't need the heat set so high as it's an even spread. Also you can set different rooms up differently depending on your preferences. Our system was horizontal, had to pull out a couple of fruit trees, but pretty painless. If you don't have the soil depth & you have to go vertical it can get pricey with the drilling. But hey, you're in Texas, must be loads of drilling rigs about. One other thing I recommend to anybody that cooks is an induction hob. Yeah I know you have to get compatible pans & all that, but I guarantee you'll never go back once you've had one. | ||
| Doerman |
- Garbage disposal - Gas range - WiFi - Remote garage opener.. The rest, for me, is temporary or superfluous | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Oh but gas is sooooo last millenium........ | ||
| Fahren |
One other thing I recommend to anybody that cooks is an induction hob. And over any cooktop, put in a pot filler (cold water only) faucet. Double ovens are great, too. I had a Jenn-air unit that had a very thin top oven - great for broiling and for baking 90% of what we baked. It kept the bigger oven unused or all but really tall stuff. Other kitchen goodies: using the toespace base of cabinets for drawers - great for racks, baking sheets, trays, linens, etc. |
