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LakeCyd

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Feb 14, 2014
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My family and I relocating back to the great state of Iowa later this year. As of the moment we intend to build a new custom home in the western DSM suburbs on an estate type lot (1+ acres).

Curious if any other CF readers have been through this experience and what type of advise you can offer. What features and items are a most for the Iowa weather, and what new trends ideas are out there that make living in a home more convenient for you and your family?

We are pretty set on a plan but are working with the home designer on some changes and tweaks while trying to be budget conscious.

One thing I really want is a staircase from the garage to basement mechanical room, but not sure we can carve the space out in the floor plan and make it worth it for the additional funds.

Fire away!
 
A garage door out of the side or back of the garage. And for the love of god this should go without saying in this day and age but OUTLETS AT TV HEIGHT or custom wall so your cords aren’t hanging all over and stretching all over. Also LED under and in cabinet lighting.

Edit: also stair lighting.
 
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LakeCyd said:
My family and I relocating back to the great state of Iowa later this year. As of the moment we intend to build a new custom home in the western DSM suburbs on an estate type lot (1+ acres).

Curious if any other CF readers have been through this experience and what type of advise you can offer. What features and items are a most for the Iowa weather, and what new trends ideas are out there that make living in a home more convenient for you and your family?

We are pretty set on a plan but are working with the home designer on some changes and tweaks while trying to be budget conscious.

One thing I really want is a staircase from the garage to basement mechanical room, but not sure we can carve the space out in the floor plan and make it worth it for the additional funds.

Fire away!
Click to expand...



We do have stairs to garage from unfinished basement and it's pretty nice for taking hoses and patio stuff in and out during the year. Really pay attention to where light switches and outlets go. Of course there's standard and code stuff but think about how you will live and move through the place and what makes sense.

Do you or spouse like showering? Do the 2nd showerhead, wish we had done that.

We did an extra foot of ceiling height in the basement that I think will really make it nice when we finish it to make it feel cavey.
 
Gunnerclone said:
A garage door out of the side or back of the garage. And for the love of god this should go without saying in this day and age but OUTLETS AT TV HEIGHT or custom wall so your cords aren’t hanging all over and stretching all over. Also LED under and in cabinet lighting.
Click to expand...


hose spigots in functional places, outlets in soffits if you do holiday lighting
 
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cowgirl836 said:
We do have stairs to garage from unfinished basement and it's pretty nice for taking hoses and patio stuff in and out during the year. Really pay attention to where light switches and outlets go. Of course there's standard and code stuff but think about how you will live and move through the place and what makes sense.

Do you or spouse like showering? Do the 2nd showerhead, wish we had done that.

We did an extra foot of ceiling height in the basement that I think will really make it nice when we finish it to make it feel cavey.
Click to expand...

yes we are planning on 10' foundation walls at the moment.
 
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Get a pro you like to go over the landscaping/hardscaping with you. A lot of times they do the edging not well from a landscape POV and we spent a lot of time digging rock and grass when we wanted to put flowers and shrubs in. Would have saved a lot of time to have had it gone over at building time and have an actual landscape person redraw where the edging should go and what should be rock, mulch, whatever.
 
Why build when you can just park?

use-single-wides-for-sale.jpg
 
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cowgirl836 said:
We did an extra foot of ceiling height in the basement that I think will really make it nice when we finish it to make it feel cavey.
Click to expand...

We have 9 ft. ceilings on main floor and in the basement and while it doesn't seem like much I don't think I could ever go back to living with 8 ft. ceilings.
 
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A thought from someone who lives in a early 80's built house but regularly drives through new build neighborhoods... windows are good. I find it crazy how many houses I see where whole sides of the house do not have a window or door. I am sure there are efficiency reasons, but all I think of when I see it is cheap build that benefits the builder.
 
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Pay attention to what direction the various features of your house will face.

At my parents house the driveway is on the south side of the house, so in the winter they get the benefit of the sun to melt snow and ice off their driveway in the winter while the house across the street continually has snow on the driveway from the shade.

My sisters house has the backyard facing west so the back of the house (yard, living room, patio, kitchen, etc) all get really, really hot in the summer.

Sometimes you can't control that part, but it's something to consider.

Think about if that 'unique' feature (if you have one) is going to age well.

Gas stove. So much better for cooking than an electric stove (in my opinion).

If going full custom, see if you can get a white melamine lining on the inside of your kitchen cupboards. My parent's have it and it's great, makes it easy to clean up anythign inside and also makes it much easier to see in. Think about refrigerator size. Most fridges are deeper than standard cabinets so they can be awkward looking. You can get a cabinet depth fridge, but it'll have a smaller capacity (could be an issue depending on your family size).
 
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It's very important to pay attention to travel paths. Most people nowadays want open plans, and at times the travel path through these areas can become problematic. A little time spent now might preclude weird furniture arrangements in the future.

I would also echo the comment about fenestration - in 35+ years of helping with house design, I have never had a customer tell me that they put in too few windows, or too small windows. I have, however, heard many, many complaints about how they wish they had put in more or bigger windows.
 
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Gunnerclone said:
A garage door out of the side or back of the garage. And for the love of god this should go without saying in this day and age but OUTLETS AT TV HEIGHT or custom wall so your cords aren’t hanging all over and stretching all over. Also LED under and in cabinet lighting.

Edit: also stair lighting.
Click to expand...

Of all things to consider when building or buying a new home, the avoidance of 3 feet of exposed cable definitely tops the list!
 
This is random but if you have a dog, a place you can give him a bath in the mud room. A sort of dog shower.
 
1+ acre lot riding lawnmower with a snowblower. Unless your just hiring your lawncare and snow removal done then don't worry about it.
 
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