Building a new house - what's a couple of your "must haves"?

[Deadeye]

Just wanted to see what kind of ideas that you have if you've built or planning to. If you say man cave, be specific of what you'd like to have.

Here's what's either on the plans or in my mind:
1. Large gameroom, includes pool table, ping pong top, 70'' TV, surrond sound, etc.
2. Large screened in back patio w/ indoor kitchen.
3. My own office with gunsafe, mounts and few outdoor collectible things.
4. 40x40 pole barn

Let's hear them, gimme some ideas. Many thanks,
Dead

[miket]

"Like to have" gun room/reloading room with vault door. Maybe have it built to serve as a storm shelter too. Entrance through my "man cave".

[huntsober]

Vault door to the concrete block room yes!!

Wood floors by using your own wood from your own place if your able.
AC/Heat under the house using all of Doug Wrey's information on windows and doors.
Outdoor kitchen with gas/water plumbed from the house.
10 KW generator running off natural gas if able in your area. If not propane.
Attic fan, lights in attic as well, plywood floor up there too
Hot and cold water faucets outside house.
Geotherm hot water heaters
Metal roof
Wide halls

Shop
Plumbed for compress air using PVC
Hot water
phone
220 volt for welder
skinning rack with elect winch
large sink
fan above ceiling
metal roof
good outdoor lights that will come on in cold weather
radent gas heat
Wash area with drain
Over head storage
washer dryer
water facets inside hot and cold

This is just to name a few..We just did this a couple years ago.

[SHANE704]

Nice walk-in shower with multiple shower heads

large open living/eating/kitchen

3 car garage

[H20fowlkiller]

I havent built it yet but slowly working on the plans in my head but I want my "mancave" to connect to the outdoor cooking area which connects to the kitchen. Also huge closets, I hate dressers and chests and all the other crap that clogs up a room.

[MudHog]

60x60 pole barn with 40x40 enclosed

Deending on if the house is 100% electric: 15-25kw DIESEL generator. Stay away from NG as it's to expensive and burns more being the BTU rating of NG is much lower than diesel. If electric and gas, 12-15kw and still diesel.

Outdoor patio with fireplace

Acadian Style (wrap around porch)

GUTTERS

Kitchen sink on an exterior wall with a large window looking outside

Functional shutters

[Scully]

Over size garage- with a large utility sink

[skywalker]

Power outlets on the eaves of your porch, makes Christmas lights a piece of cake. 'Heat' light just outside the walk in shower.

Small, but will both be priceless.

Forget the TV, get a ceiling mount projector and fixed screen on wall, get more punch for the $$ over the TV.

[SWAG]

Have access to your utility room or a bathroom from outside so that it can act as a "Mud Room" as well with tile floors and a drain. Seen a couple of houses with this and it works great and keeps the Misses happy. Coming in from work or hunting you strip down there, shower, and enter rest of house clean. No dragging in dirt or mud from boots or camo or yourself for that matter.

[Buckwabit]

I have a suggestion after reading everyone's comments...

Get a second job!!!!!

[Ster]

Couple of things to consider that are practical and will 100% be a good idea.

1) Spray Foam insulation. The stuff is amazing and I have seen guys work in the attic in the summer with hardly breaking a sweat.

2) Look at getting a Water Furnace Geothermal system. If you are building a big house you need to have this.

3) Make your house a "smart home". The system we have is by Honeywell and called Tuxedo. You can run everything in the house from a touchscreen tablet or my iphone.

4) Make plans for an outdoor kitchen. If you have one, you will use it a lot.

5) Build a mudroom. We have a mudroom off the back garage entrance with lockers, benches etc... My wife loves it.

6) Large multiple shower heads, and set the heads high.

7) Make sure you run Network cable throughout the house when your framing. That is really cheap to do during the rough-in phase and very expensive to do if you come back later.

One last thing, if you are building over a crawlspace then make sure you place a dehumidifier underneath the house. Houses built today don't "breath" like they use to with all the energy efficient windows, spray foam insulation etc.... Because of this moisture can become a problem coming out of the crawlspace that will cause some problems down the road.

[crow]

Outdoor fireplace on the screened-in porch. Nothing like a bourbon by the fire in the fall/winter/spring.

[MudHog]

[Rowdy53103]

Sounds like the budget is wide open.....

I stayed in a hotel a few times that had a heated bathroom floor that was pretty nice.

[Seymore]

If I ever build a house it will have a man room with all the fixings. I live with 5 women in a 3 bedroom 2 bath house and the estrogen drama sucks.