Building a home is a complex job, and if this is your first time working with a homebuilder, you may be worried about forgetting important details. Rest assured that we’ve got lots of experience with homes of all types and will make sure that we turn over a house that you’ll build memories in for decades.
Over the years, our customers and building staff have accumulated a list of helpful things not to forget when building a house. These may not all apply to your particular project, but we hope that by sharing them you can pick out a few extras that make life easier.
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Small Things That Get Forgotten When Building a House
Once you’ve picked out a floor plan and started selecting paint colors, furniture won’t be far behind. Perhaps you’ll be moving furniture you already own into the new house, and perhaps you’ll be purchasing some new pieces. Either way, you can start to think about where these pieces will go. In the family room, if you already have an idea of where furniture might go and what it will look like, we can work with the electricians to place outlets in the most convenient spots. A mid-room outlet – usually set in the floor, where it can be disguised by a sofa, chair or table, can be a great if you want to put a lamp somewhere away from the walls. Without the mid-room outlet you have to consider using long cords, which most folks would rather not see running across their floor.
Photo courtesy of Vivian Nguyen
Thinking about outlets is a good idea in other rooms. Are you planning a mudroom or hall space where the kids (or the grownups) will leave coats, backpacks and the like? That sort of space can be the perfect spot to include an outlet, allowing you to charge your phone in a spot where you’re sure to see it before heading out the door each day. These mudrooms or hall spaces are also great spots to include extra drawers or storage cubbies. There’s always extra stuff that needs to go near the door, and a bit of advance planning can really improve your happiness with the finished house.
You may also want to spend some time thinking about outlet placement in other rooms, such as the master bedroom. We all keep a lot more electronic devices by our bedside than in the past. If you have an alarm clock, lamp a music dock or charging station and the plugs for your phone charger (and tablet or computer), the cords can pile up fast. Make sure that you’ve got the outlets you need. One trick we’ve also seen that is fun and handy is a light switch at the head of the bed. Most light switches are located at doorways, for obvious reasons, but the extra switch by your bed can let you turn off the lights from bed, saving you from that delicate dance across the floor in the dark.
Photo courtesy of Colin and Sarah Northway
Speaking of lights, start thinking in advance about how you plan to use certain rooms. If you’re including a game room, will it have a pool table? If you plan on that, let us know so that we can make sure the room is big enough for the table and the players (you need at least four, and preferably five, feet of space between the edges of the table and the walls). Pool tables also require good lighting to be placed directly above the table, so knowing that in advance ensures we can place the supports and wiring needed for a major light fixture.
Make a custom home building checklist
One of the great benefits of working with Madison Homebuilders is that we build a house in collaboration with you. That means we get to customize the house based on your family’s needs. As we get ready to start building, prepare a custom home checklist that contains any little extras that you’re interested in including. Then we can work on you to decide which items are “must have” and which are “nice to have.” That will let you prioritize these little extras in a way that works for your budget.
For example, if you’re the type of family that uses its barbecue grill almost every weekend, it might make sense to run a gas line out to your grill so you don’t have to replace a propane tank every time it runs out. If you love creating big holiday light displays, we’ll work with you to make sure the necessary exterior outlets are in just the right spot.
These are, we have found, the things that most commonly get overlooked when building a house, and we want to make sure you get exactly what you need to enjoy life to the fullest in your new home. Be sure to consider any of these special items during initial discussions with our building team, and we’ll make sure you get what you need!