If you were building your own house.. what special features would you add? - General

An integrated sound system throughout the house so that you can be immersed in music 24/7 no matter where you are in the house. Heated floor tiles and mirrors and a huge shower like Autumn mentioned. LED lighting strips (I think they've been mentioned), preferably ones which you can vary the colour and intensity of - in my head I have this mental picture of hall ways with strips of LED lights running along the very foot of the walls and around door frames glowing a very gentle red so that if you wake up in the middle of the night to take a piss you're, one, not blinded by turning the lights on, and two, know exactly where the walls are and where door frames are so you're not staggering around bumping into shit. If I were obscenely rich and had a large enough house I'd love to have some semi-outdoor/indoor kind of area with what starts of looking like a water feature running down into successfully larger pools of water (one (or more) of which would actually be a well disguised jacuzzi (or jacuzzis)) maybe finally becoming a swimming pool (again, surrounded with rocks and such so that it looks more like a natural swimming area). That's a bit on the extravagant side I think, though. For the most part I think my dream home would look quite modern but I'd like it to sort of mix with nature, too (as the above point might suggest). That said I'd definitely like to have a rustic feeling study (maybe with some very craftily hidden tech in it) - y'know, mahogany wood wall panels, a big fireplace with a shag rug in front of it, huge bookshelves etc. Less out of the realm of possibility than a fucking proper observatory I'd like a tall room with a curved glass ceiling and a balcony so that at night time you can sit up there (out or in depending on the temperature) and star gaze. In my head I picture that area being directly above the study and accessible via a small set of stairs and a 'bridge' that crosses over the study. I could probably blab on forever, but I'll stop now. Need to get some more revision done.

One of those big shower heads that are integrated into the roof, so it's like showering in the rain or under a waterfall or something. Also a Batcave.

[QUOTE=SBD;42709478]One of those big shower heads that are integrated into the roof, so it's like showering in the rain or under a waterfall or something. Also a Batcave.[/QUOTE] This. And it'd be great if there were water jets running down the wall of the shower too. Hell, imagine if somewhere you could connect shampoo or shower gel up so that it'd get fed into the shower 'head' or the wall jets. Would make life so much easier. And optimally have the shower act like an enormous Dyson airblade when you're done so that you get dried in like 5 seconds flat.

Didn't Whirlpool have a ridiculously expensive line of designer bath and shower systems?

[QUOTE=sltungle;42709493]Hell, imagine if somewhere you could connect shampoo or shower gel up so that it'd get fed into the shower 'head' or the wall jets. Would make life so much easier.[/QUOTE] MY EYES

[QUOTE=Autumn;42711788]MY EYES[/QUOTE] Cover them :v:

[QUOTE=Autumn;42711788]MY EYES[/QUOTE] Close eyes, turn knob to include shampoo/shower gel, turn knob once more when enough has been applied, continue shower as normal.

[QUOTE=sltungle;42713971]Close eyes, turn knob to include shampoo/shower gel, turn knob once more when enough has been applied, continue shower as normal.[/QUOTE] would it mix the two? what about conditioner and shave gel? wouldn't it get stale and cloggy in the pipes? i don't really think you've thought this through...

[QUOTE=Autumn;42714302]would it mix the two? what about conditioner and shave gel? wouldn't it get stale and cloggy in the pipes? i don't really think you've thought this through...[/QUOTE] I figured you'd have two separate systems. Shower gel/soap/whatever through the wall jets, and shampoo through the pipes. Those pay by the minute car washes have those big spray guns connected up to a hose which feeds multiple different kinds of detergents and finishes through it to wash and touch up your car with. So if they don't get clogged up, why would the same situation be a problem in a shower? Shower gel and shampoo are water soluble, and given that you usually don't keep applying either or both from the start of a shower to the very end that time you spend rinsing yourself off with JUST water would probably clean out the pipes. And if it does become problematic clean the pipes out - pump something through the system like drain cleaner I'm sure with enough money it could be made to work - it just becomes a question of how much money. [editline]1st November 2013[/editline] Bear in mind self cleaning surfaces are a big area of active research in materials science and nanotechnology these days. The same problem you're talking about (pipes crusting up) happens in factories that treat milk (although I think that's more an issue of bacterial growth at the bends in the pipe where the water velocity is really low from memory) so there's a lot of research into countering that kind of problem. Self cleaning roofs already exist, although they're fairly simple in nature. Mentioning self cleaning surfaces made me think of another thing - I'd love showers and sinks and such made of self cleaning materials. No more scum build up, no more need to clean (well something would probably still manage to cause problems, but it'd take a lot longer to become a problem and would becomes much less problematic to clean).

A toilet

[QUOTE=SBD;42709478]One of those big shower heads that are integrated into the roof, so it's like showering in the rain or under a waterfall or something. Also a Batcave.[/QUOTE] [t]http://www.rogerseller.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1300x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/R/S/RS_Rogerseller_Cloud-Cover_Showers_Ceiling-Showers_Rainlight-Square_3200612_1.jpg[/t] I wonder if the leds change to temperate something like: [t]http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/945554/20053539/0/1301468059/temperature_controled_led_shower_head_light.jpg[/t] If you could control all your lights by an app on your phone, that would also be cool.

[QUOTE=sltungle;42714381]pump something through the system like drain cleaner[/QUOTE] MY EYES! [editline]1st November 2013[/editline] it's a sorta nice idea, but it's just completely superfluous. there's absolutely no need for it, the hassle required in setting it up and maintaining it is no way worth what you get out of it... automatic shower gel/shampoo. get some fancy dispensers or something, sure, but there is absolutely no need for it to be built into a piped system

[QUOTE=Gfoose;42721093]If you could control all your lights by an app on your phone, that would also be cool.[/QUOTE] What the hell are you doing with your phone in the shower?

I've had this idea bouncing around for a while now. Decent speakers in every house. A computer in an out of the way part of the house running [url=http://www.musicpd.org/]mpd[/url], with a decent sound card, hooked into this speaker system. Android devices mounted on a wall in every room in the house for MPD control, nothing too high-end, just whatever old ass Wildfires I can pick up off Craigslist or whatever. I believe this will have all the coolness of having an expensive music system that can be controlled from every room in the house, but at far less of a cost: it'd be using old phones instead of proprietary control panels, you probably have an old computer you're not using for shit else anyway, and it would be networked through wi-fi for the most part so you don't have to run a buttload of cables through your house.

i don't think money is too much of an issue for garry, for the ballache it'd probably be to get ^ set up, [URL]http://www.sonos.com/[/URL] is probably a better solution?

[QUOTE=lavacano;42730024]I've had this idea bouncing around for a while now. Decent speakers in every house. A computer in an out of the way part of the house running [url=http://www.musicpd.org/]mpd[/url], with a decent sound card, hooked into this speaker system. Android devices mounted on a wall in every room in the house for MPD control, nothing too high-end, just whatever old ass Wildfires I can pick up off Craigslist or whatever. I believe this will have all the coolness of having an expensive music system that can be controlled from every room in the house, but at far less of a cost: it'd be using old phones instead of proprietary control panels, you probably have an old computer you're not using for shit else anyway, and it would be networked through wi-fi for the most part so you don't have to run a buttload of cables through your house.[/QUOTE] actually what i would do is use the moto x and dupe its audio/video/mic inputs to everywhere in the house you can say "ok google now, play songs by ac/dc"

For the actual [B]construction[/B] of the house, go with Insulated Concrete Forms (Like ARXX or something) for ridiuculously good insulation/energy savings/storm resistance/noise reduction/LEED shit/customizable wall coverings/cost savings. Then have the roof be a similar form like, say, InsulDeck. Normally the house plans would only be slightly modified to adjust for the wall forms. [B]Oh, and whatever you do, if you're having a foundation put in, ICFs, whatever, use GALVANIZED rebar in all your concrete work, not coated.[/B]

[QUOTE=Dylanlip;42733756]For the actual [B]construction[/B] of the house, go with Insulated Concrete Forms (Like ARXX or something) for ridiuculously good insulation/energy savings/storm resistance/noise reduction/LEED shit/customizable wall coverings/cost savings. Then have the roof be a similar form like, say, InsulDeck. Normally the house plans would only be slightly modified to adjust for the wall forms. [B]Oh, and whatever you do, if you're having a foundation put in, ICFs, whatever, use GALVANIZED rebar in all your concrete work, not coated.[/B][/QUOTE] Why ARXX over pour-in-place?

[QUOTE=woolio1;42734397]Why ARXX over pour-in-place?[/QUOTE] Unless you're referring to basement pouring, I dunno what you mean by "ARXX over pour-in-place", since any ICF is for casting-in-place anyway.

[QUOTE=Dylanlip;42734661]Unless you're referring to basement pouring, I dunno what you mean by "ARXX over pour-in-place", since any ICF is for casting-in-place anyway.[/QUOTE] Last time I went to a home show, which was several years ago now, they were demonstrating modular ICF panels. They would cast the panels off-site, haul them in, and assemble by crane. Do they not do that anymore?

[QUOTE=woolio1;42735398]Last time I went to a home show, which was several years ago now, they were demonstrating modular ICF panels. They would cast the panels off-site, haul them in, and assemble by crane. Do they not do that anymore?[/QUOTE] If the panels were assembled like that, that'd simply mean they're [B]pre-cast[/B] concrete blocks, instead of [B]in-place[/B](On -site). ICFs are forms meant for bringing on site and building the frame of the house/placing the rebar within before pouring anything.

Garry.... When your house is done i would pay to spend a weekend in it. [editline]3rd November 2013[/editline] Do it... For science.

id love to build a house thats extensively underground, too bad theres no real cost effective way to do this other than dig a huge pit and build upwards or dig by hand. also id like to build a building with batteries to store enough juice for going completely off the grid with solar power something like this [t]http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/SY25FBMBT5o/hqdefault.jpg[/t]

This might sound like a stupid idea.. but I am seriously considering having a bath in the master bedroom.

[QUOTE=garry;42757146]This might sound like a stupid idea.. but I am seriously considering having a bath in the master bedroom.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't put the bath in the bedroom per se, but you could do a really cool thing with a partial room divider. Keep in mind, though, deviation from the norm and excessive eccentricity can kill resale value. Not that that matters for you, I'd imagine, but still.

Sleep in a bathtub

[QUOTE=garry;42757146]This might sound like a stupid idea.. but I am seriously considering having a bath in the master bedroom.[/QUOTE] ooh don't do it, my uncle's house had this weird loft with a whirlpool tub in the corner of it and it just looked horribly outdated, like the hotel room in back to the future that had a tub in the center

[QUOTE=SBD;42722581]What the hell are you doing with your phone in the shower?[/QUOTE] Haha, I meant phone app to control room lights, not your shower lights.

[QUOTE=Sableye;42750641]id love to build a house thats extensively underground, too bad theres no real cost effective way to do this other than dig a huge pit and build upwards or dig by hand. also id like to build a building with batteries to store enough juice for going completely off the grid with solar power something like this [t]http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/SY25FBMBT5o/hqdefault.jpg[/t][/QUOTE] Do you hate the sun?

I'd personally love to have a Ron Jeremy fountain in my front yard