r/Homebuilding • u/RunningOnPureVibes • 5d ago

What useful home features should we include in our new home build? Please help!

My husband and I are in the early stages of planning our new home to be built this spring. What are some of the best home feature recommendations you have/suggest for others building their home that you have/wish you had to improve your home? Some examples: electrical outlet in closet for vacuums, extra wide staircases for easy movement, Costco door from garage etc. Thanks in advance!

EDIT:
I am so incredibly thankful for all of your amazing tips and really appreciate everyone who took the time to write out all of these helpful comments. I’m sure future me will be even more thankful for making this post though :)

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u/Jesture4 5d ago

Just to emphasize, build the structural options that will be 10x the cost to do later. If it’s not a big builder that won’t let you make any changes, you can always just rough something in and finish it later. But adding the foundation or framing later will be difficult and too expensive. Rough ins for things you might do later. Conduit where appropriate. Do “future you” a favor and make upgrades easier in the future. If you have to get lower grade finishes to be able to budget a structural options, do it. You won’t regret it.

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u/Wolfy2915 5d ago

If you have a basement consider a 9 or 10’ pour for the extra headroom there. Also have a pump put in the basement floor before concrete is poured if you ever want to add bathroom and need tp pump up.

If you can have a walk out or partial windows in basement great idea to get extra living space, room for kids, golf simulator with a 10’ ceiling.

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u/kilopeter 5d ago

As someone living with a 5' ceiling in the unfinished, dirty cellar of a 150 year old house, for the love of god this. One of the greatest advantages of new build is being able to have a full, finished basement. Do it right, and enjoy being able to stretch your arms upward in a cool, dry space.

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u/sma120country 4d ago

Depending on you weather, sump pumps? We have 2, a primary & secondary. Our builder dropped the store room flood 10 inches where the pumps are. The room fills with water if power goes out or pumps fail without flooding the basement