Building a House--any advice?

Status
Not open for further replies.
-Insulate well. It pays off.
-Make sure you get a natural gas hook-up.
-Do lots of outlets. You'd rather have too many than too few
-Do solar PV. If you have the skills to build a house then do solar PV. With microinverters, it is basically no different than wiring a 240V outlet. For less than $10K in parts, you can provide all your home's net electrical needs if you live in a sunny place. It is simple stuff, not rocket science.
-Look into a heat pump for heating.
-Put in a 240V line for a car charger. I'm not saying install a car charger, I'm just saying put in the conduit & wires for one.
-Make sure you do all your doors/windows properly. Simple little mistakes can destroy a house with water damage.
-No incandescent bulbs. LED or CFL only.

Built your home right and you'll have almost zero energy bills. In fact you can build homes that are completely zero on net enery.


Edit: Maine? Do a ground source heat pump! Get natural gas if possible. DO NOT DO AN OIL FURNACE! If you can't afford to do a ground source heat pump and are in the middle of nowhere so you can't do natural gas then propane is probably the best cheap solution.
 
- Really think about the spaces in your house, think about how big the rooms are going to be, including insulation, plasterboard, plaster etc, then think about cupboards, drawers units etc. The rooms feel way larger than they'll eventually be.

- Think about living in it:
- Like don't put your bedroom above your laundry room.
- Don't have kids rooms right next to your room.
- Don't put a stone floors in any bathrooms.
- Think about the materials your choosing, not just aesthetically but maintenance wise, are they easy to clean, nice to walk on everyday, do they stain.

- Don't just design for looks. Design for practicality.

- If you get a heatpump, the pump will make noise, plan for that. Then get underfloor heating, works well together.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom