I did see this! And yes, I still LOVE it five years later. We still haven't begun the 2nd-floor bathroom, aka the 1925 Hall Bath/Faux Master which is our only bathroom on the bedroom level with a clawfoot tub & a shower ring. So the Starting From Dirt Basement Bathroom is still my favorite place to shower. So here's how to do the Starting From Dirt Basement Bath set up: Hansgrohe Ibox rough in Shower & tub fixtures - Hansgrohe Rain S Showerhead & hand shower S Thermostatic Trim with Volume Control and Diverter (tub to shower) Kohler HydroRail Shower Column and Diverter (showerhead to hand shower) Metris S tub filler The Tub Filler & Hydrorail are tied together at the Ibox by the diverter on the shower trim, the two showerheads switch between each other on the Hydorail. Run it all by your plumber - I don't know if all these parts (especially the hydrorail) are still available! Good luck! Also, here's a link to Part 2 of the Adventure: https://tinyurl.com/ydntvkzc

Carol-very good use of space for different activities. We aren't finishing our basement right away but I am bookmarking his thread for later. Our 'family room' down there is 17x33 I think. Definitely room for multi-purposing. IKEA hack - ugh no. I do not have near the time necessary to plan and carry out that undertaking. :(. We ended up buying 2 cabinets vanity height and depth for $1,000 bucks. The rest we are winging. There have been strong disagreements about the built ins so we will see what we end up with. They will be more basic than my inspiration for sure. At this point I am very thankful for my arches. If that is what I end up with then I am happy. Have you seen Dutty's kitchen IKEA hack? Simply amazing! Your plan looks great! LL is an awesome visualizer. :)

Holly I don't know what I said that made you think my primary concern is budget. It is not. Our budget is more than enough for an ICF home with or without basement. However I don't know if building a basement is worth the extra expense or adds any value to our use of the home. We've toured several icf houses that are glorified mcmansion in the area 4000 sq ft monstrosities on basements. I've seen icf basements with traditional construction above and I didn't like them. I love the deep window sills, quietness, energy efficiency, safety ( and the list goes on and on) of an icf home. Traditional stick built is not something we would explore. We have discussed SIPs but ultimately i think we feel most comfortable with the experienced ICF builder. He has over 25 years experience with ICF. He now only builds ICF homes. We toured many of his homes all were well within our budget. But we haven't made the final decision yet. I mentioned the cost because it is a factor. ONE factor not the only or most important factor. I'm not sure if paying x dollars for a glorified storage unit makes any sense. That x would likely come at the cost of tree transplants, koi pond etc. All things we could do in the year or 2nd year after the build, but I would prefer doing now. I also was questioning how the choices impacted the livability and durability of the home. My point in this thread was to understand why people choose one over the other. I've found the answers pretty helpful. I'm not quite understanding the implication building on slab indicates disinterest in quality or interest only in cheapest building process. There is some debate that basements are not a "green" choice. Slab on grade is often used in passive solar homes for the thermal mass of the slab. We want high end finishes in a Eco friendly home. Here is where I'm throwing away money and will never have good resale. Then again we threw that out the window the moment we decided to build a more contemporary bi generational home :) Not every housing choice is about "smart money". Some decisions are a balance between wants, needs, livability and ultimately budget. Per others suggestions we had architect make some changes. It looks like our portion of the house would now be 1920 sq ft on slab with the new utility room and a few other changes to accommodate that room. The inlaw apt stayed at 788 sq ft. Right sized for us. But small by many people's standards. If the home is on basement it would be 1715 as we took out the utility room and didn't need to rework any rooms. Sorry if my original post gave the wrong impression that I was looking for the cheapest option.

I guess I'm confused -- it would be an understatement to say HVAC is not a strong area for me. I don't know what you guys are visualizing, but here the heat pump and blower typically go outside and you just need clearance to run ducting, vents, chase, and an air return on each level. Since the house is sealed very tight, there's a fresh air system, too, but I have no idea what that looks like. I do have an attic, so placing the unit within conditioned space is preferred if it can be worked out. Heat pumps can either be package units or split systems. With a package unit, everything is contained in one box (package) which usually sits on a outdoors pad directly against a wall. The ductwork runs through the wall connecting the system to the house. Package units are sometimes also installed on roofs. Package units are cheaper than split systems, but always lose a little bit of conditioned air to the outside world. Package units are common on mobile homes and not that unusual on site built houses in mild climates. The most common arragement is the split system. With the split system, the compressor sits on a pad outside, while the air handler is installed inside the house, ideally in conditioned space. Refrigerant flows between the two units in copper piping. All duct work is connected to the air handler, which is where the indoor blower and other components are located. Air handlers come in vertical and horizontal configurations. Horizontals are usually found in attics, while verticals go in the basement or HVAC closet. Speaking of attics, you don't want your air handler in the attic, unless you have no other choice. The HVAC guys hate working up there for good reason. It's cramped and often very hot, so it's not a fun place to install or work on something, especially a broken down or new unit in mid-summer. You will find some of the worst HVAC work in attics. Air handlers generate condensation, which needs to be drained off. A malfunction in the condensate removal system, usually a pump, can result in water dripping in the attic, which can cause structural damage if not caught in time. While attic air handler installations normally have an overflow float switch for a safety mechanism, these can fail. In my opinion, an air handler should only be installed where 1... it can't cause damage if the condensate drain malfunctions, and 2... the homeowner can easilly inspect it every now and then. Air handlers installed in attics usually don't get inspected until something goes wrong. If your attic is not conditioned space, you absolutely do not want the air handler up there. None of them are perfectly sealed, so you will lose conditioned air to the attic. The air handler in our new house during installation. I assume your fresh air system will be an energy recovery ventilators, or ERV. ERVs make sense in the humid South. Here's what the unit installed in our new build looks like. The ERV mid installation. Two more ducts will be connected to the left side. A lot of home plans make absolutley no provision for the HVAC, so the systems end up wherever the installers can fit them. Usually that means the homeowner loses some sort of closet space to ducting and returns, while the air handler gets stuffed in the attic. In my opinion, plans for homes built in AC or heat pump country should include dedicated space for the HVAC installation, including the air handler, supply and return ducting, and air returns. Too often this is not the case. If you locate the air handler in the basement, don't forget to spec a floor drain for the condensate.