New build ‘smart’-er home
Kaitlyn G
last year
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (11)
Mrs Pete
last yearRelated Discussions
new home; lots to do; new gardens to build
Comments (10)yes joel, quiet a shift you pretty much have it one mate, yes a shift in lifestyle to a degree definately a shift in location, but not a shift in the philosophies i aspire. yes i will in all aspects adhere to what i suggest recommend to others, no i can't change the mcmansion manicured lawn set, yes the lawn on our place won't look that manicured it won't get any watering from us nor will it get any other man made or chemical application. as we are on a corner block the footpath represents app' the same area of available lawn space, so we will be planting the footpath with habitat trees as mauch as we can, that will minimise that grass area to a small degree, however there will not be much lawn in the yard, the yard will be utilised for those supplementry type activities (i find terms like sustainability and self-sufficiency don't carry any attributes to attract the masses it is like "tooth fairy" stuff isn't it, and sad to say with the undercurrent of making dollars in the permy' sector that word to is now being rejected by the lack of following building in the simple terms of it). so we need vege' gardens and as much room as possible for food trees as well as some of the more exotic natives especially to create atmosphere around the pool/patio area, where we will pretty much live in the summer time. at present (this could be modified) we are wanting to put in two 5,400 (24,500 ltr) imp' gallon water tanks, they will take up app' 14.2 sq/mtrs of space. the tank size could yet be settled back to the 3,200 imp' gal' (14,300 ltr) size, city administrators think that a tank in a garden looks uglier than most garden sheds but you can put as large a free standing garden shed as you like where you like, not so when it comes to water conservation, silly hey?? but yes i am still very much critical of what we humans are doing in the name of providing accomodation, in these new suburbs now the ruling bird is the crow (in my opinion not native but so out of control the officials don't want to deal with it) and the indian myna(h) ferel. so we have new generations of children who if they don't get to go to an expensive tourist attracting nature park/zoo/circus will never know that we have more birds than the 2 afore mentioned species winging our skies. where we are is close to some nature reserve so at least i can attract some of a small variety of resident good birds. there are no frogs but we can change that. still after spending many months living in a newer sub-division than that where we currently are there is no likleyhood that i can see of this mythical but wonderful shed-culture that existed in the 'burb's way back in the 40's & 50's and in rural up to about the 80's, but i would welcome it with open arms. and as our 2 car garage will be converted to a games room for the pool table and an area for tall tales and fishing stories we may well attract some of the neigbourhood hey? of course in today's world of litigation they will have to sign a waver won't they?? one neighbour has come over and introduced himself as i will when i catch site of other neighbours in their gardens, certainly want to be friendly at least. and our quicky vege' garden has already been a trail blazer though it hasn't attracted any looks from neighbours so far. and where the yuppy standard for water conservation is a tank of less than 1,000 litre capacity (no enough to brush your teeth with hey chuckle) our tank(s) will reset the goal posts. please excuse the typo's len...See MoreNew house build, "Final house plans". Please pick apart!
Comments (5)I'd get rid of the corner pantry, move the range and fridge down, and put tall pantries to the right of the fridge. And put a prep sink on the island--maybe if she has a nice, efficient layout she'll cook more, and with two nice work areas, maybe you'll cook together....See MoreIs Building new Home always cheaper than purchasing an existing home?
Comments (11)I suspect that this question really can't be answered in any meaningful way without very specific information. In general, buying an existing home is cheaper than building a home, however, renovating is much more expensive than building. So the question becomes at what point are the costs of remodeling greater than the savings from buying existing, and the answer is simply not that concrete. For starters, some homes lend themselves to additions much better than other homes. Siding vs. brick, crawlspace vs. slab, etc. Additionally, there is the location problem. While it might be cheaper to build a house on an available lot, the total cost of ownership for a more suitably placed home might be lower. Parks, schools, groceries, etc. within walking distance will often make a house more suitable and lower commuter costs sufficiently to make up for the marginal costs of remodeling. Not to mention general quality of life issues when the location of a home enhances the way you live. Finally, depending on location, lot development can be a pretty important consideration. I have personally paused my home design as I labor over an extraordinary piece of property. It is absolutely everything I want, however, it is going to cost me seven figures just to develop the property into something I can build a house on, so those costs can be significant if no satisfactory lots are available. ---------------- As others have said, assuming there is a satisfactory larger home available, it will always be cheaper to find a way to acquire that rather than remodeling, however, if nothing works, you might not have many options. At some point a tear down starts making a lot of sense. I suspect your friends are actually naive about the costs of remodeling and are overvaluing the infrastructure available. However, we should allow that, that might not be the case....See MoreNew Construction Homes - Home Building Options
Comments (23)Kristen we have built 4 houses, the first being a tract builder and could only choose from a few options. The others were totally custom where we provided plans to the builder who then gave us a estimate. Included in his estimate was a allowance for lighting, plumbing, appliances etc. We could choose from stores that he had accounts at which we would pay the “contractors” price. Or we could get them from anywhere we chose. When comparing, we found that the contractor’s price was not significantly higher than the big box stores. See Jeffrey Grenz’s comment above.... it was well worth it to go with our builders accounts....See MoreK R
last yearcpartist
last yeardoc5md
last yearwiscokid
last yearlast modified: last yearJulie K
last yearlast modified: last yearwdccruise
last yearlast modified: last yearrsc2a
last yearlast modified: last yearDavid Cary
last yearMelissa L
last yearlast modified: last year
Related Stories
HOUZZ TOURSWorld of Design: 9 Energy-Smart Australian Homes
With their innovative features and diverse surroundings, these 9 award-winning homes have struck gold on the Aussie design stage
Full StoryHOUZZ TOURSMy Houzz: A Smart-Home Jewel in Vancouver
Fully automated, wise about energy use and with ecofriendly features, this Canadian home has become a highlight of the neighborhood
Full StoryINSIDE HOUZZSee Which Smart Home Products Remodeling Homeowners Chose in 2019
Home assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Nest are on the rise, according to the U.S. Houzz & Home survey
Full StoryHOME TECHA Vision of the Future for the Smart Home
Intel, a smart-home platform developer, offers a peek into the tech firm's experimental ‘living lab’
Full StoryREMODELING GUIDESSo You Want to Build: 7 Steps to Creating a New Home
Get the house you envision — and even enjoy the process — by following this architect's guide to building a new home
Full StoryHOME TECHRenovating Homeowners Are Split on Smart Home Tech
Nearly half of those we surveyed are putting so-called smart tech in their homes. Just over half are not. Where do you stand?
Full StoryGREEN BUILDINGBuilding Green: How Your Home Ties Into Its Community
You can reduce your environmental footprint in a number of ways. Here are some ideas to consider when deciding where to live
Full StoryHOME TECHTurn Your Smart Phone Into a Home Security System
Monitor your home a less expensive way by putting your phone and some new gadgets to work
Full StoryLATEST NEWS FOR PROFESSIONALSRen Chandler on Building High-End Homes and Houseboats
The general contractor talks about starting out building restaurants for his uncle and growing his firm to 75 employees
Full Story
Mark Bischak, Architect