Hello everyone!
I’ve often heard the saying, “Your first house is built for an enemy” — I wouldn’t put it quite that harshly, but after a year in a new build, I understand what they meant. 😀 Since we might move again, I’d like to collect some ideas here and benefit from your experiences: What would you do differently if you were to build again?
Here’s what I’ve noted so far:
What about you?
I’ve often heard the saying, “Your first house is built for an enemy” — I wouldn’t put it quite that harshly, but after a year in a new build, I understand what they meant. 😀 Since we might move again, I’d like to collect some ideas here and benefit from your experiences: What would you do differently if you were to build again?
Here’s what I’ve noted so far:
- electric roller shutters
- thermostats with displays
- larger storage room
- less awkwardly shaped rooms
- dedicated cloakroom area
- wooden window sills (?)
- more outdoor power outlets
- power outlets in window frames
What about you?
K
k-man202130 Dec 2021 12:28Hangman schrieb:
....I would always prefer an existing residential area over a new development I used to think the same until we built in an existing area 20 years ago. More or less the entire neighborhood caused us (at that time a young family with small children!) nothing but trouble, even leading to a lawsuit. They simply didn’t want the plot to be developed (one neighbor had even used it as an extension of his own garden)! Now we are building in a new development, and yes, of course we miss the established surroundings.
After 4 years, my conclusion: We had a tight budget, so sometimes we saved too much. One more Velux window would have been nice. Two additional outdoor power outlets. Three more in the kitchen. Instead of solar thermal panels on the roof, photovoltaic modules. The bedroom window as a patio door would have been nice, too.
Roller shutters: We never missed them. Not even today.
Roller shutters: We never missed them. Not even today.
B
Benutzer20030 Dec 2021 12:48The problem with building a new house is that needs often change over time, which means the entire house plan changes as well. For example, you can’t just say “I need a vestibule for the kids’ wet clothes” – in a few years, they won’t be kids anymore but teenagers, and the vestibule you wanted now may be outdated even before the house is finished.
For me, the most important aspect of building a house is the location. Location and neighborhood matter more than any automation (which is nice to have but not essential) or the latest electrical outlet.
For me, the most important aspect of building a house is the location. Location and neighborhood matter more than any automation (which is nice to have but not essential) or the latest electrical outlet.
H
Hausbautraum2030 Dec 2021 12:57hanse987 schrieb:
Only roller shutters don’t help with break-in protection.Why not?
Ours cannot be forced open from the outside.
Of course, nothing is completely impenetrable, but anything that makes it more difficult does help.
haydee schrieb:
So, our dishwasher is running right now. I find it very quiet. Often I have to check if it’s still on. The girls are much louder even when they are just playing normally.
Kathi walks through your house and analyzes what you like and what you don’t. That’s the only thing that matters.
Listen around your property at different times. Check for distant roads. People have different sensitivities to noise. As we established in the OP’s earlier thread, disturbing noise is a subjective experience. Our 10-year-old Beko dishwasher, which cost €200 (about $220), recently stopped working. We bought a Bosch Series 4 dishwasher. We don’t hear it at all—at least, we don’t perceive any disturbing noise.
I would like to bring up mentality and cultural background here. In Poland, there is no concept of midday quiet time. At my mother-in-law’s, schnitzels are ALWAYS made/pounded one floor above at 12 p.m. on Sundays. This always lasts about 30 minutes. Some people might lose their minds over this; for us, it’s normal. This is not meant as a criticism like “Brandenburg is ugly” :-) but rather an observation/explanation. What is unacceptable noise disturbance for one person can be an unnoticeable sound to another. 😎