I've been talking to a few more people regarding options and they've come up with an addendum to this list. When all the options have been defined, its best to put it in a spreadsheet, to make more sense. I'll do that in an upcoming. I've broken these down into two categories considerations, and Upgrades. On to the lists,
Considerations:
- Lighting - This is critical to "get right". Take the time and get the placement right.
- Placement of bath-room rough-in
- Tankless water heater
- If there's a room above the garage door, insist on spray-foam insulation and inspect it going into the flooring
- Wiring for sound
- Wiring for network
- Patch panel in the basement for network/router intstall
- Cable/satellite wire
- Insulated windows - when in doubt ask if the windows are insulated.
Upgrades:
- rough-in for wet bar
- rough-in gas lines for: fireplace, dryer, bbq
- If you're insulating the garage door, make sure the garage is insulated.
- Light switches, add 3 and 4-way switches for extra convenience in all rooms
At the onset of building a new home, I thought, the price is the price, but after having looked at all possible options, I stand by one of my previous posts: allocate 10-$15000 for post-purchase upgrades. Sure, you can do some later, but anything structural you'll want to get thrown in during build.