What feature do you like about your house, garage, hangar, etc???

A data point:

A high school buddy is a pretty successful commercial electrical contractor and he also owns a few appliance stores. He's big into the appliance repair business also.

I picked his brain about a few things over the weekend and when the topic of appliances came up he said "whatever you do, don't buy a whirlpool anything. Their quality has gone to chit over the last couple of years and we get more of their appliances back to be worked on under warranty than we do all our other brands combined."

He said almost everything else he sells is equally Ms free with GE probably having a slight edge. He also said that they aall have their cyclical quality control issues so, if it's a year before I buy, to make sure I check back.....
 
Well, you can't make a blanket statement because the Whirlpool brand is very fragmented.

Whirlpool makes Dacor, some Kenmore, Kirkland, certain SubZero icemakers, and stuff under their own name. They also purchased WC Wood which makes all the KitchenAid and Whirlpool refrigerators and freezers. They also purchased Amana which owns some of the Maytag units (other than disposers and A/C). Maytag is also JennAir and Magic Chef. Some of the Maytag badged stuff is made by the Whirlpool units.

LG makes the Whirlpool air conditioners.
In-Sink_erator makes Whirlpool garbage disposals.
 
MIFlyer said:
this is my number 1 thing in my new house.

after that, think about little things that don't cost much at construction but can be nice later. example: hot and cold tap on the outside of your garage for washing cars. switched outlets under eaves for Christmas lights. an rv dump, fill and charge spot on the edge of the parking pad.

Lots of stuff is SUPER cheap when you build, but a pain to try to add later.

On the radiant, some people also do their garage floors on it's own zone. you can leave it at 50F or something to keep the moisture out most of the time, but wrarm it up if you're doing more out there.

prewire for speakers. even if you do Sonos or some other wireless solution, ceiling speakers are nice in rooms like bathrooms/etc where you don't want to have to put a speaker on a counter.

Do a low voltage panel with home runs to each room for cable, network and speakers. Even though things are moving to wireless, you'll be happy if you're pulled CAT 5e and RG62 around the house when the sheetrock was down.
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Our son ran CAT 6 cable to a number of places around the house they just built. All run back to a closet under the stairs. Very convenient.

What he and my son-in-law call SMURF tubes everywhere he expects to place a TV on the wall. Provides a hidden way to route cables down to power and cable boxes.

Matthew said:
My neighbors have a central vac system. I always wondered if that's worth the effort or not.

...

Everything is going wireless these days, but consider pre-wiring every room for whatever you can think of.
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We added a central vac system to our house around 20 years ago. I prefer a regular vacuum cleaner and use the central system as little as possible. It's a royal pain to empty the canister without getting stuff all over the closet at the same time.

Amen to pre-wiring rooms. CAT 6 and coax.
 
Ghery said:
Our son ran CAT 6 cable to a number of places around the house they just built. All run back to a closet under the stairs. Very convenient.

What he and my son-in-law call SMURF tubes everywhere he expects to place a TV on the wall. Provides a hidden way to route cables down to power and cable boxes.



We added a central vac system to our house around 20 years ago. I prefer a regular vacuum cleaner and use the central system as little as possible. It's a royal pain to empty the canister without getting stuff all over the closet at the same time.

Amen to pre-wiring rooms. CAT 6 and coax.
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Every central vac system I’ve seen puts the canister in the garage to minimize both noise and dust.


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Stewartb said:
Funny, I live in a cold climate and I don't care for in floor heat. Forced air does what I tell it to with no delay.
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Ideal is both, with forced available for the occasional make-up air use. I will never build without in-floor in at least the bathrooms, basement, garage and hangar.
 
Another nice to have that some may not care for is a trash compactor in the kitchen. It makes use of a decent amount of normally-wasted space in the trash container.


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SoonerAviator said:
Another nice to have that some may not care for is a trash compactor in the kitchen. It makes use of a decent amount of normally-wasted space in the trash container.


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Even with deodorizer those things can get smelly. YMMV though.
 
mscard88 said:
Even with deodorizer those things can get smelly. YMMV though.
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Why would it get any smellier than a normal trash can? Haven't noticed that with ours, and we try to throw away most table scraps to keep them out of the aerobic/septic system. I understand it may get smelly if it is infrequently used and items sit in there for long periods of time, but we don't have that issue in our house as it gets a new bag almost weekly.
 
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Double oven. The first house my wife and I bought had one and we wondered “Why would anybody want that?” After our first holiday season we knew. And we’ve finally (30 years later) gotten another one.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Why would it get any smellier than a normal trash can? Haven't noticed that with ours, and we try to throw away most table scraps to keep them out of the aerobic/septic system. I understand it may get smelly if it is infrequently used and items sit in there for long periods of time, but we don't have that issue in our house as it gets a new bag almost weekly.
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That's what I meant, if it sits there for long periods of time without the bag being replaced. Been a very long time since we had one so perhaps they're better now.
 
mscard88 said:
That's what I meant, if it sits there for long periods of time without the bag being replaced. Been a very long time since we had one so perhaps they're better now.
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Eh, I'm sure if you don't produce enough refuse to justify changing out the bag once a week, it's going to get smelly. Ours has a charcoal filter on it, but I'm sure it's minimally effective.
 
flyingron said:
Well, you can't make a blanket statement because the Whirlpool brand is very fragmented.
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ummm...maybe that's why they have QC issues?

I'm sure he doesn't know what he's talking about...he's only sold appliances for 25 or 30 years.
 
timwinters said:
ummm...maybe that's why they have QC issues?

I'm sure he doesn't know what he's talking about...he's only sold appliances for 25 or 30 years.
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I think the point is that you can end up with whirlpool crap whether it says whirlpool on the outside or not.
 
weilke said:
I think the point is that you can end up with whirlpool crap whether it says whirlpool on the outside or not.
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Well, except that what Ron said had almost nothing to do with what my buddy has been experiencing and what he said.

Mercedes bought Chrysler in '98 too. But that didn't magically make Chrysler the same quality as Mercedes or lower Mercedes to being the same junk as Chrysler was/is. Things that come off of the same assembly line but simply have different names put on them are certainly going to share the same quality (thus why Kenmore is junk) but just because one company buys another doesn't mean the quality of both will be the same, especially if the product is different and/or they come off of different assembly lines going into different markets or have disparate price points.

I was simply relaying what someone on the front lines has been experiencing. That's all. As I said with the lead in: it's just "a data point." Don't what to believe it? Want to pick it apart? Knock yourself out, I really don't care.

He deals in pretty much only washers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers, stoves, hoods, and dishwashers. I should have clarified that I suppose.
 
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Our current house had a trash compactor in the kitchen, I'd never really seen one before. After having used it for a while, I like it. The secret to avoiding stink is to either rinse out your meat packaging or stick in an old walmart bag and tie it closed before it goes in. Vegetable matter goes down the garbage disposal or to our chickens. Most weeks we only have one tall kitchen sized bag to go out which is nice since we have to drive a mile up the road to throw it away.

For those who are married- having one bathroom designated for your wife and another for yourself is a wonderful thing. I took the smaller one which is I believe what they call a 3/4 bath- sink, toilet, and shower stall which is all I really want/need anyway. All our stuff is in our own bathrooms and we take responsibility for cleaning our own. It's a small thing but it makes life a little easier on a daily basis.

Another thought is in sizing- you adapt to fit into or expand into the space you're in. During our search for a home each time we've seen some real palaces that we shot down with one thought "we're going to have to clean and maintain all this". The house we finally found- which was really our only option short of building new had smaller bedrooms which I was worried about- the king sized bed we wanted would leave only room to walk around either side of the bed and the closets weren't very big. What we ended up doing was buying a bed that had storage drawers underneath and it's worked well. We've been here about 2 years now and only now has going out and buying a dresser to fit that room become an issue.

Oh, roombas! We'd had them in the past and given up on it with the thick upstairs carpet- but that just came out so I grabbed one of the competitors I saw online- bobsweep junior. So far it does well but just like every roomba I ever had before it rarely makes it through a cleaning cycle without getting stuck somewhere or finding something to get jammed in the brushes. We shall see.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Another nice to have that some may not care for is a trash compactor in the kitchen. It makes use of a decent amount of normally-wasted space in the trash container.
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As a kid I enjoyed putting light bulbs in the trash compactor.

We never put stuff in that would become stinky, so no smells. Then we used it for the recyclables until the collectors wanted everything washed and sorted. Then we stopped recycling. I was such the wild child in the 70s....
 
beer-on-house-tap.jpg
 
cowman said:
. . . After having used it for a while, I like it. The secret to avoiding stink is to either rinse out your meat packaging or stick in an old walmart bag and tie it closed before it goes in. Vegetable matter goes down the garbage disposal or to our chickens. Most weeks we only have one tall kitchen sized bag to go out which is nice since we have to drive a mile up the road to throw it away. . .
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We did that before we had the trash compactor as well. We will often put the Styrofoam meat packaging/plastic wrap into a ziploc bag. Seals in the bad smells perfectly, whether it's in a trash compactor or open trash can.
 
SoonerAviator said:
We did that before we had the trash compactor as well. We will often put the Styrofoam meat packaging/plastic wrap into a ziploc bag. Seals in the bad smells perfectly, whether it's in a trash compactor or open trash can.
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the compactor didn't pop the bags?
 
gkainz said:
the compactor didn't pop the bags?
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Well, we don't leave much air in them, so it's not as if it has a lot of pressure to release. I'm sure there's occasionally a hole/small tear made in the bag, but it must not be enough to allow the smell out.
 
timwinters said:
ummm...maybe that's why they have QC issues?

I'm sure he doesn't know what he's talking about...he's only sold appliances for 25 or 30 years.
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I'm not saying he's wrong, I'm just pointing out that you've got Whirlpool masquerading as other brands and vice versa.
 
We had a trash compactor two kitchens ago and we really liked it. I have one now, except I got one of the "gladiator" ones that sits on casters in the garage. Between agressive recycling and composting, we don't have much trash. I don't have pickup service. Once every other week I pay the $1.75 to toss it in the bin at the recycling center.
 
gkainz said:
the compactor didn't pop the bags?
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Its not really an airtight seal, at least with the Walmart bags. It’s a mostly sealed to the point you won’t be able to smell it situation.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Every central vac system I’ve seen puts the canister in the garage to minimize both noise and dust.


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Ours was a retrofit. And we have a detached garage. Putting it in the garage was not an option.

SoonerAviator said:
Another nice to have that some may not care for is a trash compactor in the kitchen. It makes use of a decent amount of normally-wasted space in the trash container.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

We have one. We use it for stuff that doesn't go down the disposer in the sink, out weekly in the garbage, or out in recycling. Doesn't get a lot of usage and is emptied only a few times a year. Generally a waste of cabinet space.

jsstevens said:
Double oven. The first house my wife and I bought had one and we wondered “Why would anybody want that?” After our first holiday season we knew. And we’ve finally (30 years later) gotten another one.
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My wife would love to have a double oven. Thanksgiving and Christmas. The rest of the year I don't think it would be all that needed. And, if we had one we'd have to put the microwave oven someplace else, taking up counter space.
 
I never thought about it until the other day, eating dinner while the washer was finishing up. While the open floor plan is nice, put the washer behind a door--ours has an opening off the kitchen going to the garage, and the machines are about 10' around the corner, but that dadgum spin cycle is LOUD!!

Put the washer and dryer behind a door that you can close.
 
Ghery said:
Ours was a retrofit. And we have a detached garage. Putting it in the garage was not an option.



We have one. We use it for stuff that doesn't go down the disposer in the sink, out weekly in the garbage, or out in recycling. Doesn't get a lot of usage and is emptied only a few times a year. Generally a waste of cabinet space.



My wife would love to have a double oven. Thanksgiving and Christmas. The rest of the year I don't think it would be all that needed. And, if we had one we'd have to put the microwave oven someplace else, taking up counter space.
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We bought a GE Signature range that included a double oven all in one. So we still have the microwave above it.
 
timwinters said:
Mercedes bought Chrysler in '98 too. But that didn't magically make Chrysler the same quality as Mercedes or lower Mercedes to being the same junk as Chrysler was/is.
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Modern Mercedes is crap. No magic, just a long slow slide into oblivion.

This guy covers it better than I can. Warning: Language, homophobia, and probably other non-PC talk for the sensitive.


Older Mercedes, well... there’s a few AMG models worth buying now that someone else has taken the depreciation hit on them larger than most of our houses cost. Maybe even a few non-AMGs with V-12s in them. :)
 
Here is my list...
  • If you live in a place where there is an actual winter, you really want southern exposure with a driveway that slopes AWAY FROM the house.
  • Heated tile floor in bathrooms
  • A real water heater. 50 gallons is a good start.
  • Temperature control shower valves. It's SO nice to be able to take a hot shower without worrying about someone flushing a toilet or running the dishwasher.
  • LED lighting, all of it.
  • We have insulated interior walls around the master bedroom. I'll leave the reasoning behind that decision up to the reader.
  • You cannot ever have too much light, power or insulation in a garage or hangar.
  • A pantry big enough to store food and seldom-used but bulky appliances (roaster ovens, warming plates, etc) will save a lot of hassle.
The rest is personal preference. Soft close cabinets and drawers - everywhere - are our new standard. And never build a room around a TV. Today's state of the art will be ridiculously out of date in a few years, and you'll have to work around that fancy custom cavity in the wall that seemed so huge when you built it.
 
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