This article is part of our ongoing home construction specification plan series.

Assembling a Home Construction Specification Plan — Spec Plan P: Home Lighting

Some of the final touches you will want to handle in your new home can wait until after you move in, but chances are that you’ll want to have all of your lighting needs completed before then. Chandeliers need to be ordered and installed, track lighting put in its place, ceiling fans chosen and corresponding lighting selected, sconces, overhead lighting, even exterior lighting put in place. It is so much easier to do these jobs before the furniture arrives and the home is occupied.

Finding the right balance of lighting without padding your electric bill every month can be a challenge, but we’ve identified some ways you can light your home without burning your budget:

• Your kitchen is one of the central areas of your home, so plan on providing sufficient lighting for your guests. That big overheard light can cover the entire room, but you’ll want to consider undercounter lighting for areas where you prepare food and provide separate lighting above the sink. If you have a food preparation island in the middle of your kitchen, you may find having track lighting over that area to be the best way to get light.

• Bathroom lighting typically includes one overhead light with a light over the shower/bath and sconces on either side of the vanity’s mirror. Investigate the different types of lighting for your bathrooms by visiting a home decor center to mix and match your lighting with your bath’s style.

• Family rooms and living rooms are great places to install ceiling fans with a light included. However, most of your lighting can come from floor and table lamps as well as strategically placed track lighting, particularly if book shelves or display items are featured.

• Your dining room needs just one type of light, a chandelier which can be as simple or ornate as your home decor tastes. For larger, darker dining rooms track lighting above a buffet or china closet can be an attractive option, even consider an elegant floor lamp to light the room when the chandelier is off.

• Bedrooms usually have one overhead light with many homeowners choosing a ceiling fan with a light placed directly over the bed. A dimmer switch and remote control pad are nice additions especially when you don’t want to get out of bed to turn off lights or slow down the fan. Floor lamps and table lamps are a nice touches, allowing you to control the amount of lighting you want at any moment.

• Workshops, garages, utlility rooms, closests, attics and basements have their own special lighting needs from a simple wall fixture all the way to ballasts with fluorescent bulbs. Provide adequate lighting especially in those areas where you plan on spending the most time as well as enough lighting to safely help you and your family walk down hallways, move up and down stairways, and to find what you need in dark recesses.

• Outside lighting should provide both visual enhancement to your home and safety and security for you and your loved ones. Security lighting, if not already installed can be strategically placed around the home with driveway, walkway, and landscape lighting providing the right amount of illumination.

Finally, you can save on electricity by installing timers, dimmers, even room sensors that turn lights on and off as you move through the house. Select bulbs with the wattage you need and consider light emitting diode (LED) or compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL) as ways to use less energy while getting bulbs that will last much longer. Please note that the disposal of CFLs can be tricky as they do contain a highly toxic substance — mercury.

Tags: home building, home building plans, Home Construction, home construction specs, home lighting, lighting

This article is part of our ongoing home construction specification plan series.

Assembling a Home Construction Specification Plan — Spec Plan O: Flooring

I admit it: I am partial to wood flooring. Although wall to wall carpeting is nice, there is something about a freshly polished oak floor that causes me to take notice. I’ve been in plenty of homes where I paid scant attention to the Berber carpeting, tiling, even stone flooring, but when it comes to wood, you got my attention!

Time to Select the Flooring

One of the last big projects with getting your new home ready for move-in is the flooring. Choices abound and you can design your home to include various options in different rooms. Let’s take a look at some flooring projects certain to give your home a warm and inviting appeal.

Traditionally, when it comes to multi-storied homes, the “rule of thumb” regarding flooring was this:

• Hardwoods on the first floor;

• Carpeting on the upper floors; and

• Tiling in the kitchen and baths.

Let Your Personal Tastes Come Forth

Some homeowners in a bid to be unique and to express their personal tastes aren’t always so predictable. A mix and match of hardwoods and carpeting can be found on the first floor with the living room carpeted and the dining room featuring darker woods, even reclaimed flooring.

In some homes the foyer is carpeted but the entranceway is hardwoods with a running carpet or area rug included.

Kitchens, Bathrooms Can Look Unique Too

There was a time when people experimented with putting carpet down in their kitchens, but that practice pretty much came to a halt when dishwashers leaked, sinks overflowed and food stains took over. Still, an indoor/outdoor type of carpeting could be useful especially in a home with lots of children running about.

Tiling remains appealing for its ease of placement as well as cost. Vinyl is a strong favorite as it is easy to clean and to less costly to replace. Both vinyl and tiling can look great in the bathrooms as can specialized stone.

Why Not Wood Upstairs?

What’s to stop you from having wood floors upstairs? Noise, for one. If the insulation between the levels of your home isn’t adequate, you’ll soon tire of the noise above your head. Walk around any basement and you’ll hear an unwelcome racket each time furniture is moved, people walk, or any other kind of activity is present.

If you choose upper level flooring, rugs on top of the floors can deaden the noise. Work with your builder to make sure that the insulation is adequate and that your choice of flooring is appropriate and discuss with an interior designer what types of area rugs would do the job while still looking nice.

With your flooring in place, you’re about ready to move in. A few projects remain but the most difficult part is now behind you.

For more information about wood flooring, please read the following Fox report.

Tags: , home building, home building plans, Home Construction, home construction specs, stone flooring, vinyl flooring, wood flooring

This article is part of our ongoing home construction specification plan series.

Assembling a Home Construction Specification Plan — Spec Plan N: Cleaning Closet

Today’s homeowners are very actively involved with the design of their homes insisting on looking over scores of house plans and having their architects modify everything to spec. It isn’t enough to build a house, it must be a home personalized to that homeowner’s needs.

One area where demand for additional space must developed is the cleaning closet. Yes, it is a dedicated area that is almost an afterthought for some homeowners, but increasingly an important part of the house for many people. Let’s take a look at the benefits of having a dedicated cleaning closet in your home:

All of your supplies are kept in one place and out of sight. Cleaning supplies from floor polish to toilet cleaners and everything in between must have their own storage area. Bathrooms can house some cleaners, but not every family with young children wants chemicals where little hands can reach them. Instead of putting childproof locks on your vanity doors, those dangerous cleaners can be centralized and put behind one door.

Laundry space is ample. Instead of a simple laundry room, a cleaning closet can include much more than a washer and a dryer. Add in a slop sink and cabinetry to house those chemicals and supplies that once crowded under your kitchen sink or were stuffed inside of bathroom vanities. Environmental awareness is important these days!

Hook up your central vac. Lots of homes today have a central vacuum system, just the perfect unit to keep your rooms clean without lugging around heavy equipment. Storing hoses and accessories can be a problem, but not in a home with a cleaning closet designed with the room that you need.

Stash those linens. You already have a linen closet, maybe two on hand. But, do you have all of the room that you need? A cleaning closet with cabinetry can house your overflow including sheets, blankets and even sleeping bags and related camping gear.

So, where should you put your cleaning closet? That’s up to you, but just off the kitchen is a good area for the first floor of your home while upstairs next to a bathroom can be another area for your consideration. No matter where you decide to place your cleaning closet, once in place you’ll wonder how you could possibly leave this off your home building specs!

Tags: cleaning closet, cleaning utilities, home building, home building plans, home cleaning, Home Construction, home construction specs