Anonymous wrote:Finished off our basement. Contractor kept suggesting we build a closet in the space underneath the stairs. We figured only half of it would ever get used, if that - because of the slope of the steps. Instead we put in a reading nook/daybed and we're getting way more use out of it. Kids can get away from each other & find a quiet place to read. And when we have a lot of family in town, it's another place to sleep (twin bed mattress.)

This sounds like a wonderful idea! Would you be able to share any photos, please? I'd love to get an idea and truly picture it in my head. Thank you!

Speakers totally worth it. Plus, easy to cover/replace if we change our mind.

We just sold a home in NWDC and I was happy that we finished out the property- I would have been annoyed if we hadn't finished the basement, so we lucked out to gain that much equity out of it. Having said that, I'm glad we didn't put in heated floors. It was $$$ that you couldn't see, so we didn't bother. Had no idea we would be moving at the time- were just thinking resale in a general way. I'd be annoyed if we spent the $15G on it because we wouldn't have gotten that back.

Looking back I don't know that repainting the whole interior and powerwashing the fences/patios was worth the money but not a big deal. I don't feel like we overspent on anything, but after the fact you do wonder if you needed to make it gleam so much (multiple offers at open house).

This is so small and probably wouldn't work for speakers anyway, but I recently bleached a yellowed plastic bathroom fan with hair developer (hydrogen peroxide gel) and the sun per internet instructions. It worked great, back to white and looked brand new.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speakers do not date quickly. What dates is the equipment they're hooked up to, which you should be able to change out.

Seems like speakers will all be wireless in the next 3-5 years.

Well, it's 3 years later and everyone I know uses wireless speakers. The expense of installing built ins is really not worth it, imo.

My former condo had "state of the art sound equipment" from when it was built in 2005. When I sold it in 2016, people just thought it looked very dated (and we never used it because we had wireless speakers).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speakers do not date quickly. What dates is the equipment they're hooked up to, which you should be able to change out.

Seems like speakers will all be wireless in the next 3-5 years.

Well, it's 3 years later and everyone I know uses wireless speakers. The expense of installing built ins is really not worth it, imo.

We have had to move around a lot for my job. Of our last three houses, all had built in speaker set ups that were 8-15 years old. Our current house was totally renovated in 2001, with built in speakers and intercom. In every house, the speakers were a minus, and we had to remove them. Why? The speakers looked old and were all (in all three houses) yellowing, so at minimum we would have updated just to not look old. None of the houses left behind the amp, so we had no interest in spending $1000 on a new system. We want to run all our music from our iphones or ipads or computer, so those 15 year old systems would have needed some kind of new central system that allowed you to stream from your wireless devices. All in all, it was way cheaper and easier to buy a whole house sonos system for $1500. Sound quality works great for us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speakers do not date quickly. What dates is the equipment they're hooked up to, which you should be able to change out.

Seems like speakers will all be wireless in the next 3-5 years.

No, they won't. I'm in technology and would never use wireless speakers. Why use wireless when wired is so much more reliable?

+1000

Agreed, wireless is second best for applications when you can't/don't want to wire. If you can wire in speakers to a central place where you can put an equipment rack to contain whatever is the latest and greatest (e.g., Sonos, though full disclosure I'm less than thrilled with mine, I'd be happy with an ipod hooked up physically), you should do that.

everyone though that about the landline

We haven't had a landline in 15+ years. Just built a new house. Didn't wire for voice at all (aside from cat 5), but we did pull speaker wire.

+1

Finished off our basement. Contractor kept suggesting we build a closet in the space underneath the stairs. We figured only half of it would ever get used, if that - because of the slope of the steps. Instead we put in a reading nook/daybed and we're getting way more use out of it. Kids can get away from each other & find a quiet place to read. And when we have a lot of family in town, it's another place to sleep (twin bed mattress.)

We put in radiant heating in our new master bath and I wouldn’t do it if I could again. It just isn’t cold enough in DC enough of the year to be worth it, in my opinion. I’d spend that 1-2k elsewhere. That said, it’s not super expensive and feels luxurious. Wanted to put this opinion out there since everyone says do it.

If you are doing any bathrooms, make sure that there is an overhead light in the shower/bath area. Our 2 new bathrooms have this, and while we gutted the guest bath, it was something we all overlooked. When my elderly parents visit, we have to change the shower curtain to one that the light from the rest of the bathroom can shine through, rather than the opaque one that looks nicer.

An advantage to a tank hot water heater- if the power fails, a tanked heater offers, with careful rationing, enough hot water for use for 1-2 days- especially when sharing a shower!

Built-in ceiling speakers- No
Heated floors in basement and master bath- Yes
Built-in bookshelves in basement playroom- Yes
Insulation upgrades-Yes
Tankless hot water - Absolutely not!
Humidifier addition to HVAC system- Yes

If you have a piano, floor outlet definitely.

Outdoor weather-safe outlet.

And I found this on a blog:
1. Custom cabinets by a local fabricator weren’t as expensive as I thought they would be, and we were able to customize every inch.
2. Appliance Garage
3. I did all the lower cabinets in f&b lichen & the uppers and hood surround in wimbourne white.
4. I love my hood liner…ventahood w the magic lung
5.Pull-down faucet with power setting & a berry setting.
6.Sink with cutting board, a colander, and the protective trays in the bottom.
7. I chose all drawers over cabinets for the lowers and it’s Great! So much storage!

For 2 TVs, do you mean side by side? Or in different rooms?