5 Upgrades You Must Do When Building Your Home

1. HVAC Zoning
Alright, not going to go super nerdy over here with the whole HVAC information. (Did you know that HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, air conditioning? If not, you do now!) I am married to someone who works in the HVAC industry and I have gotten really good at just nodding when he goes off talking about cfm, condensing units and BTUs. That being said, I strongly suggest you consider zoning your house. What is zoning? When you add the zoning option to your HVAC system, a contractor will install extra thermostats (one for each zone) and dampers (also one per zone) in the ductwork. The dampers allow your HVAC system to redirect the hot or cold air to where you need it. 

There are two main advantages to zoning – 1) No more hot and cold spots and 2) A lower utility bill. No one should have cool their living room while the whole house is asleep, especially since you pay that utility bill.

2. Insulation/Windows
More behind the walls talk, but let me tell you, saving money on your utilities is an awesome benefit. Look into getting sprayed in insulation. Increase the opportunity for them to fill every spot behind your walls with insulation. It doesn’t let your cold air out in the summer or let the freezing air in during the winter.
And your upgraded windows help reduce the amount of heat coming in from the sun, or heat going out during the winter.  Plus, there are skin benefits to protecting yourself better with those harsh UV rays.

3. Heated Master Bath Floors
 This is one that you won’t know you missed it until you have it. When it’s cold outside or you just step out of the shower, heated floors are worth ever penny. And they help keep the room warmer too, reducing the need to turn up the thermostat.  We chose to install heated floors in our master bathroom and not in the adjacent laundry room. Every time I step from one room to the other, I’m reminded of how happy I am we added this option in the master bathroom.

4. Whole Home Audio System
I lost the bet with this one. I swore there was no way we were going to use this as much as my husband promised we would and boy was I wrong. The option to have them in the kitchen when making dinner or let the kids have a dance party in their playroom, is so much fun. We even decided to put speakers outside in our patio area. I find myself wishing we had speakers in more rooms, like the basement.

5. Covered back patio with extra concrete
I am not going to lie, I considered saving money by not adding a covered patio. Luckily I was talked out of it. We spend so much time on our back patio and I am so thankful we poured extra concrete. We have room to spread out and even have separate sitting and eating areas. Not to mention more space for all the additional toys we have accumulated over the years.  I am glad a model home we toured had this feature and we made sure to add it to our must have list. 

Happy house building!

-Andi
Find me on Instragram at KCHOMEREPORT or kchomereport.com