We'll ask about R4 wall insulation and having insulation on all walls (just R4 for the external walls I assume, and a lower spec for the internal walls).

To be honest being our first house we'd more than likely sell after 10 years or something like that, but interesting to know about uPVC not giving much thermal benefit. I'd heard condensation was a reason to avoid aluminium.

Awnings sounds like a smart move. The eaves will help to some extent, but awning would do the job much better when the sun isn't at its highest I imagine.

On the topic of kitchen, have you (or anyone else) had much experience with rangehoods. Do they work well?

bfginger: Make sure it's vented outside as builders often vent them into the ceiling cavity which is dangerous.

Kim587: Agreed, it's a fine line between adding something just for re-sale value vs what we want. They'll be some trickier choices in that area along the way I'm sure. But certainly if it's something that would really bug us about the house, we certainly wouldn't put it in as first it's our place.

Actually a tiled splashback along the full width of the kitchen wall is something we were just thinking of a couple of days ago too!

bfginger: Yeah the serious acoustic insulation will be out of our price range I'm sure. Possibly for our media room, I remember last year seeing a few YouTube videos a year ago about how an extra wall inside the room with double drywall and studs being further apart really helps with reducing sound transmission.

It's great to know there's condensation channels now. It being dumped onto the sills is something I really want to avoid yes. I'd read that UPVC reduced heat loss by 40% and Low-E coating with Argon gas reduced heat loss by 20-30%, but without remembering what they're comparing it to they're pretty meaningless, and it sounds like it might not be too noticeable?

Thanks for the link there also. Good point about ventilation too. Our current place has an HRV system but it's always a tricky balance between sucking all the warm air out in the night and leaving the rooms cold vs moisture in the air.

I honestly wouldn't have thought to ask where the rangehood goes to, I just would assumed it goes outside, so that's certainly a question we'll ask the builder / have them vent it outside. neb, likewise with the extractor too, very good point, we'll make sure it's not going to the attic.

Paul1977: True yes. So as much as I'd love to have some solar panels on the roof, we won't have those on this build. But additions which improve our comfort etc will be heavily considered.

We'll also have slightly higher ceilings and a bit more stylish taps / switches etc than the standard, and little things like that which will help resale value. That's somewhere that Whitehouse seem to focus on which is nice; small / not too expensive things you can change for increased resale value.

Maybe we'll end up surprisingly ourselves and staying for longer, but 10 years is probably a good estimate.

LostBoyNZ:

Paul1977: True yes. So as much as I'd love to have some solar panels on the roof, we won't have those on this build. But additions which improve our comfort etc will be heavily considered.

We'll also have slightly higher ceilings and a bit more stylish taps / switches etc than the standard, and little things like that which will help resale value. That's somewhere that Whitehouse seem to focus on which is nice; small / not too expensive things you can change for increased resale value.

Maybe we'll end up surprisingly ourselves and staying for longer, but 10 years is probably a good estimate.

 

LostBoyNZ:

Actually a tiled splashback along the full width of the kitchen wall is something we were just thinking of a couple of days ago too!

neb: We've got a continuous moulded stainless cover over the entire kitchen work area, no corners, no raised areas, just a smooth flat sheet over everything, which is perfect for cleaning, you can wipe/wash everything down at once without having to worry about water/gunk getting stick in corners, surrounds, raised drying areas, and all the other obstacles that some kitchens have.

Could you show us a photo? I'd be keen to see.

paul1977: Ah I imagine quite a few more things would pay for themselves in 20 years yes. Need to love it is a good way of putting it yes, and chances are others will love it too unless it's really bizarre (like going with the colour scheme of The Simpsons house, although I'm sure some would love that haha).

neb: That sounds like a really good idea yes! I don't suppose you might be able to post or PM a photo of the kitchen? No worries if you'd prefer not to but just keen to see how it looks :)

neb:

LostBoyNZ:

 

Actually a tiled splashback along the full width of the kitchen wall is something we were just thinking of a couple of days ago too!

 

I wouldn't put in a tiled splashback, for that you want a smooth surface that's easy to clean. With tiles you're going to get grease and gunk stuck in the grout, making it a pain to keep clean. Glass or stainless steel is much easier to deal with, the best I've found is stainless curved up from the flat work area onto the wall, which leaves no corners for things to get stuck in. OTOH you don't want a wall of stainless or it'll look like a commercial kitchen, maybe stainless up to about 5-10cm to contain spills and then glass or similar above that. We've got a continuous moulded stainless cover over the entire kitchen work area, no corners, no raised areas, just a smooth flat sheet over everything, which is perfect for cleaning, you can wipe/wash everything down at once without having to worry about water/gunk getting stick in corners, surrounds, raised drying areas, and all the other obstacles that some kitchens have.

Definitely an 'each to their own' point - I can totally understand why people would prefer glass as it is very easy to clean. I preferred the look of the tiles and they're also cheaper. I find them easy to keep clean and you can seal the grout too to keep grease out. I did get reasonably big tiles though - I think small ones would be a pain. One thing about glass splashbacks is if you're going to go the full width you'll be wanting to make sure you know where you want plugs and other switches on that wall. Cutting a hole for those in a glass splashback wouldn't be much fun. 

Delphinus:

Could you show us a photo? I'd be keen to see.

Kim587: True true about the plugs! Likewise I think if we do get tiles we'd go for big ones.

neb: Ah thanks so much for showing and that's a good to know about how to deal with stains too! 

Sorry to hijack the thread, but answers to this question might benefit the OP as well.

From people who have done the exercise, what was the price difference for them going from 90mm external framing and R2.8 wall insulation up to 140mm external framing and R4 wall insulation?

I hear it's "not much more", but what does that mean?

And it's not just the cost of the timber is it? To keep internal dimensions the same, wouldn't this mean a larger foundation and slightly bigger roof trusses as well?

Paul1977:

 

Sorry to hijack the thread, but answers to this question might benefit the OP as well.

 

From people who have done the exercise, what was the price difference for them going from 90mm external framing and R2.8 wall insulation up to 140mm external framing and R4 wall insulation?

 

I hear it's "not much more", but what does that mean?

 

And it's not just the cost of the timber is it? To keep internal dimensions the same, wouldn't this mean a larger foundation and slightly bigger roof trusses as well?

 

Very good question, I'd love to hear people's experiences with cost on that too!