Having designed and built my house, pretty much everything I wanted...I got. 1. Tie all your gutters to a drain, and if you have a basement, tie the drain into the window wells. That way, no water can get in thru the windows, and also the gutters wont flood the foundation. Determine the water flow thru the property (topo map) and perf where water will hit the foundation and allow it to flow into the pipe. If you cant drain to a storm sewer...drain it far far far away from the house.....if you do tie into a storm sewer, add a backflow valve. 2. Run plenty of power OUTSIDE the house as well. Run the largest power feed to the house, with a large panel. 3. Power to entertainment areas (tv,stereo,etc) on a seperate and be able to run it off a UPS, so you dont lose settings. 4. double up coax feeds and ethernet to the entertainment so you can feed to and from. 5. Basement...make the stairs wide. I am always getting compliments on mine. 6 Make your utility room big enough to work in...if and when you have to replace the furnace and water heater. Pipe external capacity for solar and alternate feeds for eventually adding. Conduit to the attic, 2" conduit min. Use at least 2 water heaters in parallel (pre-heat...and main draw). 7. Plenty of eve outlets, remote switched for xmas lights, etc. 8. Prewire for camera's at the doors. 9. Prewire for alarm system. 10. Minimize stairs to upstairs doors, when you get old...3 stairs are alot. Design for possible ramps in the future. 11. Garage ...... big as you can, extra wide doors. Plenty of power, and run network there as well. 12. walk out basement...tie the drains to the main drainage system. 13. bury a ground plane in the backyard for your antenna farm 14. Let your wife pick the colors 15. dont skimp on the carpet quality 16. attic fan(s) 17. Extra quality shingles (depending on weather conditions) don't skimp on them 18. water in the garage, drains in the garage 19. radiant floor heating ....and im sure there are other things.... --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist