AIBU to ask things you have in house that are not low maintenance

[Newdonewhugh]

Hi

I’m building a house and I really want it to be as low maintenance as possible. Can you talk to me about things that have made your home life easier and things that are a nightmare.

Some examples:

A friend told me not to get a handless kitchen as the scoop bits to open the doors are always filthy.

Another thing I want to talk about are these new black taps? Will they save me from the grind of constantly filthy, finger marked stainless steel or will they just be covered in limescale instead?

What about a shower screen? They drive me insane. Shall I just build a wall instead I f shower screen?

Robot hoovers.... are they worth it?

Please help me live a life where I can sit down and relax on a sofa one day.

Good:

-Underfloor heating
-Huge brush mat by the front door (the size of our whole porch) keeps the floors cleaner

• kitchen bins in a pull out cupboard so they don't take up floor space
• usbs in power sockets
• lamp sockets so they switch on from the wall light switches
• self cleaning glass
• Self cleaning German oven
• push close PowerPoint for kitchen Island
• amazing ceramic extendable dining table. Virtually indestructible and can take hot pans, crayons , tea, coffee, curry without staining
• yoyo silicone placemats. Indestructible beautiful practical.
• pull out larder with sturdy drawers.
• dualit classic toaster

Bad.
Lvt flooring.
Too many down lighters

DO NOT GET A SINK WITH SQUARE CORNERS!

It is the bane of my fucking life. My one regret about my kitchen....except I should have got 2 warming drawers not one, and should have got even more sockets.

I disagree with people about white gloss units though - I’ve got them and I find them low maintenance, and I am by no means housewife of the year. (It’s cleaning day today and here I am...not doing it!)

Heated towel poles. Oh I love my heated towel poles grin. They take up next to no space, remain switched on all year round (except when we go away for a week or longer) are independent of the central heating, use very little energy

What’s a towel pole? google just shows me bog standard rail things.

I have just done a bathroom and have a big towel rail, calculated to have a big enough heat output for the room. It has rails sticking out in front so you can hang towels to dry without blocking the heat.

I would like a proper larder. Walk in closet type thing with shelves rather than keeping everything stashed in cupboards.

Thinking of getting a new kitchen. Wonder if i can have a larder in the corner rather than cupboards 🤔

Worktops - stainless steel. Looks awesome and virtually indestructible. And you can have a sink pressed in so no joins at all.

Outside socket! For hoovering car blowing up paddling pools etc cutting hedges grass

And for Christmas lights! 🎅🏻

Our shower screen is a bugger for water marks as we live in a hard water area. A friend of mine said they had a water filter installed for that very reason, ie on all the water coming into their property, so their bathrooms are far easier to keep clean.

A light switch by the bed is a glorious invention.

Oh I have just seen Justlovedogs posted the same tip - yes, I probably mean a water softener rather than filter. Either way, I am jealous of it as the water / limescale marks in the bathroom drive me mad! Wise people of MN recommended Viakal though which has made a huge difference.

Loved in our house -
Utility room
Loads of storage
Two bathrooms, one with a massive walk in shower one with a huge bath and underfloor heating and electric heated towel rails.
Vacuum each for upstairs and down.
Wildflower meadow

Never, ever again -
White flooring
Black granite worktop
Small shower cubicle, tiny tiles
Spotlights
Lawn that needs weekly mowing

Oh and I'm not sure there's a hard and fast rule re kitchen tiles but my old ones were not forgiving at all so try putting some dust on a sample before you commit.

I've gone from twice a day vacuuming to once a week!

I echo pps about hard wiring the house for internet. Been so much better since we now all work from home. Also the amount of sockets. My friends all think I'm crazy. We have a double socket in each corner, plus an internet port and TV port in at least two places in each room. So much flexibility. We have at least 26 sockets in the kitchen/diner (may be some more behind cupboards that I can't see too).
Also the square sink. Omg! We live in a hard water area and the corners are always orange with the iron. No matter now many times I scrub it. Im redoing the bathroom again to get rid of it.

And I think you already mentioned it OP but avoid eggshell paint. All our walls and woodwork are eggshell (rental) and you only have to look at the wall for it to get a grubby mark.

Re shower screen i use method spray that you spray after shower , helps it keep clean
Would also second place for venting tumble dryer , condensers need water thing emptying and condenser itself

Oh, and kitchen cupboards that reach the ceiling. No temptation for the husband to shove some crap on top to get covered in grime and dust.

Wall hung toilets are fantastic. We had the vitra rimless ones installed upstairs and they're brilliant. Miles better than a standard toilet.

Don't fit anything shiny. Brushed chrome is the way to go if you don't want finger prints

Gloss cupboards will show finger prints and cleaning marks unless you buff them with a microfibre cloth in which case they'll look fabulous.

This won't make your house low maintenance, but make your loft is big enough. We didn't realise from the plans that our bedroom ceilings would be so high but then a tiny loft space, so only room for Xmas decorations really.

Use a standard freestanding loo. So when it breaks it can be replaced without redoing the whole bathroom.

We did get the utility room right though...
Self cleaning tall freezer.
Area left next to tall freezer to store tall items like ironing board, mops, etc.
Pull down airer next to boiler - clothes dry overnight when the boiler is on.

I have vowed that when I have the kitchen done, I'm going to have a shedload of sockets in a cupboard somewhere so that all the phones, tablets, cameras etc can all be put in there while they charge.

our plumber highly recommends investing in a decent water softener

^^
If you do this, get a separate drinking water tap that is hard water as soft water tastes so vile. You’re also not allowed to give artificially softened water to babies, including in making formula. due to the salt content.

Whatever you do don’t get a wooden work top!

I had smart lighting which I love with colour changing bulbs - changes the look of a room instantly.
My glossy kitchen cupboards are handle free and very easy to keep clean with a quick wipe down. Also love my boiling water tap - no need for a kettle so 1 less appliance on my worktop.
My absolute favourite thing is my bathroom tiles are stone with glitter flecks in them - amazingly easy to keep clean and very effective! I was shocked at them arriving on a pallet and weighing a quarter of a tonne though!!

@SRS29

A friend of mine once had a vacuum system within the walls that you plugged into in each room and the 'stuff' got collected in the basement/utility room. No lugging of a hoover around just the brush thingy and tube....was brilliant.

This is my dream!!

@Proudboomer

I can’t believe no one has said isolation valves on every tap and toilet as it is so much easier to be able to turn off each item than shut down the whole water system if you have a leak or need a repair. Thermostats on each radiator and or multi zoned heating. A walk in larder A utility room with enough storage space for things like ironing boards, carpet cleaners, steam mops and the like. If you have a garden then water butts on your guttering and a brown water recycling system. A system like gobidet on your toilets(it is like a sprinkler system for your bum)

Re: Isolation valves. Aren't they fit as standard now?

Agree with no shiny metals - especially brass, unless you enjoy regularly rubbing knobs and knockers

Maybe it's just my old house (Victorian terrace) but black surfaces show up dust within minutes. I've been sanding and waxing those surfaces down and haven't looked back.

Do not white gloss anything unless you want it all looking nicotine stained yellow within a couple of years plus it looks nasty and shows up every imperfection

Enjoy your housebuilding, sounds amazing!

This is brilliant! Anyone come up with a solution for shampoo bottles etc in use?

Hate the wire rack things. Could not entertain the 'have everything in a wash bag' concept. Currently have built in shelving on the same wall that shower is on. Looks fabulous but is a total pain for collecting water . Wouldn't do it again.

Another mistake I made when doing my bathroom was only having an overhead shower with no hand shower (or whatever they are called) because to my eyes it looks better BUT a fucking ballache when cleaning the shower as can't just spray the tiles.