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.

Robot hoovers: my friend has one and loves it.

My lakeland terrier regards it as prey and tries to kill it.

Dog owners are advised to test the dog for robot hoover tolerance before they buy one.

Invisible wireless chargers like this eg, in kitchen

Agree with what most say. I have an electric hot water tap, best things ever. no kettle at all on my counter. my kitchen is three rosws with the middle one is the island. white speckeled garnit counters dont show up the dirt at all. nothing on my counters, big drawers that can store things in. One row is floor to ceiling presses, this stores microwave and pantry bpress, so all food is kept in one area making unloading shopping easy. Big huge tiles that are easy to clean, same in bathrooms, sink and toilet are hung on wall. Underfloor heating so no radiators, no built in wardrobes have like walk in wardrobes in each room, much easier to store stuff, only one room has en suite. Built a walk in cloakroom right by front door, coats work boots bags etc stored in there and can close the door. Dont have a utility but a plant room, it stores the water tank piping etc but was big enough to have like my hot press and store hoover etc. Next house my washing machine will be upstairs, no wood buring stove ( hate cleaning it) nd will have a walk in pantry

I have large shower panels round the bath. No grout. Bliss. Absolute bliss. So easy to clean and maintain. Looks as good now as it did when we put it in. Around 10 years ago.

Avoid anti slip laminate flooring. Freaking nightmare. Only way to properly clean it is to get down on hands and knees with a scrubbing brush and scrub in different directions.

Shower panels
Dark patterned floor tiles
Lots of sockets
Don't have integral appliances like dishwasher

I am sick of doing housework, cooking, pottering etc with my phone in my pocket and headphones in, only to catch them on a door handle and have the earbuds ripped out, phone thrown to the floor.

Bluetooth headphones would resolve that. But agree they catch everything. I tore a cardigan once where a handle like this caught the pocket.

Have you actually had the house plans drawn up yet? Just being nosey

Heated towel rail in bathrooms must have their own electric supply rather than dependant on the central heating system. Warm towels all year round.

Outdoor tap out the front as well as back.

No worktops or floors in either too dark or too light colours.

Probably too late for this but my brother has a ski chalet with two front doors. One leads into the boot room and one into the nice hall. So 90% of the time all the dirty shoes and coats and pets (and children) can be brushed off before entering the rest of the house. It’s marvellous.

Haven't RTFT but with regards to skirting, if you're having tiled floors why not continue it up the wall instead of wooden skirting?

@bluebluezoo heated towel pole

It's not exactly what we have, but I don't remember our make. Ours are stainless steel (or chrome?) and half length. Full length would be perfect for hanging a dressing gown, but half is fine for drying towels.

Don't buy a Wesco Kickmaster. They are gorgeous and solidly built but you know how they look a bit like a penis? Just as bad to keep clean.

I've lived with the paint you can wipe clean and the paint you can't wipe clean. Get the more expensive stuff! Well worth it.

I'd second what @SchoolNightWine said - if I could build my house from scratch, even if i had no rooms in the loft, I'd probably put stairs up to a proper storage area, rather than a small loft.

Better storage space which is more accessible= tidier house.

Ref plans- Yes the house is being built as we speak.
It has a pantry/ larder and upstairs laundry room. Def not enough space for things like a boot room (I wish) I’ve got some good ideas from here so thanks everyone. I’ll be lolling in that sofa by the summer!

Regrets:

Continental taps for gravity-fed British plumbing. The pipes are something like half the diameter of British pipes, so the water flows frustratingly slowly.

We later installed a pump for part of the plumbing. OMG it is so NOISY! Despite being installed on some sort of anti-vibration mat, you can still feel the vibration in certain areas. So if you have a pump installed, make sure you over-do sound insulation and vibration-damping around it. Possibly install it on the ground floor if you have a concrete base, rather than upstairs on bouncy floorboards? I don't know how near to the HWC it needs to be. Though if you have a pumped system, does the HWC even need to be upstairs?

I love my new handleless kitchen doors! Much easier to wipe the finger but than clean round fiddly handles that get greasy and gunky.
Think about exactly how many drawers vs cupboards you want. Deep pan drawers are great as you haven't got stuff hiding at the back!

Put in 5 amp sockets so you can walk into a room and turn on the lamps without going near them . Also a back burner if you’re going to have a wood stove or fireplace .
A walk in hot press

Not quite things that are low maintenance but we have a pressure washer and a steam cleaner - gets the job done quickly and easily and they're actually fun to use.

Also think about where you want the tv! Consider if the light will be shining on it from windows and where the sofas etc will fit. The tv is the heart of the lounge, even if we'd rather it wasn't!

Robot mower if you have grass. It will save you hours and hours - a bit fiddly to set up but worth it. Cost from £500 up but the best cheap one is just as good apparently as the more expensive ones that have more bells and whistles. Outdoor plug where it can charge itself.

A dedicated place by front door (maybe built in to the wall) or in porch, for parcel deliveries drop. A letter box next to front door, not in it, to avoid letters falling on to floor just where you walk. A 'cage' at waist level to catch letters.
A larder with built in shelves and ventilation would be wonderful. As I said before, an airing cupboard, as big as you can..

Mr Muscle Spray after each shower. I never clean my shower screen in a hard water area.

Rather than skirting, why not just go for beading to finish the edge?

An outdoor socket and hot and cold water taps

@inappropriateraspberry they are called shadow gaps and although they can be done they are harder to do and a lot of plasterers would hate to do them. They tend to break easier over time too. One kick or bang with a mop/hoover and they would crack.

Yes I also have a pump that sounds like the house is falling down when it’s on atm.