OT: G.O.A.T Home Amenities

Submitted by MichiganFan1984 on

Ok... I believe this is part 5. What are your top 3 GOAT Home Amenities?

For me... 1. Gas grill line hose, not having to refill a tank is priceless.

2. Hotub, living in Michigan sucks for 6 months out of the year and this is a way to be outside when the weather sucks.

3. Basketball hoop on driveway, it always gives kids something to do and only has an initial cost. 

These are based on the following criteria, the amenity is realistically affordable, it makes your life better/nicer and it is not something that is basic in most houses (like a/c or furnace, although I grew up without a/c and damn that’s a nice thing to have lol) anyways give me your top 3 based on that criteria. 

xtramelanin

July 14th, 2018 at 8:48 PM ^

1.  automatic generator that kicks on when power goes out - no 'starting' needed, it just goes as soon as the regular power gets knocked out. 

2.  instant hot water dispenser

3.  a true utility sink, in a mud room/boot room that's got some size, not some glorified little closet.

4.  always insulate all your pipes (water, waste, everything) and all interior walls when you are building a home. you will thank me later.  

xtramelanin

July 14th, 2018 at 9:48 PM ^

deal.  bring mrs. brutus (congrats on pregnancy, praying for uneventful 9 months) and the child.  we will find a place for you and yours.  and robf and his.  and scanner blue, and a few others.  

bring your diesel car/truck, too.  one of the 'barn amenities' is a bio-diesel reactor.  that way when the zombie apocalypse happens, we'll still have fuel.

xtramelanin

July 14th, 2018 at 10:19 PM ^

easy to install the former.  we can pour your concrete pad in an hour or two.  here is the link to the generators site: total psych, without a computer science degree  it is such a pain to post a link or a picture or a gif using mgoblog 3.0... forgeddaboutit! (the link, not the concrete pad.  that's easy)  

we can hook it up to your natural gas feed or to propane (my set up on the farm), depending on where you are. 

xtramelanin

July 14th, 2018 at 11:22 PM ^

if you get a 15 kw generator you will be able to run most systems, and all the important systems in your house.  google that and you'll get a bunch in the $3K-3500 range, including the automatic transfer switch.  if you wait til they go on sale then probably save another $500. i have my old 15 kw in the barn and if you really wanted to, have the mods give me your contacts (back channel) and you can buy it for peanuts.  it worked fine, but i wanted to upgrade.

it'll be less than $1,000, maybe less than $500 to do the hook up with your electrical panel and the propane/natural gas hook up.  last football season i swapped out my 15kw for a 25 kw and can now run all systems, barn included.  

exceptionally useful, will save your bacon some day/week when the rest of the world is without power.  who remembers the summer of '04 when some knucklehead in ohio didn't throw the power switch and nearly 1/3rd of our country lost power for 1-7 days?  i do, but i had a gennie that kicked on and no problems...

ShadowStorm33

July 15th, 2018 at 2:56 AM ^

Do you have an estimate of how much it costs to run? My dad has always recommended this setup, but given that the only thing I think I’d need it for would be to keep things in the fridge/freezer from going bad (which doesn’t seem like a problem if the power is only out a few hours, as long as you keep the door closed), it doesn’t seem like it justifies the cost. 

Might just be the difference between us; he’d readily pay more for convenience, whereas l typically will gladly take inconvenience in order to save a few bucks. 

xtramelanin

July 15th, 2018 at 7:17 AM ^

if you only ever lost power for a few hours, and are only worried about a fridge, then don't bother.  just get a little portable unit and make sure you have fuel to run it if/when you ever need it.  we live in the boonies and power goes out more frequently.  we also have a bigger family and are running a farm so there are a lot of moving parts.  is true we could draw water from our old-style pump to water the animals (and us), but that is far from the house and if its in the winter after a big storm, would have to be many snow shoe trips in and out of the woods.  

as to the cost to run, while it is not what you'd want for your day-to-day operations, it is peanuts relative to the difficulties of no power for days. even more so if you have young, infirm and/or elderly in your home. if you read the specs on any generator it will tell you the rate of fuel usage at a given load.  we have 1,000 gals of propane hooked up to ours.  it will run for months, especially if we don't use it all the time. 

M-jed

July 14th, 2018 at 10:31 PM ^

I suppose it depends on where you live. I have/had one in TX and it was great. It was very easy to maintain, just costed  a little in chemicals and more in maintenance as it aged. Folks pay a high monthly fee for outside maintenance, which I think is bc it’s intimidating. A Michigan Man can sure maintain his pool. 

evenyoubrutus

July 14th, 2018 at 10:50 PM ^

I don't know, I don't pay anyone to maintain my pool. I do it all myself. I use 2 bags of shock per week, and algaecide, and pH reducer, and stabilizer, and alkalinity reducer, and chlorine tabs). On top of that is the cost of opening (8-10 bags of shock, algaecide, etc) and the cost of closing. Overall I'm sure I'd spend less if I took my kids to a public pool once a week. 

M-jed

July 15th, 2018 at 7:47 AM ^

Right! For me it’s one bag of shock a week, and then every 3-4 weeks I add muratic acid, chlorine and phosphate reducer and backwash the filter. Kids swimming in the backyard is fantastic!

my list includes: gas line for grill; multiple shower heads; speakers in every room wired to one mobile-ready reciever so I can play the tunes from a central place; a smoker; and a workout room. Oh, and a walk in pantry. 

Yessir

July 14th, 2018 at 8:57 PM ^

Toilet. 

I bought some property and put a Motorhome on it so I can stay when I want.  Toilet had some issues.  Reminded me how great a working toilet is. 

WestQuad

July 14th, 2018 at 9:00 PM ^

1.  Monkey Bars in the play room—probably the most dangerous thing for young kids, but my kids love it and they are jacked up from using them all the time.

 

2.  Projector with cheap surround sound.  110” screen.  For $1,000 we have real  movie nights.

 

3.  Garage fridge—cold bear, cold Sangria,  Bourbon Slushes, etc.

wigeon

July 15th, 2018 at 10:25 AM ^

2nd on the garage fridge. 

 

I can tell you what's a waste of space - a dining room.  We reno'd our kitchen 3 years ago, knocked out a wall, ditched the dining room,  and now have a giant kitchen.  Granite-topped island in the middle that can seat 12. It's the central point of the house - meals, a hangout,  poker games.

 

Eng1980

July 14th, 2018 at 9:02 PM ^

Um, is a TV set too much. 

Dang, I remember the days in the 70s when the number of times Michigan could be on broadcast TV was limited.  Watching the Wolverines on TV is still a big deal to me.

Basketball hoop still gets busy during March Madness (annual phenomenon)

Hotel Putingrad

July 14th, 2018 at 9:13 PM ^

I concur with the gas grill line. It's nice to never run short on propane. My other much appreciated creature comforts in the current house, built in '98, are gas fireplaces (basement and main floor), a garbage disposal, and a ceiling fan in the master bedroom. Our old house (built in 1865 and renovated in 1980) had none of those things. 

mvp

July 14th, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^

I like your list a lot.  I especially agree with the basketball hoop.  I have 3 kids, now 20, 17, and 13, so my list is partly kid-centric too:

  1. Finished basement: is cooler than the main floor, great to separate kids from adults, and our kids have used it for after prom type parties (which is great because I know where the kids are and what they're doing, plus I like being down there myself
  2. Home theater: I love sports and movies so having a projector, 100" screen, and 7.1 surround sound is great for both
  3. Main floor master bedroom: one less flight of stairs for me when I'm sleepy and it means that on a day-to-day basis, I don't have to walk past the kids' rooms when I don't want to!

Unfiltered Manball

July 14th, 2018 at 10:45 PM ^

1.  Weber charcoal kettle grill

2.  Meat freezer in garage (with occasional meat in it!)

3.  Flagpole- properly lighted for US flag, with Michigan block M flag flying below US flag 

Grampy

July 14th, 2018 at 10:59 PM ^

No kids in my house, so

1) stacked washer/dryer in walk-in closet

2) all primary living space on first floor

3) 3 car garage with upright freezer

my UM degree served my well

Wendyk5

July 14th, 2018 at 11:01 PM ^

1) Induction cooktop. I can't recommend this type of cooktop enough. I used to have a four burner professional gas slide in cooktop, but after doing a bunch of research, I decided to trade it in for this. It is sleek looking, so easy to clean and is better than gas. It heats up faster and is instantaneously responsive. It heats the pan, not the room. Only downside is that not all pans work with induction. Luckily, almost all of mine did. 

2) Sprinkler system. Big expense, but boy do we hate dragging the hose around the yard. 

3) An adjustable bed with a latex mattress. I love my bed now and sleep so well. Totally worth it.