
Ask HN: I'm renovating a house, what clever stuff should I build in? - AlexMuir
- I'd like a way of pumping music round the house into separate rooms (maybe controlled from an iPhone/iPad).  It doesn't need to be wireless (Sonos) since I'm rewiring anyway.<p>- Is it still worth cabling ethernet in?<p>- Any ideas for green tech that might actually work and pay off?  I'm probably going to put in a wood-burning stove.<p>I'm doing almost everything myself, and money is definitely a consideration.
======
roel_v
If I had had more time the last time around, I would have build in a 'secret'
vault that is controlled by RFID. I have an RFID chip in my hand and I'd be
able to open the vault by waving my hand in front of it.

You need to think this through if you want to do it, though - devise a way to
unlock it mechanically, make sure it doesn't open when the power is off, etc.

More mundane things:

\- induction cooking plates in your kitchen. That's a no-brainer.

\- Ethernet to a few places, but don't fuss about it. The jacks will never be
where you need them, anyway. Instead, make sure you have a solid backplane so
that you can put wifi repeaters on each floor.

\- Floor heating, as mentioned above. No-brainer too.

\- For optimal living comfort, thick insulation. 10cm (4") of PUR at the
least, preferably 16 (6"). Make the house air tight. Put in a ventilation
system, preferable with active intake _and_ exhaust, with heat recuperation
(it's called 'System D' here, don't know if that's international).

Also, put in an easter egg for the next person remodeling the house. Write a
message on an inner wall that you drywall over, put a waterproof sealed
envelope with some pictures of you and your family in a false ceiling, those
type of things. It's awesome to discover one of those (I once did).

~~~
JCB_K
I wouldn't say induction cooking is a no-brainer, not everybody likes it. I
rather cook on a gas stove.

~~~
roel_v
Come on, that's either because you didn't really adapt to induction, or
because you had a crap stove. Induction is equally good or better than gas in
every aspect but one:

\- Lower energy use

\- Induction responds equally fast as gas (i.e, instantaneously)

\- Standing over an induction stove doesn't get nearly as hot as over a gas
stove

\- Induction is much much much easier to clean.

\- No need to find matches/lighter (unless you get a gas stove with build-in
ignition)

\- No need to put in separate gas piping

\- Safer: never having to worry about children turning on the gas, or
accidentally turning it on e.g. by bumping into it with a pot

\- Pots are on the stove in a much more stable position, both safer and easier
to use.

\- Induction comes with build-in timers to turn off the heat for a pot (maybe
some gas stoves have this, but then only the very expensive ones - I've never
seen an induction plate that didn't have it).

Only disadvantage is that not all pots work on it (i.e., you need pots with
iron in it, aluminum won't work).

~~~
qjz
Note that portable single "burner" induction cooktops are available at under
$100 for anyone who wants to investigate the technology before committing to
it. It will remain a useful appliance, whatever your preference (warming
plate, at-table presentations, cooking on the porch, etc.).

~~~
chopsueyar
$70 from Target.com

[http://www.target.com/Aroma-Induction-Cooktop-
Black/dp/B0041...](http://www.target.com/Aroma-Induction-Cooktop-
Black/dp/B0041GHIJ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=induction&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-1&qid=1298731982&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Aroma%20Induction%20Cooktop%20Black&node=1038576|1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-
bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0)

------
yaxdotcom
I rebuilt a house in the SF Bay Area several years ago.

In-floor radiant heating is my absolute favorite feature. Nothing like it.

On-demand tankless hot water system. With two loops (one open, one closed) and
a heat exchanger between the two, one on-demand system can serve your domestic
hot water plus the in-floor heating.

Humidity switches in the bathrooms to kick on the exhaust fan when moisture
builds up from the shower (an anti-mold measure).

I put in structured wiring for phone, Ethernet (CAT 6), and video. I feel
really stupid now as the only video I watch is on the computer and I gave up
my landline to go solely cellular. I still like the Ethernet jacks in every
room but mostly because I can put my wireless router anywhere. Lesson learned:
technology changes rapidly. My structured wiring box looks quaint instead of
high-tech after only five years.

A solar tube (basically a round skylight with a thirty foot reflective tube)
that brings natural light down to ground floor rooms. Very nice.

One piece of advice: Don't get started on house remodeling or construction if
you're doing a startup or trying to run a business. It tends to demand far
more time than you have. And it's true it can put a strain on relationships
(for the same reason).

------
adrianN
Put in some proper cable ducts so you don't have to tear up the wall once some
new standard is introduced.

Put up some solar thermal panels; they last forever and really do work. Look
into geothermal, maybe it's worthwhile where you live. But the biggest money
saver will be better insulation. You can save up to 70% of your
heating/cooling costs by proper insulation.

~~~
malandrew
Make sure the wiring conduits are large because a small conduit can screw up
the rating of the cable if you really have to force it through.

You should use talcum powder on the cables to easily pull them through the
conduits and reduce stress on them.

For example, in my house the conduits are tiny and routed at extreme 90 degree
angles in places. There's no chance that I'll ever be able to route any decent
cable without degrading its performance. The last time I routed cable it was
extremely difficult to do.

~~~
weaksauce
Also leave a pull wire or two and always pull a new pull wire every time you
add a cable and use the existing one.

------
zdw
Ethernet everywhere, and more than you think you need, even if you don't
terminate every connection. Put in Cat-6, as it's easier to pull, and future
proof.

Everywhere you think you might need one cable, put 2, need 2, put 4. In fact,
4 strands/room might not be overkill.

Where everything comes back to, put a patch panel - you can buy panels with 24
square slots and a bracket to hook it into the wall. I'd put this in a closet
or utility room (laundry room/garage/etc.). Make sure that power and your
other utility terminations (cable/phone/etc.) go there as well.

~~~
RockyMcNuts
I would put architectural moldings that hide easily accessible duct where can
run Ethernet for now.

On house time scale, not sure Ethernet is future-proof, might want to run
fiber or who knows what in 20 years. Twisted pair is only mass market for last
20 years.

Or you might even want to run speaker wire or who knows what.

------
bobds
Ethernet in the walls is a definite yes of course.

A backup electricity generator would be cool if power outages aren't uncommon
in your area. Something like a central UPS.

Good insulation is key. Double glazed windows, etc.

A solar water heater is a good idea if you get a good amount of sunshine.

Grey-water recycling is a good idea. You can also reclaim heat from it.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_water_heat_recycling>

A composting setup would be handy if you have a backyard or garden.

Choose robustness and longevity over style and minor cost savings for the
various components/materials that will be used.

~~~
dmarinoc
>> Ethernet in the walls is a definite yes of course.

Why Ethernet instead of PLC? I know EthCat6 is faster and reliable... but you
can get now 500Mbps from some PLC kits, and no maintaining is required

~~~
qjz
I faced this choice when I bought a new house and opted for PLC. As much as I
like wired ethernet, I'm glad I went with PLC. It was cheaper in the long run
and more flexible because I can use any power outlet in a room without having
to grab an extra long cable. Wireless has improved so much, I only use PLC for
legacy devices like network printers or old laptops. I also inherited a mess
of telephone and security cables with the house and the basement is an
incomprehensible tangle. Be nice to future owners and avoid adding cables
whenever possible.

------
chopsueyar
Spray foam insulation in attic and basement (cellulose based).

Mini-split AC system (multi-zoned Mitsubishi or LG).

CAT-6 wired, RJ-45 connections (two in each room).

Electrical, instant-on hot water heater (no tank).

Graywater system to save on toilet flushes.

Double-gang outlet boxes (so you can have 4 outlets, instead of 2).

Air-to-Air heat exchanger (they are called many things - it replenishes stale,
indoor air with fresh outdoor air without changing the temperature too much).

Steam shower.

Wiring closet.

CAT-5/CAT-6 to outside eaves of house for CCTV streaming network cameras.

Mutli-zone sprinkler system with soil moisture monitoring.

Rain-water fed cistern (for irrigation, toilet).

Laminar flow fountain with LED color-changing lights.

Green roof (it grows plants on the roof to absorb the sun's energy and reduce
rain water runoff).

Natural pool (it uses plants to filter the water, not chemicals).

A mote.

A portcullis.

~~~
melling
Do instant-on hot water heaters work well? What are the best brands. I'm in an
apartment with a small tank that I would like to replace.

~~~
joezydeco
They don't work well with high-efficiency washers. The washer pulls a small
amount of hot water so slowly that the heater never sees the demand to kick
the heat on.

------
nileshk
Ethernet is absolutely worth it. Streaming video or audio will benefit from
this. Having a wired network can help improve your wifi network because you
can put wireless access points anywhere you have a wired connection.

The combination of Apple's iTunes + Airport Express + Remote app works very
well. But it's much more reliable on a wired network. I used to have this
setup on a wifi network, and the music would cut out every so often, but that
was because my wifi network was unreliable. Also note when it is on ethernet,
the Airport Express can also function as a wireless access point at the same
time as streaming music.

------
tommoor
Underfloor heating, much nicer than radiators, cheaper to run and more wall
space :)

+1 for ethernet.

~~~
jasiek
Oh, yes absolutely. I wish I had made the decision to tear down the cement
leveling and installed floor heating when I has the chance. Gas heating is
killing me, and don't even get me started on electrical. That, combined with a
coke heater will reduce your heating bill significantly. Also, consider solar
water heating panels - those are subsidized by the state in some areas.

------
JCB_K
I'd definitely put in ethernet. But maybe there's some way you can wire
everything through 1" PVC pipes, so it's relatively easy to replace it.

For Wireless music you can also using Apple's Airport Express?

I don't know how expensive solar panels are where you live, but here they are
definitely worth it, especially as they get subsidized by the government.
Another good green thing is a big tank which uses all your overheat to keep
water warm, and then uses it. Don't know what it's called, but it saves quite
a bit on the heating bill.

~~~
mechanical_fish
The conduit is a good idea. If not everywhere, then from various strategic
locations, maybe running up and down to basement or attic.

It's an auspicious week to advocate this because Apple and Intel just released
Thunderbolt, formerly known as Light Peak. The initial implementation is all
copper, but the protocol is designed for fiberoptic, so within five years we
may all be routinely plugging keyboards and monitors in one part of the house
into a computer in another part, which in turn is plugged into the storage
array in the attic. But only if we pull the cables.

~~~
JCB_K
That's what I had in the back of my mind indeed :)

------
comforteagle
Having read some of the comments already I vote heartily for radiant heating
floors, green tech which does not cause more maintenance proceedures/confusion
for next buyer, proper amounts of electrical plugs (id put them in the floor
in the main living areas or at least at the very base of the floor molds. Lots
of houses have ethernet cabling... I think you're safe with that. Air
exchanges aren't sexy, but awesome.

hack summer - partly screened in deck/porch from mosquitos are wonderful.

~~~
Vivtek
I'm gonna second radiant heat in the floor. You'll never regret it.

------
cellucci
Here's what I did when we built our house about 10 years ago:

I ran a bundled cable containing 2 cat5 and 2 coax to each bedroom, the
kitchen, my office and the family room. Even with wireless it's nice to be
able to put another access point in pretty much any room. I did additional
single cat5 runs to various places where I didn't think I'd need all four.
Today I'm not sure the coax is still justified, but it has been handy for
satellite. Now, I'd at least run several cat6 to each location and just leave
it in the wall.

I ran speaker wire everywhere, every room including the garage, outside for
the deck, even the laundry room. It's just sitting in the walls/ceiling in
most places still, but I add a new "node" occasionally.

For the music nodes, I have a bunch of airport express units in the basement
where all the wiring terminates. They're not running in wireless mode, just
plugged into a gigabit switch with a single channel amp hanging off each one.

I got several of them refurb here (apple has them refurb too):
<http://www.cowboom.com/product/160235>

These are the little amps (they have various wattages):
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P2VV50>

You can spend as much as you want on speakers, but I usually go for the cheap
ones since they're generally just for background music anyway. That lets me
put in a new node for under $150.

Here are some cheap bics that I have in a couple of rooms:
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008MFIFM>

Also:

\- take pictures/video of all your open walls so you can find your wire \-
label all your wiring at both ends

~~~
AlexMuir
Are these Airports really the cheapest/best way to get music playing? seems
like a lot of wasted technology in them if I'm just connecting them to
ethernet.

~~~
cellucci
Agreed, it does seem like a waste, but I haven't found a better solution that
allows the same flexibility. You could split a bunch of speakers out of a
bigger amp if you just want the same sound everywhere, but I really like being
able to choose any combination of sources and output. My family all have macs
and ipod touches or iphones. There's something cool about any of the kids
being able to pipe their ipod's music through the deck speakers, for example,
while my office plays itunes off my laptop.

------
adestefan
Go pellet/corn instead of a true wood stove. I got so sick of splitting wood
and cleaning a crappy wood stove that I replaced mine. Now I just dump in 40
lbs of pellets and let her rip. After a couple bags I just need to take my
vacuum and 5 minutes later I have a clean stove. Plus I can keep the bags in
the garage instead of lugging outside in the snow.

~~~
pbourke
\- IIRC you have to make special accommodations (battery backup?) to ensure
pellet stoves work during a power outage.

\- you can buy logs made of compressed sawdust for your wood stove. These are
sized properly for most stoves, though I find you do need to split them in
quarters or thirds to get them to catch well. Splitting a day's worth of
pressed wood takes ~5 minutes with a hatchet and is light-duty work.

------
jasiek
Also, a power monitor might make sense - there's a project that uses the
Arduino if you're feeling like building one yourself.

------
solipsist
1\. Put velcro around your house in various rooms

2\. Put velcro on the back of your iPad and iPhone

3\. <http://www.apple.com/ipad/velcro/>

Warning (taken from Apple's page):

    
    
      "Tweet from the street at your own risk!*” 
       ...
      *Do not attempt.

------
petervandijck
\- Plain old electric outlets in almost every corner, more than you think
you'd need :)

\- I'm putting in 2 wood stoves too.

\- Yes on the ethernet, wifi only takes you that far.

~~~
bodski
If you are burying cables in the wall you may as well spend the extra and go
for Cat. 6a UTP as it's spec'd to carry 10 Gbit Ethernet. Watch out for the
minimum bend radius though its often around 30 mm with Cat 6a (4x cable's
outer diameter).

More and more stuff can be carried down UTP like video (HDMI over Ethernet)
and USB devices, it is also ideal for hooking up phones around the place too.
You can never have too much UTP in your walls when considering possible future
requirements IMO.

Oh and don't forget to run some up to your roof area to give you the option of
participating in your local wireless mesh project!

~~~
petervandijck
But isn't ethernet way faster than your internet connection, which is your
true bottleneck? Unless you're gonna do heaps of local movie streaming or
something?

~~~
bryanlarsen
In 20 years time, 10 Gigabit ethernet is going to be slow. Maybe he'll want to
stream holographic projections or something and he can't do it because his
wires only support gigabit ethernet. That's the problem with house
remodelling: predicting the future. That's why you always overbuild while you
have the drywall off and laying cable is relatively cheap.

------
CJefferson
While less exciting, make sure you have access to everywhere.

One day water will drip through the ceiling into the downstairs, and you'll
have to start either tearing up the floorboards, or cutting holes in the
ceiling, to find out what is leaking from where.

------
_ques
These:

<http://store.fastmac.com/product_info.php?products_id=458>

~~~
elliottcarlson
Highly disappointing that that final design differs so much from the one here:
[http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/truepower-ucs-usb-power-
outlet-...](http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/truepower-ucs-usb-power-
outlet-07-12-2009/)

I'm sure there are technical/electrical issues that forced a different design
- just a shame it's not as well executed (and over double the price).

------
crccheck
I would do a wet kitchen and wet bathroom. Having commercial style drain
directly accessible in the floor makes life so much easier. Just think about
it... how great would it be to hose down the entire room. It's actually very
common to have a wet bathroom in asia.

Some other things I like: • zoned small duct/high velocity AC • PEX for non-
potable water supply • overkill on electrical wiring • wainscoting • gray
water collection • heat recovery shower drains (depends on the house) •
tankless water heaters / point of use water heaters • potfiller faucet (wall
mount faucet above the stove) • a sink large enough to hold a baking sheet pan

~~~
nobody_nowhere
Outstanding list. I'd add ground loop geothermal. Plus a second sink in the
kitchen if you're into cooking.

------
beagle3
When you put ethernet, make sure to use Cat6 or Cat7 - it costs more now, but
will serve you far longer. Do that at least to the farthest places in the
house (so you can put the wifi access points). Or to every room -- you can use
them also as speaker cables, wired phone cables.

Also, I've seen a few places with collapsible walls - one of them had a wall
between the livingroom and a bedroom, that was collapsible (so that they
become one room), and had a flat screen tv in the middle that could rotate (so
it would point either at the bedroom or the livingroom) and would collapse to
be on the side wall when the whole thing collapsed.

------
jerrytap
A couple things I wish I had after visiting some friends. Wire the opposite
sides of your rooms on different fuses. Run gas lines to your backyard for
access to heaters and grill. The gas from your house is different than what
you would use for your grill/outside heating you may need to change the
aperture of the openings. Walk around your house and find somewhere you would
like your garden. Find a window that looks over that spot, and install a
switch inside next to the window that controls an outlet outside the house.
It's nice to be able to water your garden with a flip of a switch. :)

~~~
AlexMuir
I see the logic of wiring different sides of rooms on different fuses but I
think this would probably be against wiring regulations in the UK - and
possibly against common sense too.

------
drinian
In addition to energy efficiency, do whatever you can with your money to make
maintenance easier on yourself.

For instance, bathrooms that are easily cleanable. I myself really like the
way that Japanese homes generally separate the toilet, sink, and bath/shower
into separate rooms. With the bath/shower essentially being a tiled room, it's
really easy to clean up without splashing water everywhere.

A continuous hot water heater will pay for itself (and let you take Japanese-
style baths).

------
vtrac
This thread just cost me $400 since I just ordered everything to do heated
floors in my new bathroom I'm installing. For about $9/sqft, I bought Warmwire
and a programmable thermostat. The installation looks super simple too.

I live in Austin, so there's only a few months out of the year that this will
be useful, but I can only imagine how glorious it will be to walk barefoot on
warm tile in the winter. :)

------
puls
A couple others have mentioned this, but I looked in to multi-room audio a few
months ago and it seems to me that AirPort Express is not only the best
solution (at least if your music is in iTunes and you carry an iPhone or iPad)
but also the cheapest: it's $99 per room plus audio equipment.

Having a WiFi base station in every room is just the icing on the cake.

------
michaelcampbell
If you're able (and if this applies), put a 2"-3" piece of PVC or other
conduit from somewhere in your attic to somewhere in your basement, where you
can get to it. You never know when you're going to need to fish cable from
high to low or vice versa.

~~~
bigohms
second this. especially across rafters. never go above 1.5", always drill
center and reinforce with a steel brace clip.

------
Mz
Look into passive solar design options. There are lots of "old" things that
can be done to make the house functional without having to constantly run up
the electric bill for heating, air conditioning, etc. Passive solar works best
if you are building from the ground up because house orientation and things
like that can be big factors. But that doesn't mean you can't incorporate some
passive solar design principles into a renovation.

If it were my house, I would make sure all those modern gizmos are bells and
whistles/icing on the cake and that the entire thing doesn't simply fall apart
without them. That's part of my wishlist for some time in the future.

~~~
chopsueyar
One of the best passive solar methods I have seen is to use plants and trees
to obstruct the Southern view of the sun.

As fall approaches, the leaves fall off of the trees, allowing sunlight to
pass, and warm your home.

As spring approaches, the leaves return, blocking the sun, and keeping your
house cool.

ALSO, a green roof would be awesome AND a "natural pool".

~~~
Mz
Yes, I was thinking of the deciduous tree thing when I was writing my post.
It's very rehab-friendly, unlike some passive solar techniques.

------
zoba
If I were renovating, I'd wire speakers into all parts of the house. This way,
the same music can be playing all over the house and can be controlled easily.

In fact, I can't wait until I have a place of my own and the money to make
this happen.

~~~
barefoot
I just stayed at a 4 bedroom rental cabin that had this and it was
surprisingly useful. All of the audio went back to a receiver in the living
room and each room had it's own volume knob. We used it just about every day
we were there.

------
idknow
a faraday cage embedded in the walls, with fractally-bent wires upto the roof
:)

------
bmelton
If you get snow, the next renovation I'm looking into is a heated driveway.
It's MUCH cheaper to put in if you're already replacing / repairing the
driveway vs. tearing it up for the fun of it.

------
lionhearted
USB power outlets seem cool:

[http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/truepower-ucs-usb-power-
outlet-...](http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/truepower-ucs-usb-power-
outlet-07-12-2009/)

------
jimmyswimmy
I ran 4" electrical conduit from where the TV is to where the cable box etc.
are. Didn't take more than a few hours to cut, join and mount it, and it is
completely future proof.

To mirror everyone else's comments, cable everything you can. I ran 2x RG-6
quad shield, 2x CAT-5e to each panel and home-ran it. If I did it again I'd
also run a CAT-3 (I won't use it but future buyers might want it). I've seen
cables that have all that plus fiber - check out smarthome.com or similar.

------
bilban
Get one of those fm transmitters, and use old radios in each room for music.
Or carry a ghetto blaster or computer speakers and a portable player from room
to room.

If I need a tv in another room. I carry one in there.

Not sure how good networking over electric cables is these days, but would
seem like an easy alternative to wifi.

Rather than run Ethernet cables through the house, I ran them on the outside
of the last place I lived. It was easier, and less messy (at least from the
inside).

------
ANH
Make the roof a lighter color (aka, a "cool roof") -- especially if you're in
a warmer climate -- to reduce energy consumption:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_roof>

A cool roof energy savings calculator from DOE:
<http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/facts/CoolCalcEnergy.htm>

------
TobiasCassell
In the coming years the price of water will change considerably. You probably
wont regret installing a rainwater harvesting system. Also, there is a way to
finesse the wasted water that goes down the drain in the shower back into your
toilet tanks.

~~~
smanek
There's a (relatively low) upper bound on the price of water based on cost of
desalinating water (turning ocean water into drinkable water).

It looks like, today, water desalination can be done for about a $1000 per
acre-foot, which is only ~40% more expensive than current prices
([http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120053698876396483.html?mod=...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120053698876396483.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)).
Granted there aren't desalination plants everywhere - but in the event of a
serious water shortage many would quickly be built.

40% sounds like a lot, but water accounts for such a small percent of most
people's current expenses, that it's practically negligible.

Current per capita total water use in the USA is about 180 gallons per day.
That means switching to all desalinated water would cost less than $70 extra
dollars per year per person.

~~~
anamax
There's something wrong with those numbers, at least on an "as delivered"
basis.

Water on the Monterey penisula is already several times as expensive as San
Jose's. Neither one uses de-salination.

The Monterey peninsula is adding some desalination and the projected cost for
all water is double the current cost. (Does anyone think that the projection
will turn out low?)

------
AlexMuir
Is Airport Express the best option for music? I don't like the idea of tying
myself to Apple and iTunes. Nor do I have any use for the Wifi/USB
connectivity that seems to make up the bulk of the Airport's functionality.

~~~
nobody_nowhere
For a house, I haven't found anything better. I value my time, and not having
to fiddle with it pays off. Plus it's pretty flexible.

------
nobody_nowhere
A Toto Washlet.

~~~
chopsueyar
Upvoted.

For the uninitiated...

<http://www.totousa.com/Washlet/WashletC110.aspx>

~~~
RockyMcNuts
After using one of these I don't even know how other toilet manufacturers stay
in business. It's the gift to your private parts that just keeps on giving.

~~~
nobody_nowhere
I'm really, really surprised how much I like it. It's like unlocking a secret
level that people only know about in Japan.

------
dterra
Visit www.control4.com and www.sonos.com for the ultimate automated home! Cant
wait to build with these.

------
plurinshael
More electrical outlets. Secret passage-ways. A hangar for the Bat-fleet. A
maze for the Minotaur.

------
KevinMS
heat lamps outside the shower, or even a giant blow drier (I have seen these
before, really)

------
tokipin
i would build a urinal in my closet, or otherwise easily accessible from my
room (seriously)

------
mapster
a bidet for the lady in the house

------
PStamatiou
tankless water heater?

------
scrod
I haven't yet seen a suggestion for sound-dampening blankets/foam. If you live
in an urban area, keeping the bedrooms quiet could be a huge pay-off as even
minor sleep disruptions (you don't even have to be aware of them, let alone be
awoken) measurably affect mental acuity and overall energy levels.

