This time it will be different - there will be NO plumbing under the slab. The house will be able to be drained for the winter. The house should heat itself with solar gain - but if something happens and it freezes, we don't want to worry about it or come back to a disaster that requires tearing up concrete.
Here's our plumbing thoughts:
- No plumbing on exterior walls. (Exceptions: Water line coming in the house from the well. Exterior faucet may be run outside the kitchen. We'd like a utility tub in the garage)
- Plumbing must be as close to the hot water heater as possible to minimize wasted water
- Plumbing lines will run through walls and false ceilings, not under the slab.
- Able to drain all faucets/toilets - either at the fixture or by easily opening up a wall to access the shutoff.
- Drains need to be properly graded. Can put some antifreeze, but that's not good for the septic.
- Water heater: Small tank electric with a blanket. Nothing complicated. Tankless electric do not have positive reviews and are expensive.
- Appliances: Need to choose appliances that can drain (or are cheap to replace):
- Dishwasher
- Osmosis Water System
- Refridgerator: Will not have water in the door. Just a simple ice maker.
- Washing Machine
- Condensing Dryer
- Water softener/conditioner: Do not want to install one, but won't know what we need until the well is drilled. Some water in the area has a lot of rust. Minimally will need a sediment filter.
- We will probably put a small baseboard heater in the utility room since that's where most of the water holding items would be - we can keep that room above freezing regardless of what happens in the rest of the house.
Joe has already made the pottery sinks for both bathrooms. We already have the faucets that we planned to install in our current home, but will save those for the new place. The guest bath will have faucets in the wall, like the picture to the left.
The master bath should be designed with an ADA compliant floor plan. The faucet will be mounted to the side of the sink for easy reach. The shower should be a zero clearance shower - which will need to be designed and planned prior to pouring the concrete floor. Here's a a couple examples. Also note the transom window above the shower - we plan to incorporate that for daylighting - but it will look out into the main living area.
