YES!!!! It wrecked our walkway. Then the ivy grew in-between the window panes. We were clueless when we first purchased. We also have the Brazilian cherry floors. @mrphonexgrey would wouldn't even walk through the front door of this place.
Toilets that are visible from other rooms, hallways, etc. When we built a house, I made sure toilets were positioned to not be seen until entering the bathroom!
One place my grandmother lived, if the doors were open, you could see straight into the master bathroom from the front door. Not necessarily the toilet, but still.
Thank goodness - I've FINALLY found someone who doesn't like to see the toilet first in a bathroom!! DD you have validated my decision to move the toilet in my ongoing reno. It's gonna cost but it'll make me happy to have the toilet around the corner 😘
These are great pieces of advice, and for renters too. I would add these ones: - Always bring a hygrometer with you when visiting a property, to check the humidity level. Especially for those of you in the UK. If it's above 60%, just run. - Check the water pressure in the taps, and how long it takes for the water to get hot. Bonus: bring a diy water testing kit to test for lead and other heavy metals in the water supply. Check the walls underneath the sinks for signs of water damage. - Feel the edges of window frames for draft - If the walls are freshly painted, rub the palm of your hand against one and smell your palm immediately after. Sometimes if the paint they used was too old or tainted, your palm will smell like old milk. Or if a smoker lived there for a long time, you'll smell it on your palm too. Water damage that hasn't been dealt with properly will leave a slight smell as well. You can always repaint with shellac as a base coat, but it's a pain and it can get expensive.
I love that you mentioned building things to code. So many people are unaware or just don't care. On that, I have a question. Will spray foam insulation hurt a shingle roof?? We're building at the moment, and this question has arisen. I trust your expertise.
Unfortunately, this question isn't as straight forward as it sounds. The short answer is that no, you can't just spray foam the roof in an existing attic space. The long answer is that you can, but you have to completely restructure the attic space and roof to do it. Please consult a qualified General Contractor that specializes in roofing, insulation and spray foam. Getting the correct answer will require a qualified contractor to physically inspect your space, as no two situations will be identical. Hope this helps! :)
Sunken living room, for insurance reasons. Often considered a basement and some people don’t realize they aren’t covered until it floods via pool leak, rain, plumbing etc.
Regarding building code and permits specifically: Every municipality, state, province, city, etc., can be different. The best guideline is that if you are CHANGING (not just adding) Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, Structure or Foundation, you should contact your municipality prior to drafting plans to inquire about permits and engineering requirements. Many places require plans to be drawn up to specific guidelines before permits will be issued to allow the work. If a contractor tells you that you do not need a permit, check with your municipality anyway, and if your contractor was incorrect, terminate the contract immediately. Owning a home with literally no hallways, where you just kind of blob your way from one space to another, I envy those really long hallways. No joke, I considered making one room smaller, just so I could incorporate an entirely unnecessary hallway, for the sake of having a hallway. Ultimately decided against it, but I still want a hallway, dangit!!
@@pxn748 Same with where I live in the mountains of North Alabama. Unincorporated areas in the US are fun! However, still always good to check when undergoing renovations, and while not enforced, federal building code should be applied as a minimum.
Smaller actors are used in car commercials to make interiors look roomy, tiny hands holding the burger to look bigger or hold the food product to illustrate a better value for your money…. Always watch how consumers are portrayed.
With those tiny powder rooms 'plopped' into closets, probably done without a permit. Code requires a certain number of inches on either side of a water closet, and a minimum clear space in front of both water closets and sinks. You already mentioned the plumbing codes, but the lack of proper venting can make drains almost useless.
Oh. My. God! Less than a minute in, and I 💯% agree. Cherry wood is SUCH a pain to work with. We bought a house with cherry red hardwood, and let me tell you, it took numerous stick-on paint samples before we were able to find the right shade of light blue for this space. Now that everything is done, I actually love the floors and think they work great with our color palette and furniture. However, that doesn't change the fact that getting them to work with our much more muted, cooler tone aesthetic was a huge challenge, and I was not certain I COULD make it work pretty much up until everything was finished.
The red orange toned floors go great with cooler tones! So that blue you used was a good choice. You can always use area rugs to minimize the impact of any color flooring. I also have red orange flooring. I have no issue with that color. It’s wood. That’s good enough for me. When I refinish wood furniture I rarely have to stain it. The top coat brings out a beautiful natural reddish color which I love. I also love the feel of a satin top coat on wood.
Yes on the electrical supply . . . in 1987 I had my electrical upgraded to a 100 amp panel, and at the time it was considered over kill. . . now? I'd have to go look, but I don't think there are any spare circuits available . . .
Upon home inspection, the city may require de-construction of any unpermitted additions or "upgrades." Nightmare, but less of a problem than if wiring or plumbing goes wrong after purchase.
Great useful tipps from a pro and not just some repetitive comments from an interior design enthusiast, as I see so many of them on TH-cam who obviously don't actually work in this field of business.
I bought my home about 8 years ago.. the house is only about 15 years old. Luckily it's just me but my master bedroom is right off the great room with no entry hall, so if I have company I have to close the door so they aren't looking directly in my bedroom. The other thing is when you come in the front door if you go straight you enter in to the great room, to the left is a hall that goes to the other 2 bedrooms. Directly at the end of the hall is the hall bath. The toilet is the only thing you see going down the hall. I keep that door closed all the time. I bought it because of the killer mountain views but those are 2 things that totally annoy me in my house. It's like who designs these??? I have a degree in Architecture and design so I am continually aware of things like this. I was willing to overlook those 2 things for the view though.
Extensions, decks, patios, etc. Most often look like an odd appendage to the house, usually the wrong proportions, style, or whatever. They rarely look right. Often pathetic at best, and that is just the aesthetics of it.
I Love old houses 1890’s and up. I grew up in an old Victorian style farmhouse., even found the original well one summer. Get a good home inspector. It’s worth the time and money. They will report everything . Review it thoroughly and ask questions. Ask them about red flags.
My partner and I have been contractors for over 30 years and TikTok DIY's are my bread and butter! My pro-tip to anyone buying either a new build or a 150-year-old home is PAY FOR A PRIVATE INSPECTION! It will cost anywhere from 400-1500 dollars, but it will be worth every penny because many real estate agents pay for inspectors to say what you want to hear. You can also go to your local city hall and request to see any building permits for your home, and that in itself can tell you a lot. I was looking at past building permits for a home we were working on and an owner got a permit for a garden shed but built a whole addition on to his home that flooded almost every year. Buyer beware!
If your furniture’s too big for your new home, buy new furniture. You mean to tell me the average home buyer is so dumb they don’t realise the size of the rooms in the house they are buying? The dimensions are usually stated on the estate agent’s info sheet, aren’t they?
Hi! As child I lived in 1800s house with one outlet in each room, I lived in county we don’t have building permits, we got electric, sewage, thanks for all your tips!
if you go to look at a house to purchase and it has a new addition/remodel/flip. go down to the local building department and ask to see the permits that were pulled for that. (spoiler, lots of times there won't be any permits pulled). No paperwork, no addition, you can just guarantee it wasn't done correctly. (also the city REALLY likes to know things like this........). And if there are permits, signed off, etc, well you have a good chance of it being done correctly.
I rent a 1980s townhome and the main living area doesn't have ceiling lighting. There is a switch at the entry wired to a half hot outlet. It's super annoying.
Find you a home inspector that takes the time to fill your tubs and sinks and run a moisture detector around after letting them sit for a few minutes. You'd be shocked what you can find.
I hate not having overhead lights in the bedrooms of my apartment, because it means I can't have ceiling fans either. Also, trying to figure out which outlet the light switch works and having to design your space around that.
Living in Italy, 70 square meters with 9+sm of hallway and two outlets in kitchen and bedrooms, three outlets in the livingroom, bathroom only one outlet. 🙄
The switch lighting thing is no joke. I live in the United States and bought a home that had this in 2 of the 4 upstairs bedrooms and the room that the previous owners were using as a dining room. It's horrible! Sure, it powers lamps and all, but if you have a phone or something in charging? That gets shut off too. There were other things and our financial situation that made the home worth it overall, but dawd dayum was the lack of independent overhead lighting annoying.
"Powder room" (or as we call them in Europe, toilets) are SUPER common in Belgium and France (and probably in a lot of european countries) so I find it funny to see you hate that :p They are usualy made when the house has only one bathroom with a toilet inside so we add another single tiny toilet/ "powder room" for either the guests (no one want the guest to see your only bathroom used by the whole family) or simply so 2 peoples can go at the same time. And yes they are tiny because you're not supposed to spend a lot of time there (and we don't always have a lot of available space). In newer french buildings they have regulations for the toilets so a wheelchair can fit it them. They have to build huge bathrooms and separate toilets with a lot of empty space for accomodation. So now our toilets also become our laundry rooms (and it's a lot harder to make it pretty with a big laundry machine and a toilet in front of the door.)
Ce n'est pas qu'il ne les aime pas. C'est qu'il n'aime pas lorsque les propriétaires ajoutent une (ce qu'au Québec on appelle une salle d'eau ou une demi-salle de bain) là ou il y avait auparavant un garde-robe ou une autre pièce beaucoup trop petite pour qu'elle soit vraiment utilisable. En Amérique du Nord, c'est commun d'avoir une salle de bain complète *et* une salle d'eau, du moins dans les maisons. Et c'est de plus en plus commun d'avoir la buanderie séparée de la salle de bain, idéalement sur le même étage que les chambres. Je dis ça, parce qu'avant (années 50-70s), la buanderie était souvent placée au sous-sol, alors que les chambres étaient à l'étage. Les plus chanceux étaient ceux qui avaient une petite chute à linge.
@@nathalie_desrosiers Oui je m'en doute mais même le fait de se dire "oh un cagibi, je vais le transformer en toilette" c'est vraiment super courant :p Toutes les photos qu'il a montré, ce serait même pas considéré comme "trop petit" chez nous.
@@novart9230 C'est pas que c'est trop petit, mais que dans ces toilettes bricolées à l'arrache, la plomberie est souvent faite n'importe comment et qu'il n'y a pas de système de ventilation.
I thought my house was smaller than it was because it wasn’t staged (owner still lived there the until sale) and the furniture was way too big for the space
You’re electrical comments are due to builders designing to code minimums. They will only put in the basics of what is needed. Ceiling lights are not required in certain residential rooms, hence why switched outlets are for floor lamps.
Sorry but red floors are not a reg flag. They are just challenging to work with. saying they are a red flag means they are inherently bad or badly installed.
At some point it was very trendy in the UK to add a toilet under the staircase. These are so annoying. Even as a short person, you can't fully stand up when washing your hands, and you just know that the plumbing was a DIY job...
A red flag may be trees/bushes too close to the home so that there are roots disturbing the foundations and foliage/branches covering windows.
Another added tip!
The next house I buy will NOT have trees or bushes with deep roots next to the house. PERIOD.
THIS!!! So expensive when the roots interfere with the pipes
YES!!!! It wrecked our walkway. Then the ivy grew in-between the window panes. We were clueless when we first purchased. We also have the Brazilian cherry floors. @mrphonexgrey would wouldn't even walk through the front door of this place.
The house I grew up in, we had to remove a tree whose roots were messing with our plumbing. Plus the danger of it falling on the house.
Toilets that are visible from other rooms, hallways, etc. When we built a house, I made sure toilets were positioned to not be seen until entering the bathroom!
One place my grandmother lived, if the doors were open, you could see straight into the master bathroom from the front door. Not necessarily the toilet, but still.
Thank goodness - I've FINALLY found someone who doesn't like to see the toilet first in a bathroom!! DD you have validated my decision to move the toilet in my ongoing reno. It's gonna cost but it'll make me happy to have the toilet around the corner 😘
These are great pieces of advice, and for renters too.
I would add these ones:
- Always bring a hygrometer with you when visiting a property, to check the humidity level. Especially for those of you in the UK. If it's above 60%, just run.
- Check the water pressure in the taps, and how long it takes for the water to get hot. Bonus: bring a diy water testing kit to test for lead and other heavy metals in the water supply. Check the walls underneath the sinks for signs of water damage.
- Feel the edges of window frames for draft
- If the walls are freshly painted, rub the palm of your hand against one and smell your palm immediately after. Sometimes if the paint they used was too old or tainted, your palm will smell like old milk. Or if a smoker lived there for a long time, you'll smell it on your palm too. Water damage that hasn't been dealt with properly will leave a slight smell as well. You can always repaint with shellac as a base coat, but it's a pain and it can get expensive.
Yes to the hallway!!! It is my most hated thing in my new build. It's door, tunnel hallway then open concept. Idk what to do about the hallway now.
I love that you mentioned building things to code. So many people are unaware or just don't care. On that, I have a question. Will spray foam insulation hurt a shingle roof?? We're building at the moment, and this question has arisen. I trust your expertise.
Unfortunately, this question isn't as straight forward as it sounds. The short answer is that no, you can't just spray foam the roof in an existing attic space. The long answer is that you can, but you have to completely restructure the attic space and roof to do it. Please consult a qualified General Contractor that specializes in roofing, insulation and spray foam. Getting the correct answer will require a qualified contractor to physically inspect your space, as no two situations will be identical. Hope this helps! :)
Sunken living room, for insurance reasons. Often considered a basement and some people don’t realize they aren’t covered until it floods via pool leak, rain, plumbing etc.
Regarding building code and permits specifically: Every municipality, state, province, city, etc., can be different. The best guideline is that if you are CHANGING (not just adding) Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, Structure or Foundation, you should contact your municipality prior to drafting plans to inquire about permits and engineering requirements. Many places require plans to be drawn up to specific guidelines before permits will be issued to allow the work. If a contractor tells you that you do not need a permit, check with your municipality anyway, and if your contractor was incorrect, terminate the contract immediately.
Owning a home with literally no hallways, where you just kind of blob your way from one space to another, I envy those really long hallways. No joke, I considered making one room smaller, just so I could incorporate an entirely unnecessary hallway, for the sake of having a hallway. Ultimately decided against it, but I still want a hallway, dangit!!
Not every county has code, there are some in North Georgia that still don't have codes or zoning.
@@pxn748 Same with where I live in the mountains of North Alabama. Unincorporated areas in the US are fun!
However, still always good to check when undergoing renovations, and while not enforced, federal building code should be applied as a minimum.
I'm feeling really pleased with myself right now. Our new home ticks every single box (or is it unticks every box?). I feel all validated.
Smaller actors are used in car commercials to make interiors look roomy, tiny hands holding the burger to look bigger or hold the food product to illustrate a better value for your money…. Always watch how consumers are portrayed.
With those tiny powder rooms 'plopped' into closets, probably done without a permit. Code requires a certain number of inches on either side of a water closet, and a minimum clear space in front of both water closets and sinks. You already mentioned the plumbing codes, but the lack of proper venting can make drains almost useless.
Oh. My. God! Less than a minute in, and I 💯% agree. Cherry wood is SUCH a pain to work with. We bought a house with cherry red hardwood, and let me tell you, it took numerous stick-on paint samples before we were able to find the right shade of light blue for this space. Now that everything is done, I actually love the floors and think they work great with our color palette and furniture. However, that doesn't change the fact that getting them to work with our much more muted, cooler tone aesthetic was a huge challenge, and I was not certain I COULD make it work pretty much up until everything was finished.
The red orange toned floors go great with cooler tones! So that blue you used was a good choice. You can always use area rugs to minimize the impact of any color flooring. I also have red orange flooring. I have no issue with that color. It’s wood. That’s good enough for me. When I refinish wood furniture I rarely have to stain it. The top coat brings out a beautiful natural reddish color which I love. I also love the feel of a satin top coat on wood.
Those two wood tones get blended and tamed better always, when matched with greens, blues or neutrals with no yellow, orange or red in the undertone.
The outlets and switches are key. It dictates where you can put furniture too!
Yes on the electrical supply . . . in 1987 I had my electrical upgraded to a 100 amp panel, and at the time it was considered over kill. . . now? I'd have to go look, but I don't think there are any spare circuits available . . .
Upon home inspection, the city may require de-construction of any unpermitted additions or "upgrades." Nightmare, but less of a problem than if wiring or plumbing goes wrong after purchase.
These are such excellent points to consider before buying or even renting houses.
One of your best videos ever.
Awe thank you so much for watching 🤍
Great useful tipps from a pro and not just some repetitive comments from an interior design enthusiast, as I see so many of them on TH-cam who obviously don't actually work in this field of business.
I bought my home about 8 years ago.. the house is only about 15 years old. Luckily it's just me but my master bedroom is right off the great room with no entry hall, so if I have company I have to close the door so they aren't looking directly in my bedroom. The other thing is when you come in the front door if you go straight you enter in to the great room, to the left is a hall that goes to the other 2 bedrooms. Directly at the end of the hall is the hall bath. The toilet is the only thing you see going down the hall. I keep that door closed all the time. I bought it because of the killer mountain views but those are 2 things that totally annoy me in my house. It's like who designs these??? I have a degree in Architecture and design so I am continually aware of things like this. I was willing to overlook those 2 things for the view though.
But wouldn’t you keep the toilet door closed anyway? It’s bad Feng Shui to leave it open.
I always have my bedroom doors closed, even if I am alone in the house. I think it is more private and elegant.
Different strokes for different folks because I love long hallways
Extensions, decks, patios, etc. Most often look like an odd appendage to the house, usually the wrong proportions, style, or whatever. They rarely look right. Often pathetic at best, and that is just the aesthetics of it.
I Love old houses 1890’s and up. I grew up in an old Victorian style farmhouse., even found the original well one summer. Get a good home inspector. It’s worth the time and money. They will report everything . Review it thoroughly and ask questions. Ask them about red flags.
My partner and I have been contractors for over 30 years and TikTok DIY's are my bread and butter! My pro-tip to anyone buying either a new build or a 150-year-old home is PAY FOR A PRIVATE INSPECTION! It will cost anywhere from 400-1500 dollars, but it will be worth every penny because many real estate agents pay for inspectors to say what you want to hear. You can also go to your local city hall and request to see any building permits for your home, and that in itself can tell you a lot. I was looking at past building permits for a home we were working on and an owner got a permit for a garden shed but built a whole addition on to his home that flooded almost every year. Buyer beware!
I need a collab between Design Daddy and Daddy Nick!
If your furniture’s too big for your new home, buy new furniture. You mean to tell me the average home buyer is so dumb they don’t realise the size of the rooms in the house they are buying? The dimensions are usually stated on the estate agent’s info sheet, aren’t they?
yes, most are super dumb.
Hi! As child I lived in 1800s house with one outlet in each room, I lived in county we don’t have building permits, we got electric, sewage, thanks for all your tips!
if you go to look at a house to purchase and it has a new addition/remodel/flip. go down to the local building department and ask to see the permits that were pulled for that. (spoiler, lots of times there won't be any permits pulled). No paperwork, no addition, you can just guarantee it wasn't done correctly. (also the city REALLY likes to know things like this........). And if there are permits, signed off, etc, well you have a good chance of it being done correctly.
I rent a 1980s townhome and the main living area doesn't have ceiling lighting. There is a switch at the entry wired to a half hot outlet. It's super annoying.
I’m sensitive to ugly exposed plumbing. Crooked pipes, ugly shut off valves, off center installations etc.
Find you a home inspector that takes the time to fill your tubs and sinks and run a moisture detector around after letting them sit for a few minutes. You'd be shocked what you can find.
Great advice
Thank you. Great advice!
I hate not having overhead lights in the bedrooms of my apartment, because it means I can't have ceiling fans either. Also, trying to figure out which outlet the light switch works and having to design your space around that.
More of this plz
Living in Italy,
70 square meters with 9+sm of hallway and two outlets in kitchen and bedrooms, three outlets in the livingroom, bathroom only one outlet. 🙄
The switch lighting thing is no joke. I live in the United States and bought a home that had this in 2 of the 4 upstairs bedrooms and the room that the previous owners were using as a dining room. It's horrible! Sure, it powers lamps and all, but if you have a phone or something in charging? That gets shut off too. There were other things and our financial situation that made the home worth it overall, but dawd dayum was the lack of independent overhead lighting annoying.
Gawd* lol
"Powder room" (or as we call them in Europe, toilets) are SUPER common in Belgium and France (and probably in a lot of european countries) so I find it funny to see you hate that :p They are usualy made when the house has only one bathroom with a toilet inside so we add another single tiny toilet/ "powder room" for either the guests (no one want the guest to see your only bathroom used by the whole family) or simply so 2 peoples can go at the same time. And yes they are tiny because you're not supposed to spend a lot of time there (and we don't always have a lot of available space). In newer french buildings they have regulations for the toilets so a wheelchair can fit it them. They have to build huge bathrooms and separate toilets with a lot of empty space for accomodation. So now our toilets also become our laundry rooms (and it's a lot harder to make it pretty with a big laundry machine and a toilet in front of the door.)
Ce n'est pas qu'il ne les aime pas. C'est qu'il n'aime pas lorsque les propriétaires ajoutent une (ce qu'au Québec on appelle une salle d'eau ou une demi-salle de bain) là ou il y avait auparavant un garde-robe ou une autre pièce beaucoup trop petite pour qu'elle soit vraiment utilisable.
En Amérique du Nord, c'est commun d'avoir une salle de bain complète *et* une salle d'eau, du moins dans les maisons. Et c'est de plus en plus commun d'avoir la buanderie séparée de la salle de bain, idéalement sur le même étage que les chambres. Je dis ça, parce qu'avant (années 50-70s), la buanderie était souvent placée au sous-sol, alors que les chambres étaient à l'étage. Les plus chanceux étaient ceux qui avaient une petite chute à linge.
@@nathalie_desrosiers Oui je m'en doute mais même le fait de se dire "oh un cagibi, je vais le transformer en toilette" c'est vraiment super courant :p Toutes les photos qu'il a montré, ce serait même pas considéré comme "trop petit" chez nous.
@@novart9230 C'est pas que c'est trop petit, mais que dans ces toilettes bricolées à l'arrache, la plomberie est souvent faite n'importe comment et qu'il n'y a pas de système de ventilation.
I thought my house was smaller than it was because it wasn’t staged (owner still lived there the until sale) and the furniture was way too big for the space
Great tips!!
Im so relieved that puffy pharaoh chair didn't eat you.
When at home WiFi is better even if you have a good cell signal.
Great video
Outstanding advice! Thank you -this is a public service.
i like this guy cuz hes got something very important in life wich is "taste" so im subscribig now
👀 Watching from Europe 😂😂
You’re electrical comments are due to builders designing to code minimums. They will only put in the basics of what is needed. Ceiling lights are not required in certain residential rooms, hence why switched outlets are for floor lamps.
Do a reaction to Lenny Kravitz’s house in Brazil and Naomi Campbell’s villa in Kenya! They are amazing!
yes, they are.
What do you consider an older home?
I have decided to eventually custom build my own home and no one can change my opinion. Because apparently these works by other people are shit.
do it if you can.
Sorry but red floors are not a reg flag. They are just challenging to work with. saying they are a red flag means they are inherently bad or badly installed.
❤❤❤
How tall are you Design-Daddy? Are you a giant?
I believe he said previously 6’4”
@@Pubslife A giant then :)
🔳🟧🟤🔘✨👍
14:19 imagine opening a closet door to hang your jacket and seeing a sink and toilet. Just no, 🤣🤣🤣🤣
At some point it was very trendy in the UK to add a toilet under the staircase. These are so annoying. Even as a short person, you can't fully stand up when washing your hands, and you just know that the plumbing was a DIY job...
@@lsamoa yeah that's a little nuts, unless you have a huge staircase or something.
In all caps…the word you are looking for is: AMPERAGE.
Not “AMPAGE” ( whatever that is-it’s just not a word)