The drawing shown on the SnapFish site is much too small. I don't know if there is a bigger picture inside the site, but if there is, I don't think too many people will be willing to sign up in order to view it.

You might consider Photobucket instead.

I'm not one of those magic workers for your floor plan (though I do like this so much better), but I will make a suggestion based on experience. I do understand the desire for a multi-level island in your case. The plan is so open that it will help somewhat in hiding the kitchen "mealtime mess" from the greatroom view. Just make sure that the kitchen side of the island is wide enough. You seem to have the room available. The problem with many multi-tier islands is that they are not wide enough on the prep side for rolling out cookie dough, and other prep work that needs some spread out room. Good luck with your build-sounds like it will be a fun one!

Regarding the clearance you asked about: Some folks say that three feet is enough around an island, but I feel uncomfortable at anything less than four feet. If you have anything that opens near the island (fridge oven, dishwasher, cabinet, etc.), you have to consider the clearance between the open item and the island. An absolute minimum of two feet is required.

With an oven it is a safety issue as well.

Here is a better link:
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o365/mobrien24/Mainfloorrevised7-24-08.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful:

Can't work magic, but here is the plan inlined. The first thing that jumps out at me is that there are a lot of halls. I understand that you are probably trying to prevent the bedrooms from opening directly into the public spaces, but it seems like a lot of wasted space. I'm particularily concerned about the hall into the master bedroom feeling like a tunnel. It seems like you could do a smaller hall there and have the door open with the opposite swing so that it opens against the right wall, making the hall much shorter. The extra space could either be used in the master bedroom or incorporated into the closet.

I like your big mud/laundry room.

I redid the small bedrooms. I can't tell if your dimensions are exterior, interior, or framing. They appear to be a bit of a mixture. In any event, I drew a suggested way to do it. All dimensions are interior drywall surfaces (paint to paint).

Here is a link that might be useful:

Don't know why I didn't think of it when I was doing the drawing, but the privacy hall could have its own door, too. That would keep the goings on in those two rooms really private. I'm not sure you would want that, but it is something to think about.

I like the frog's plan. Your walk-ins in those BRs are too small to serve, and this way the bathroom can have a window. (Wherever you have an outside wall, consider adding a window!)

I'm finding the stairs to the basement a problem -- wasted space at the head of them and not enough DR space. Could the stairs move 90 degrees and go down between the laundry/mudroom and the top BR? You might have to push the BR wing three feet farther forward to make room.

Good idea about just making a small 'el' at the MBR so its door can open against the Kit/MBR wall.

BTW, I have a window similar to what you sketched above your kitchen sink. You'll love that!

Mobrien,
Could you post the original plan in a bigger size?

Hey Mobrian - I'm trying to sketch your house (as is) on my CAD program but I'm running into some issues with the dimensions not adding up. And, until I have a better understanding of your dimensions, it's really kind of hard to offer much advice on what you might be able to do with the kitchen.

Can you verify a couple of things for me?

So that we're communicating clearly, You said the back wall will face west so when I say "depth" I mean the measure from east to west and when I say wide, I mean the measure from north to south. Okay?

Is the front porch 6'0" deep? The front bedroom is marked as 10'0" deep and it has to extend at least 3 or 4 feet further to the west than the porch in order to make room for the bedroom door. So, the porch can't be more than 6' deep. Is that right?

I'm also assuming you're planning to have 4" thick walls. Right? And, I'm reading your sketch to show that you are showing wall to wall dimensions, rather than on-center dimensions.

If all of the above are correct, here is the problem I'm running into: Except for the mudroom bumpout toward the garage, the house and porch form a rectangle. Thus, the depth measured at the middle (cutting thru the Great Room and Kitchen) should be the same as the depth measured at the left side (cutting thru the Master Bedroom and Master bath) and the depth measured thru the right side (cutting thru the mudroom and two bedrooms) But, when I add up the dimensions you provide, they all come out different.

Starting at the back of the house and going toward the front, thru the middle of the house you have:

0' 4" back wall
33' 0" Kitchen/Great Room combo
0' 4" front wall
6' 0" porch
___________
39' 8" TOTAL

On the left side of the house (again starting at the back), you have:

0' 4" wall
16' 0" master bedroom
0' 4" wall
3' 0" hallway (can't really be any narrower)
0' 4" wall
7' 1.5" closet (again, can't really be much narrower if you want to hang clothes on both sides.)
14' 0" bathroom area
0' 4" wall
________
41' 5.5" TOTAL

On the right hand side, you have:

0' 4" wall
8' 7.5" mudroom
0' 4" wall
10' 0" bedroom
0' 4" wall
9' 6" bathroom and closets
0' 4" wall
10' 0" bedroom
0' 4" wall
____________
39' 9.5" total

The difference between the first and last totals is no big deal because it makes sense that the porch might sit back an inch or two from the front of the house, But, unless the masterbedroom side extends forward about a foot and a half further to the east than the secondary bedroom side, things just aren't adding up.

You had mentioned a simple "hip roof" and that only makes sense if the left and right sides line up at the front. They DON'T have to be the same but if they're not, your roof is going to have to be a little more complicated to accomodate the extra foot and a half bump-out on the MBR side.

Sorry to be so detailed, but I'm guessing that you intended everything to total 40' and I can use that easily enough in the center and on the right hand side because it gives a few more inches of space to work with. But on the master bedroom side, it means you have 1 1/2 foot LESS space than you have planned for. There is no way to make the bathroom any less deep because it is already VERY VERY tight with that Jaccuzi tub in there. How would you feel about having a master bedroom that is only 13' X 14.5'? I think it would feel noticeably smaller than the reasonably generous size you had envisioned.

Alternatively, you could use the larger 41' 5.5" depth and that would also also give you some nice options for handling those two bedrooms and their closets without having to put in that hallway which looks like it was added on as a bit of an afterthought. But, I don't know whether you lot dimensions will allow you to go to the larger footprint. Also have no idea how that would affect the total cost to build. Keeping things in 4' multiples is usually the cheapest way to go.

Anyway, once I know the dimensions you want, I'll post a scale drawing for you and that will make it easier for others on this board to chime in with their comments and ideas as well.

By the way, once I have your dimensions, I can probably do an simplified elevation view for you also but will need to know a few things like, what size windows are you planning to have? What pitch will your roof be? How high above ground level will your floor (and front porch) sit? How exactly does your garage attach because that will determine options for how to handle the roof-line for the laundryroom bump out, etc.

Looking forward to hearing from you! I love doing these kinds of things. Kicking myself now that I didn't go to architectural school instead of law school. LOL!

Here are the original plans we had made.

I do notice the dimensions for the basement are bigger than the main floor....I'm guessing it has to do with the thickness of the foundation walls vs. the main floor walls?

We do not want to add any more to the house. It is already bigger than we had first projected, but that is ok. Hopefully my "revised drawing" was the only thing that was off. I tried to count the little squares and fill things in, but this is definitely not my niche. I will stick to teaching 4th grade! I know what I want it to look like when I am done, but I'm having trouble working backwards from there. I don't know about wall widths, door widths, window sizes, etc. We had a friend, who is an industrial arts teacher at another school and has built houses, make our plans. He used CAD, so hopefully it all lines up on his plans. Our lot is just under 1 acre, so we have plenty of room to work with.

http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o365/mobrien24/BasementFloorPlan.jpg

http://s341.photobucket.com/albums/o365/mobrien24/?action=view&current=MainFloorPlan-2.jpg

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to help!! Maybe a second job is on the horizon for you??? You definitely have a knack for design!

The windows haven't been ordered yet, but let's just figure a standard size window in most places. That is another thing that I really don't know and we can still adjust. So I would say you can choose what you think would look best. Also, feel free to put windows in places you think they would look best.

The master bedroom really only needs to be big enough for a King size bed, 2 night stands, and a large dresser. We will have everything else in the walk-in closet. We do not have a TV or couch or anything in the bedroom....we just sleep in there.

The halls were both added after suggestions on here were so against the bedroom doors being open to the great room. I like the changes in the girls' bedrooms and main bath that froghopper suggested. I was thinking the little walk-in closets might be better for them so their dresser could be in there with hanging clothes, but it doesn't seem popular amongst the group. That is why I am asking questions, because again I know what I would like it to look like when it is done, but I am not that knowledgeable about the steps to get there. I'm open to suggestions.

I copied the original plan links above. I'm not sure how to get them in the message like I've seen here. I've learned a lot, but I know I have SOOOOO much to learn. Thank you to everyone for being patient with me.

I saw an island for the kitchen that was oval shaped on one end to allow for 4 chairs to fit and conversation instead of all lined up in a row. I really liked that.

As for the roof....I know it can't be extremely steep, and I am trying to remember.....I believe they need the pitch to be 6/12 or something like that. The roof does have an overhang and covers the porch. It looks like the porch is about 6 feet deep.

The garage sits back further than the house, as you can see in the plans. There are 2 car spaces in the front and the same amount of space that a one car garage would take up going the distance in the back. We will have a small garage door on the back of the garage for mowers and toys. (I think he has doors that open out on the plan, but that has been changed.

The master bath must have 2 sinks and I want a small sitting area with lower counter for my makeup and hair. I don't care if the jacuzzi tub is corner or rectangle, but I was trying to cut some cost. I also don't really want to use a ton of water each time I use it.

We are doing a geothermal unit in the basement, so suggestions for mechanical room would be good, too. We will have a septic system and ejector pump that will come out on the side of the left side of the house (Master side) and go to the back of our lot.

I can find out answers if you have more questions or see problems with the plan. I'm so thankful you are all here. Once we break ground, I want to be confident that no more changes (big ones anyway) will be needed.

Thank you so much!

Here is a link that might be useful:

Two thoughts about your bathroom:

Would you prefer a vanity in the closet (out of the humidity of the bathroom)? You could add elec. outlets and good lighting there. I have a 'daylight' fluorescent ceiling fixture in my closet. The vanity seat would be handy for putting on stockings and shoes.

I'm very happy with an airjet tub, It's just the right length for me, so I don't slide down. It fills in a couple of minutes and the jets are blown dry a few minutes after I exit the tub. I have a separate diverter spray for rinsing out the tub. Can you 'try on' a tub before ordering it? I'm 5'6". My tub is 64" X 36" overall but only 48" X 24" interior. (www.ultrabaths.com)

Oh, also...will you have a central vacuum system? This might be a new challenge for the builders, but easy to install. Most of us on the forum LOVE them.

Hi Mobrian,

First, to get a feeling for how big things need to be, go to the hardware store and buy a 10' or 20' metal pull out tape measure and start carrying it around with you all the time. When you're in a bathroom (for example) that feels too tight, measure it. When you're in one that feels "right", measure it as well. That's what I did. I even sometimes asked friends if they minded if I measured their living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms. Since everyone I know knew that I was trying to design my own home, they seemed to understand. Leastwise, I didn't notice any "drop off" in the number of invites we got. LOL! It won't take you long to get a very good feel about what size things need to be!

But, here are some of the things I learned from walking around with my tape measure.

Where people are going to be walking all the time, the pathways generally need to be about 3' wide to feel comfortable. You can squeeze past a piece of furniture - for example to get to a dining chair that is on the back side of a table - with just 2' of space but if that path is used all the time, it is too narrow.

The aisle-ways in kitchens need to be at least 4' wide because you need room to open drawers, refrigerators, stoves, etc. without being forced back into the cabinet behind you.

Kitchen counters are 2 feet deep.

For islands (or penninsulas) that have a high bar on one side and a lower work space counter on the other, the work space counter can be just 2 feet deep if the bar sits 8 or so higher than the work space counter and doesn't overlap it by more than a few inches. Otherwise, the work space part need to be deeper. If you want to sit at the bar and eat, the bar needs to be at least 16" deep. I've seen bars that were only 12" deep but invariably they wound up being used only to stack stuff on because anyone sitting there was too likely to wind up knocking their glass off or something like that.

Most codes require toilets to be 15" from the walls or other fixtures. The 15" is measured from the center of the toilet. That means a separate toilet room has to be at least 30" wide. Anything less than 36" wide however tends to feel pretty cramped. You also need room for the toilet room door to open and close WHILE you are standing in front of the toilet. Thus a toilet room usually needs to be at least 5' deep to feel reasonably comfortable. Bifold doors that don't swing into the available space quite so far can make a slightly smaller room feel comfortable.

A 10' x 10' bedroom is fine where you're going to have a single twin bed. 10' x 12' is about the minimum that feels comfortable with a double bed.

You can fit a standard tub, toilet, and 28" wide vanity into a 5' X 7' space. It won't have a "luxurious" feeling but it works just fine for a kid's bathroom.

Exterior doors need to be 36" wide. I like 32" wide interior doors because, while it is a close squeek, a wheelchair can go thru a 32" wide door and 36" wide interior doors tend to take up too much room when they swing making designing spaces just too complex.

Small, reach-in closets can have narrower doors. Down to 24".

Hallways need to be at least 36" wide to feel comfortable... and so you can move furniture up and down them. If you want to use 32" doors at the end, then the hallway needs to be about 40" wide to accommodate the door plus the trim around the door.

The longer a hallway is, the wider it needs to be to feel comfortable. Windows in a hallway can help make it feel wider.

Hallways that end with a blank wall are disconcerting even when they are short. If they are relatively long, they feel like a tunnel no matter how many doors open off the sides. If you HAVE to have such a hall, put an "art nook" at the end of it... and keep it as short as possible.

Walk in closets that are less than 5' X 7' are a total waste of space. With a 5' X 7' walk-in closet, you can hang clothes along one 7' side and one 5'side if you put the door in the other 5' side and use a 28" door or smaller. To hang clothes on both sides of a walk in closet it has to be at least 7' wide.

Given all the above,

Here is what I would do with the footprint you currently have. FYO The measurements shown in blue are "center to center" measurements. The couple that are shown in red are "outside corner to outside corner"

And here is a copy with all the grid taken out to make it easier for anyone else on GW who want to chime in to play with the sketch. (There are a lot of people out there who are a whole lot more talented than I am!)

A couple of points.

1) I'm not sure what the width of the stairway to your basement was. Because 48" made your dining area a bit too narrow, I used a 42 inch width and assumed the basement ceiling would be 8' high. Each step has a rise of 7" and a tread depth of 11". If allowed in your area, you might want to narrow the steps to just 36" wide. If you're going to have an open rail around them, 36" shouldn't feel too tight.

3) I stuck a pair of 24" doors on the master bedroom b/c I think that would give you a more upscale look. My program won't easily allow me to show an art-nook at the end of that hall but I would definitely have one put in! Also make sure you have a nice ceiling light in that hallway.

4) The masterbath you had was just tooooo tight for the size jacuzzi you were showing. No walking around room and no way to give the toilet it's own separate vented room. I took the liberty of moving the front door to the right side of porch and taking back the front closet space for the masterbath.... Much less crowded now and therefore more "elegant" feeling.

5) I also took Chisue's idea about having a vanity in the "closet". Struck me as a great idea for when two people are getting ready at the same time plus moving one vanity out into space that wasn't all that useful as closet area provided plenty of room for the toilet to have it's own little room AND for you to have a really elegant double shower. If you prefer having both vanity's in the bathroom proper, you can make the shower half as big and put the other vanity in the space between the shower and toilet-room.

******

BTW, if you weren't under a time crunch to settle on your design, I would suggest that you consider widening the two front wings of the house by about 3 feet each (making the porch 6' narrower) and then moving the front living room wall back 2' to make the porch 2 feet deeper. Right now you have a really long porch but it isn't deep enough to really use for anything except maybe to line a bunch of rocking chairs up facing the street. An 8 foot depth would allow you to create an L-shaped seating area on the porch and have a real "outdoor living space" out there. But, changing the porch would necessitate a whole new re-design and I don't think you have time for that.

Hope some of this is helpful.

Suggestions:

The two small bedrooms need a linen closet nearby. Move the hall opening "north," and extend the coat closet in the same direction. Divide it, and make half of it a linen closet. The door to the linen closet half should be on the hall side. Change the doorway to a pocket door to close off the bedroom area when appropriate.

The bathroom at our Maui condo is divided. The tub/shower and toilet are in one room. To reach that you walk through a space with a sink and vanity on one side and a closet with bi-fold doors on the other side. It's handy to have that wall-to-wall mirror over the vanity opposite the closet.

You are all wonderful. I am feeling much better about the house. ****Big Sigh of Relief!!!**** Thank you so much. I called our "plan maker" to share your ideas so he can make new prints for the excavator by next week. We are getting closer now! You all think of so many things that I would have never thought of!!!

I LOVE the makeup counter outside of the bathroom!!!!! That is my favorite!

I also was thinking of moving the front door over to the right side. Before it wouldn't work because of the girls' bedrooms, but it will now.

I'll keep you all posted as we make revisions. This is really exciting seeing how everyone puts their ideas together!

I love the idea of getting my own tape measure and carrying it around! I'm going to go buy one tonight! We have several friends who have built new houses, so I'm sure they won't mind if I measure their rooms.

I had to laugh when you said we could line up a bunch of rockers on the front porch. LOL I'll have to send you a picture of that one when the house is done. Maybe we will put a swing at one end of the porch or something???

The basement has 9 ft ceilings, so I'll just add more length for the steps. No biggie.

Thanks again,
Michelle

If your basement is designed for 9 foot ceilings, consider leaving the wall height alone and having a 8 foot drop ceiling installed instead of drywall. That will give you 24 inches of space to run ducts, plumbing, wiring, etc., instead of 12, and will make everything much more accessible. It will be very handy if you ever decide to put a home theater down there.

Today's drop ceilings can look every bit as good as a drywall ceiling, while giving you access to all the "stuff" between the floors. It may even save you some money.

bevangel -- May we have a few more windows, please? (MBR, Master Bath, Corner BR, Children's Bath?)

Can Front Entry Door swing against the wall instead of the guest closet?

I'd leave the front porch as merely decorative. Later add a more private and useful screened porch off the dining area -- which still looks very tight to me. (I wish the stairs could go *elsewhere*.)

What about an U shape in kitchen and make a round raised bar for 4 stools of the peninsula that comes out near the master bedroom door entrance? That would free up the space in the middle for the dining table and allow enough space for the stairs to not crowd it all.

Look at the picture I drew....ignore what I drew in the master bedroom (desk area mostly. I want to add the pantry back in to the kitchen. I had it in the first drafts months ago, but I took it out. I'm not sure if I want that hall to the master bedroom, either? I can't decide. I think I'll sleep on it and see how I feel tomorrow.

I love the ideas and appreciate everyone's help! I think I will sleep so much better tonight.

I still need to visit friends' houses to measure windows and see what sizes I need. The front and back of the house are my main concerns for the larger windows to let in lots of light. I have my tape measure and am ready to travel!!!

Michelle

Here is a link that might be useful:

Is this what you meant for the penninsula with a round end?

I also readjusted the entry closet so that the front door opens against "wall" instead of into closet doors. Chisue is right about the previous plan not being the best idea although it works okay if the closet doors are sliding doors. This makes the front closet pretty small and deeper than normal but it would probably still work okay for a front closet to hold guest coats and umbrellas, etc.

Looking over your old drawings, it looks like you would really like to have a pantry so I also moved the stairs forward some and rearranged the laundry/mudroom so that I could move the door from that closer to the front of the house and squeeze a pantry behind the stairs. Personally, I probably would prefer the run of cabinetry that behind the stairs in the earlier rendition. Almost as much storage space for everything except brooms/mops and those can be tucked into the mud-room anyway.

I think I kind of like the short hallway to the master bedroom now. What I'm envisioning is that the opening to that hallway would be an arched doorway and that the opening to the hallways to the secondary bedrooms would be a matching arch. Then, at the end of the hallway, you have an art nook (they look fantastic and cost almost nothing to put in) and display a lovely piece of sculpture that is well lighted by lights in the ceiling. With double doors to your master bedroom, that hallway could be one of the highlights of your home. Entering the hallway could say "now you're entering a very special part of the house." Besides' if you take it out, I gotta start all over figuring out how to rearrange bedroom/bathroom and closets. LOL!

P.s. Have fun with the measuring tape. My DH swears I can now walk into a room and tell you what size it is to the nearest inch without measuring a thing.

I want to get those stairs out of the living/dining area.

It seems to me the right rectangle (mudroom/children's BRs) is not long enough. Is it so important to have a perfect rectangle for the roofing?

Could we lengthen the right rectangle 40" and insert the stairs between the mudroom and one BR? Could push the Master Suite forward too, although I think the MBR is already overly long. This wouldn't change the size of the middle rectangle, but the front porch could be deeper.

bevangel, I have a dwg drawing, the "plans guy" made in CAD. I can't open it, but is there a way I can send it to you or post it? I tried to attach it in photobucket, but it won't upload. I called the plan guy yesterday and told him about the changes. We went to pick them up today (the large paper copies), but he still didn't do everything I wanted. I LOVE the round peninsula end! That is exactly what I wanted. You should really think about making this your second job!!! You are so good about listening to what I want. Is there a way to post the dwg file through my e-mail?

Mobrien, I'm Afraid I wouldn't be able to do anything with a dwg file myself. The CAD (computer assisted drafting) program I use is one designed for non-professionals and doesn't use or read dwg files. It is called Punch 5-in-1.

I'm glad I was able to help you clarify what you wanted but I'm afraid I really can't help with the dwg stuff. Look carefully at the paper copies and contact your plan guy again and tell him what he still needs to do. Send him an email with the images from this thread. Or the link to the thread itself. I'm sure he can revise the CAD and will do so once he understands exactly what you want. Stick with it till you get paper drawing that look the way you want.

Best wishes on the building process and keep us updated with pictures etc!

Do you plan on using the front porch much? It'd help to have an eight foot deep porch. Is there a way to add a foot and a half to it?

Sorry, if this was covered. I didn't read all the posts.

Terry

Bevangel, I hope you had a wonderful weekend! The weather was beautiful in IL. We spent most of our time at the town pool! I'm refreshed and ready to tackle the plans again. They are planning on breaking ground on Thursday, but the forecast for this week isn't looking so good.....LOL The question of the day, every time we see someone we know.....'So when are you breaking ground?' LOL

I like your changes so much better. I love the double door entry to the master and the sink and makeup counter outside the bathroom. Very clever.

I printed the last drawing you did and added some revisions. It is almost there. Thanks for being so helpful.

If the pantry needs to take a little space from the master bedroom, that would be fine.

I really like the stairs where they are. We sort of designed our whole plan around having the open staircase in the big open room. It makes the basement not so closed off since we have 2 little girls. We will have a finished basement, also with a family room, playroom, bar, bedroom, bath, and storage, as well as the mechanical room. In order for our girls to use the space, we wanted to make it more connected to the main living area. I'm thinking we should put a door or allow for a door to be added when they are teenagers and want their privacy in the basement, but for now I like it all open.

Thanks again! You are truly an ANGEL!!!!!

Michelle

Here is a link that might be useful:

Sorry, but the porch has to be that size. I might just put one wicker rocker and a bench in the corner. It will be ok.

Oh.....I hadn't even thought about a central vac. I'll have to look into that. What is the best name? Average cost? That would be heavenly with two little ones to always clean up after!

I'll also have to look into the airjet tub. I want the relaxation, and I don't really know much about an air jet tub. All my friends have jacuzzi tubs. I'll see what I can find out.

Thanks.
Michelle

Everyone I know who has tried both Jacuzzi tubs and airjet tubs seems to prefer the airjet tubs. Me, when I want to relax, I just want deep HOT water with NO noise. So, I'm going with a large 72" claw foot slipper tub with the freestanding faucet so I don't have to have faucet holes in the side of the tub. Actually, I understand airjet tubs aren't noisy so that would probably have been my second choice but I also love the shape of the old slipper tubs.

I wonder if they would fill the different tubs in the showroom and allow me to "try them out?" LOL

Bevangel, you have inspired me to learn how to use the software. I can't wait to get my own software so I can start playing with designs.

Thanks to everyone for the insights. They broke ground yesterday, and of course it rained last night. They are hoping to pour the foundations walls later this week. I'll post pics as soon as it starts looking like a basement!

Of course it rained the day they started digging. I think there is a law of the universe out there somewhere that it MUST rain just as the digging starts and then again just before they get your roof on so you're dried in. You'll also have a string of wet days when its time to paint and the hottest weather of the year while they're working on the roof! Remember Murphey's law. "If something can go wrong it will." And the corollary to Murphey's: "If something could have gone wrong and it didn't, watch out, all H--- is fixing to break loose." LOL

Hope you're all ready for the roller coaster ride of house-building! When it dips and you're totally depressed/scared/angry or whatever, remember you have friends here that will understand and share your pain. Just don't forget to share the highs with us as well and remember, we all LIVE for pictures!

Best-o-luck.

I don't know what central vacs cost in your area. I do know that if you want one, the tubing needs to go in after the framing, before you drywall. There are systems that store the hose in the wall or ones where there's just an outlet in the wall into which you put a separate hose. Measure all the way from the farthest, highest point you will be cleaning to put the outlets within reach.

An advantage of airjet tubs is that they blow out any water left inside the portals after you turn off the tub. I find that the tub doesn't form that 'bathtub ring' either, maybe because particles are kept suspended by the bubbles? I don't have to scrub after every use, just rinse with separate sprayer mounted on the tub surround. A disadvantage of airjets is that they are don't do 'deep massage' like the jacuzzi type. It is a pain to keep the water lines clean in the jaccuzi type and they seem to require more water.