Just a few ideas from my experiences.....
Put a light switch and sockets for light bulbs in the crawl space. I gave the electrician a $100 and he did both the crawl space and the attic too. The blown in insulation guys sure did a lot better job when I can see their work!
If they use blown-in insulation in the attic, find out how many bags it should take and count them WHEN they are blowing it in. I built three houses and found that they NEVER put in the correct amount. I learned to watch them from the first time I had it done. Don't tell them before hand or they will bring empty bags with them.
If you put up Christmas lights, have the electrician put in a few outlets on the eves at the front of the house and hook it to a light switch in the garage. When they are done, put in a timer.
I had outlets installed under the vanity in the bathrooms, behind the mirrors and in the kitchen under the cabinets for rope lighting. It tied in with the Christmas light circuit and came on at dusk. I was told that the soft light doesn't wake you up like turning on the lights in the middle of the night. It really was a nice touch.
I installed a recirculating pump on the hot water line. It came on just before we got up. You can step into the shower right away without having to wait for the water to get hot.
Before they pour the foundation, have the concrete form layers put in a couple of 4 inch pvc pipes where you can run your a/c or lawn irrigation supply lines or geothermal lines, or electrical/auxiliary lines. It beats having to use a hammerdrill and costs a couple of dollars. I put the plastic caps on the ends and when the time came to put in the heat pump line set, they popped out in seconds.
Seems like they always miss one or two outlets on a wall where you really need one. I know they are supposed to have one every so many feet, but I see it happen a lot where they don't have one. Its good to go around before they sheetrock it.
In all of the homes that I have had built or bought, every exterior door jam leaks at the top. Weather it is the sliding door, man door to the garage, or the front door, they are never sealed between the sheetrock and the molding. Anybody else reading this, check, you will see that most of the time there is a space where it isn't sealed and if you have a blower door test done, you will find out that it is a big leak.
I insulated every wall in the house. Even the interior walls. It was very nice when you didn't hear the kids/wife in the other rooms. I had solid doors installed instead of the hollow doors. They didn't cost much more, but it made a difference on the noise and the feel.
The wall between the garage and the house I added furring strips for a 1/2" or so gap and a 3/4" piece of insulation under the sheetrock. You couldn't hear the garage door opening if you were in that side of the house.
I added extra insulation under and behind the bath tub and it kept the tub water hot longer. I was surprised to see the large opening at the drain into the crawlspace after the insulating crew left. It was a great place for cold air to congregate under the tub.
After I complained to the insulation company they sent a crew member back and he spent at least 6 hours going through the crawl space resetting the batts resealing the outlet boxes.
The absolute worst was the caulking at the floor to bottom plate on all exterior walls! The crew didn't clean out the sawdust from the crack and when I was checking it and pulled the dried string of caulking up with dried up sawdust stuck to it, I was mad. I vacuumed up all the sawdust and resealed it to my satisfaction. Today I would insist that the drywall crew uses the sealant on all exterior wall footer and headers prior to installing the drywall.
I refused to pay the final insulation bill until it was right. I understand that most of the time the crew is just wanting to get out of there and on to the next job.
If I could do it over again, I would use closed cell spray foam for the entire envelope of the house. There would be minimal thermal transfer in the attic, crawlspace and the walls. Of coarse a fresh air heat exchanger would then be a must have too.
Make sure all of the heating ducts are sealed with mastic and the vent boxes are sealed at the floor/ceiling openings. I would find out in your area if the electric company offers a free or low cost blower door test and thermal camera and see how the crew did when they leave.
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