Stephanie Dailey walks through a mechanical room in a 5,300-square-foot two-story home, making the case for why this space deserves more square footage than most floor plans allocate. The room houses forced air handlers, ductwork, electrical panels, a radiant heat manifold, tankless water heaters, a water softener, and a sand spin filter — with the boilers pushed to the garage simply because there wasn't room. Equipment footprints on paper rarely reflect real-world installation needs once ductwork, filters, and code-required clearances are factored in. Knowing your mechanical systems early in the design process lets your architect and builder right-size the space from the start.

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