Bill Gates Home-Features.

Bill Gates Home-Features.

 1.No visible electrical outlets anywhere.

 2.112 steps from the main floor to the main entry.

 3.Wood columns from main floor to roof in entry area are over 70 feet long.

 4.All timbers used inside and out are finished the same - 3 inches have been removed from the exterior of  the wood and then sanded to a satin finish and there are virtually no knots.

 5.All bolts throughout the house are stainless steel and oriented the same direction.

 6.All woodwork is flawless. Much of the woodwork is of various rare species from all over the world.
   
 7.Some of the luxury interior passage doors weigh over 800 lbs, but are balanced for easy use

 8.Acoustics are a concern throughout. Various woods and fabrics are used. Acoustic panels in the  Ballroom move out of sight on their own.

 9.Roofing is stainless steel.

 10.Floor is heated everywhere including the driveway and walks.

 11.Four car garage. House for the maintenance staff has its own 3-car garage. Nanny parks in the 6-car  carport across from the main entry. An additional 10-cars can be parked in a subterranean arched  concrete building which through an electronic transformation becomes a basketball court.

 12.Many doors are blended so well with the walls that it is hard to see them, Great interior design &  decoration

 13.Theater (underground in a concrete shell) is the most state of the art theater in the world according to  specialty contractor.

 14.Entry gate senses when your car approaches and opens fully by the time you arrive.

 15.Master bathtub can be filled to the right temperature and depth by Gates as he drives home from work.

Electronics

Miles of communication cable, largely fiber optic, run throughout the house, linking computer servers powered by the Windows NT operating system. In each room, touch-sensitive pads control lighting, music, and climate. Visitors will wear small electronic pins, which will let the computers know who and where they are. Lights and other settings will adjust automatically. Floors throughout the house (and the driveway) are heated.

Family wing

The Gates family's 11,500-square-foot inner sanctum is surprisingly modest, with four bedrooms and quarters for a nanny. A four-car garage is attached. The lower levels include a techno-playland family room and an exercise facility that is better appointed than many health clubs.

Guest wing

The southern half of the main building, this wing contains the main entrance (with grand staircase), theater, library, formal dining room, reception hall, and conference facilities. It includes only two bedrooms.


Waterfront: Approximately 500 feet

Square footage, all structures: More than 66,000 (equal to 1.5 acres)

Rooms: Seven bedrooms, 24 bathrooms (includes 10 full baths), six kitchens, six fireplaces

Style: Pacific Northwest lodge

Architects: James Cutler and Peter Bohlin

Interior designer: Thierry W. Despont

Primary contractor: Sellen Construction

Foundation

The hillside is in an earthquake zone, so the foundation sits on concrete piers and uses tiebacks and steel reinforcements several times stronger than the minimums set by the building code. Massive retaining walls, several feet thick in places, created a drainage problem, solved by collecting runoff in buried pipes that feed into the estuary.

 Frame

Primarily timber frame. Half a million board feet of lumber was used. Support beams were salvaged
from a Weyerhaeuser mill on the Columbia River, refinished, and sanded to a satin glow. The timbers are joined with stainless-steel fittings, which have been flame-bronzed and anodized, for a rustic look. All connecting bolts (also stainless steel) point in the same direction.