Pimping Out a New House 613
Jason Michael Perry writes "I just got pre-approved to buy some gutted property in New Orleans. A lot of the houses I'm looking at are blank canvases that need new wiring, new walls, new everything. I've always dreamed of a high-tech house that says my name when I walk in the door and now is my chance to get a close as I can with current technology. So I'm looking for ideas to pimp out a newly renovated house with all the best technology. If you had a blank canvas to start with, what would you do? Run CAT-5 or fiber optics? Build a closet for servers and A/V equipment? Build a 7.1 speaker system into the living room walls and ceilings? Install automated lights and intercom (with support for Apple equipment)? How about appliances, the kitchen, and other spots... what cool tech can I use there? My only rules and requirements are support for the four Macs I have in the house, and reasonable support for technology on the fringes."
Step one (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Step one (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Step one (Score:5, Insightful)
Given the very real possibility that New Orleans will be washed out again--sooner, rather than later--I'd populate the first few items of my "To Do" list to include items related to redundant shock absorbtion, sea-worthiness, and life support (water, ventilation, heating, etc). Did I mention redundancy? Don't forget the redundant systems.
Once you are certain that your home will not float away (unless designed to do so), spring a leak, or act more as a roasting, oven-like trap than a shelter, you can start worrying about cat5 v. fiber. When it comes down to it, which one is more survivable in flood conditions?
I would also plan the network with redundancy in mind. Spread out and share the storage. See to it that data is as well-protected from environmental disaster as possible. If the kitchen floods, you still save grandma's recipes on the other networked devices.
Which paradigm (wire v. fibre, etc.) draws as little power as possible? How can it be used to better conserve household power?
A home is a huge investment (at least at my end of the pay scale), so I would want to make sure that any home I built in a disaster-prone area can survive the worst mother nature can throw at it in that particular region.
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Re:Step one (Score:5, Informative)
btw since you have 4 macs, do the proper file system / networking so they have common logins i.e. each machine sees the same file system and userlogins.. the cool thing is this works w/ ppc and intel macs.. You can even set it so your laptop works the same way w/ very little work (it will resync as you come back to the network).
I've thought about doing the speaker thing.. this is up to you if you can dedicate to a room to such things
I did this at my parent's house (Score:4, Informative)
I have 12 runs and arranged the terminations in a cabinet in the basement like this: 3 rows of 12. The top panel is for terminating the run to whichever room. The middle panel splits out the middle two wires (pins 4 & 5) and connects them to a 66 block (which is in turn connected to my vonage router) and forwards the remaining wires (pins 1-3, 6-8) to the bottom panel. I also have a 24-port 100Mswitch and a 5-port 1000M switch. The 24-port switch supports vlan and is connected to a linksys WRT54GL which has priority queuing for specific vlans.
This allows me to select the following configurations simply by swapping patch cables:
1. Full ethernet (compatible with 100M or 1000M ethernet): patch from the top panel to one of the switches.
2. Ethernet + phone (compatible with 100M ethernet & 1-line phone CONCURRENTLY ON THE SAME RUN): patch from the top panel to the middle panel, then patch from the matching bottom panel jack to one of the switches. Whether phone or ethernet is used then depends on the device plugged into the jack on the other end of the run.
3. Phone only: Patch from the top panel to the middle panel. No patch connected to the matching bottom panel jack.
One thing about this: You have to be careful when using the mixed ethernet and phone configuration. Some ethernet cards terminate pins 4 and 5 to ground (or somesuch) which is "picked up" in telco wiring. This makes the phone unusable.
An improvement on this system would obviously be to have some sort of asterix box in the wiring cabinet such that each phone or phone+ethernet could be its own extension. This would eliminate the problem mentioned above.
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there are multiple cat5 wiring arrangement standards, which switch wire colors but do not change the basic wiring format:
http://www.zytrax.com/tech/layer_1/cables/tech_lan .htm#color [zytrax.com]
in my line of work (low-voltage wiring), describing wires by location is typically more precise than describing wires by color.
Re:Step one (Score:5, Informative)
Passing wire is nice but when it's time to add
and change things around
think : conduits
Whatever you put in for the a/v and the networking
think ahead and pass it under conduits.You can then
change wiring easily.
Also think ahead and so pass networking cable to most
device locations at the same time you pass the other
cables. Most projectors, video, and audio devices are moving in that direction.
I highly recommend to plan ahead for automation like
amx or crestron. it's not only fun , it's also very
usefull to have. If you love high tech , just take a
look that way.
Ric
Re:Step one (Score:5, Insightful)
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Wikipedia doesn't mention such a cable. Do you mean category 5e? category 6? category 6a [wikipedia.org]? The last is what I'd suggest, as apparently it will be needed for 10 Gigabit Ethernet [slashdot.org]. Seems to be pricey, but probably less than snaking new cables through everywhere or tearing apart walls.
Re:Step one (Score:5, Interesting)
I've also had serious issues w/ 5e and gigabit switches at work that all went away when we recabled to 6.. this happened to a slew of people that i know (this is for a beowulf cluster).. so i think i had a natural bias towards 6
Re:Step one (Score:5, Interesting)
No really, you want to install tubes in your walls (often called smurf tubes) and put your cat5 or whatever inside the tubes. If in the future you want fiber, or whatever the future finds you just push new cables down these tubes.
Re:Step one (Score:5, Interesting)
From a central closet *with good ventilation* you want to run one of these tubes (they are a corrugated plastic) to each room. Each tube can carry about 5-8 CAT5/6 cables or whatnot. Also remember to leave a pull string in the tube, and to pull a new pull string with any cable you pull with the old pull string. I would pre run 2 cat5e or cat6, one RG6 to each room from the central closet. If you are on a budget then don't pull cable to rooms you don't thing will need it, but *do* put the conduit in. Also, in each room the conduit should circle the room, you can always terminate a signal early, but what if you want to go to the other side of the room someday? having the conduit present will make that easy.
A PBX while cool, is overkill.
A central media server is awesome (that's what I have). Having video/music on demand to any room is really unexplainably nice. I use chip'd Xboxes as front-ends.
-nB
I would agree except... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I would agree except... (Score:4, Informative)
-nB
Obviously the fewer bends the better
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I am a mac/unix person b
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Re:Step one (Score:4, Informative)
Many outsiders who only watch the news have no idea what things are like down here. Midcity is coming back just fine and people are starting to renovate and rebuild in the Lakefront area. The only areas that remain uninhabited for the most part are around the lower ninth ward, which was a run down area to start with, and the other immediate areas near the major flood wall breaches.
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If you were to have looked at the submitter's info on his web site, and if you knew the demographics of the area, you would have seen that he definitely doesn't come from that deep in Da Parish.
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Re:Step one (Score:4, Insightful)
- Solar Panels, home generator, - the goal is that I can supply my own power/ lower my power costs
- UV Water purification system - or something suitably expensive that can clean incoming water to my home - be it from municipal pipes or the river that has become my street.
- depending on climate and region - whatever architectural modifications I can make to make controlling the temperature within the home easy and cheap - that could be insulation, or really good shutters or ?
- a cache of weapons - in case of looters - kidding
Re:Step one (Score:4, Insightful)
The UV water purifier isn't needed here in New Orleans. Our tap water has been and continues to be some of the cleanest and best tasting in the country. Our tap water comes from the Mississippi and as such is treated and filtered more that just about any other city. The Mississippi has a lot of chemicals that are deposited in it from the more Northern states that we have to filter out. I would say a Brita filter would be sufficient.
Regarding the climate management, I agree. Many of the older houses in New Orleans have very high ceilings and tall attics to accommodate the increased heat during the summer. I would look into some energy efficient windows and do your best to insulate your house to keep heat out and your AC in.
You joke about the cache of weapons, but honestly, it's not a bad idea in any city...
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I wouldn't brag too much about having the cleanest water in the country
Re:Step two (Score:3, Insightful)
I speak as an expert on this, if the house was sitting in flood water then its probably useless. saturated wood loses its trueness and is susceptible to dry rot. your looking at warped walls which are a pain in the but to finish. I suggest if the house has a second story you put all of your new hi fi equipment up there as it's usually no good sitting in ten feet of water.
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Another thing that would worry me about buying a house in NO... Are the title deeds REALLY clear? They won't have any claims made on them in the future from former lost residents trying to come back? I see a movie in the making...
Re: Step one (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Step one (Score:5, Insightful)
You should run something that will handle any technology that comes along in the future...
conduit!
Re:Step one (Score:5, Informative)
1. Electricians think that Cat 5 wire can be treated like Romax, bend and crinked all you want. Don't say "terminate", it only confuses them.
2. Electricians think you are supposed to "daisy chain" surround sound speaker wiring.
3. Plumbers think the sink should go one place, electricians think the light should be centered over the sink, in a different place.
4. Usted debe hablar español.
5. Most building inspectors are not as smart as they think they are, and if you let them know this, you are screwed.
6. If you want it to rain, just schedule for a concrete truck to show up at the time you want the rain to start.
Dream big, but reality says you will spend most of your time screaming at contractors, construction workers and/or the bank. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Concrete needs water. (Score:5, Informative)
Also, 99% of contractors are trying to save money by not putting enough steel reinforcement in concrete pads and walls. Then you end up saving $500 on a garage pad that then cracks next year after a frost. A properly built pad will *never* crack. In my garage, there is about 1ton of steel in the pad. In winter when the ground freezes, the ground (clay) can shift so much that one side of the garage is an inch or two out of the ground! The pad bends (door frame changes shape a bit), but doesn't crack. Yet for some reason everyone still believes in North America that concrete pads always crack! Huh?
Of course, the consumer is screwed in the end when the concrete pads crack and foundations fall apart or you gen high humidity in the basements. (ie. concrete not water proofed - no you can't do it from inside the house!)
Anyway, pour concrete in cloudy weather. If there are showers a bit on and off, it is ok. It it sunny - not good. If it is puring down buckets, well, wait! The concrete needs to settle for 6h+ before you can and should pour buckets of water on it!
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Concrete wants to be a dryer mix to set up stronger. We already add too much water to concrete just to get it liquid enough to pour. This is why super-plasticizers and water reducers work to make stronger concrete, the less water added to the mix substantially increases the strength - but you need a plasticizer to maintain a reasonable slump.
Standard mix concrete is around 3000 psi, but with water reducers you can get to 6000+.
Having said that, it is true you don't want it to dry
Re:Step one (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Step one (Score:5, Informative)
No need to use your imagination [google.com]
Re:Step one (Score:5, Insightful)
Someone want to refresh on the worst water level in residential New Orleans during Katrina? Make sure you build your float poles so the house can float a few feet higher than the old flood line if need be, and make sure to put a hard stopper at the top of the poles so the house doesn't float off them. Look into how Venice does their construction in their houses too...
As far as wiring...
Networking: If you're expecting the house to get flooded, I'd suggest a main fiber switch and router at your DSL/Cable demarc, then fiber to each room and a switch there to convert down to gig Ethernet copper. Expensive, but it will avoid rusted copper in the walls in the event of a flood.
Phone: Really nothing you can do here to prevent rusted copper... except to use cordless phones with a multi-handset 5 GHz system, which many people here will naysay because of privacy issues (although with frequency hopping, that's usually not too awful of an issue. If someone wants to spy on you, all they REALLY have to do is open the client side of your outside Customer Access box and put a tap there, which is as easy as a splitter and a normal wired phone if they want to sit there.) Alternately, you could look into a Vonage or similar VOIP system to avoid the box-tap, but same note about the wiring. Regadless of what happens, if you run wire, make it Cat5 (or 6 even).
If you go the old fashioned way of running wire to every room from a central comm closet, I'd suggest the following, which is what I learned from a cable running company that serviced an old business I worked at:
A panel consists of 2 electric, 2 network, 1 phone, and 1 coax, and the panel is recessed in the wall. All cable is run via conduit to the main patch location. The 2 network and 1 phone, run those all as Cat5 or 6. Plenum if you can, but not REALLY necessary unless fire codes really require it.
Each wall in a room gets at least one panel, centered on the wall if possible. Do this only on your major walls... if a wall is a minor wall in a oddly shaped room, don't bother. In your kitchen, make sure outlets are located at least 6 inches above the work counters, and the electrical outlets are kitchen approved with Test/Reset... same with the bathroom ones. Yes, put network and TV in your kitchen... the wife or girlfriend will thank you... and when recessed monitors in counters with a transparent countertop become a reality, you're already set.
If the wall is longer than 6 feet, give it an additional panel, adding an additional one for every additional 6 feet of wall. Make sure panels are at least one foot from the nearest corner. For example, a 6 foot wall would get a panel one foot in from each corner... a 12 foot wall would get a panel each one foot in at each corner, and one in middle of wall.
This allows you to move your computers/TV's/phones easily from one location to another. in a room, along all walls. Yes, its overkill, but its better than stringing those pesky extension cords (of all varieties... phone, Cat5, coax, or electrical) on a semi-permanent basis, which fire inspectors frown on.
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def: corrode: cause to deteriorate due to the action of water, air, or an acid; "The acid corroded the metal"; "The steady dripping of water rusted the metal stopper in the sink"
Copper rusts. So does aluminum. So does iron.
Rust, the noun, has one definition as iron oxide. For more, look in Google "define: rust"
So, copper rusts but it is probably not correct to say that copper oxidation is rust (or copper rusts (OK) into rust (no)).
Take it a step further (Score:5, Funny)
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Pimp?! (Score:4, Funny)
Here's a typical one:
One who finds customers for a prostitute; a procurer. intr.v. , pimped , pimping , pimps
Now if the OP really wants to do that with his new home, I guess that's up to him, but I wonder how many of us are qualified to advise him...
I knew people were going to post this (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't fucking judge someone you don't know, asshole.
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Don't judge someone you don't know.
Resale flexibility, not just altruism (Score:5, Informative)
But adding electronics options to your house doesn't cost much if you've already got the walls torn off. You're designing a system that'll fit behind sheetrock walls, not one that needs to be retrofitted behind plaster with unknown wood pieces and bumpy stuff behind it. The obvious technology to use for wiring hasn't changed in a couple of decades - you're going to run conduit, fat enough to put whatever you really need inside it, and you can probably run straight connections up to an attic or down to a crawlspace if you're luck, and leave some strings in it to pull whatever wiring you need in the future. Plus you're going to run Romex for the electricity and twisted pair for phones, and again it doesn't cost you much extra to homerun it back to somewhere central and accessible. There may some places that are obvious locations for TVs, desks, or washing machines - so make sure the wire's fat enough for whatever you need, and it doesn't cost much to make sure you've got an extra conductor or two in case you want to split things out into two sockets or isolate circuits or whatever.
Make sure you've done diagrams of everything you run - that's really cheap to do up front, and a real pain to do later
Save the high-cash spending for things like kitchens, bathrooms, and other plumbing and HVAC. You'll also want to make that stuff as modular and accessible as possible.
Re:Resale flexibility, not just altruism (Score:5, Insightful)
Shotgun houses, because there is no hallway, will make for an interesting problem. Nothing is 'private' in a shotgun house. If you put something important in 1 room, and a bedroom behind it, people have to go through that room to get to the bedroom. Decking a house like that out becomes more difficult because if you concentrate the usage of the room through technology, you restrict the way the home can be used by future owners in combination with your technology.
The more run down and poor areas just tend to have very small properties, 2 bedroom homes with a footprint of no more than 1200sqft. You'd be stupid to do a project like this in those neighborhoods, I get nervous just driving down them, and that's not because of stereotyping. Every time I have been down those streets, I've seen some form of police activity.
As for the insurance and stilts bit. Homes downtown are completely in a flood zone. As the city relies(and there is a severe emphasis on relies) on the water pumps, if anything fails, you may find yourself with water in your home. I'd first look for WHY the home was damaged and gutted. Obviously the hurricanes were the cause, but was it damaged because of rising water, or was it damaged because of wind more, etc. I deal with insurance claims all day at work, you'd be surprised how much the damage style can vary, and how much damage a single thing can cause. Also, I believe there is a requirement to get flood insurance in any are where your home is x feet below sea-level, and if I remember correctly, the highest point in New Orleans is 20ft above, with the lowest being -6ft. If you could, raise the house, but you'll also risk severe wind damage, as your house will be above the area of disrupted airflow, and much more susceptible to high wind speed.
All in all, good luck. If you do go through with it, and end up getting pwned by a Hurricane/flood, drop me a note and I'll give you some tips on how to document your damages so well that your insurance company will hate you. I've taken claims that adjusters put at 19k and tripled them with good documentation. You'd be surprised what you can get money for in an insurance claim.
Wireless? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:got it wrong (Score:4, Interesting)
Stealing from your top position (Score:4, Interesting)
Depending on how much gutting you intend on doing, many housebuilders have started installing waterblocks in a main access point in the house, such that you can cut off any faucet just like it was a breaker. One is Manabloc. Here's a good site for some more info. http://www.mvsupply.biz/manabloc.htm [mvsupply.biz]
Another thing to think about installing is an in-wall pest killer/repellant distribution system, that can be filled/primed/whatever from outside the home. Since this is where insects build their homes, this can be a great idea.
Another good idea is that anywhere you have wiring or plumbing going through walls, close the holes off so that there is not a flame path if a fire should start. Kind of goes along with the concept of Plenum.
Now, for my thoughts, not things I have seen. I say install at least three seperate sets of patch panels in the house. You want cat5e/cat6 for RJ45/RJ11 etc style wiring. You can always custom crimp cables to fit from the wall to the phone, and many '45 jacks nowadays fit '11 connectors and hold them in place for short periods of time.
The second patch panel should be a set of coaxial patches going to each room, preferably two to each room as a minimum, since DVR sat connections require two. I would recommend picking up multicolored coax connector blocks to help differentiate in-room, for instance, telling your wife/husband/technophobe to check and make sure the two blue blocks have wires connected, because how many spouses know how to read a wiring schematic correctly the first time?
The third patch panel should be for speaker wiring, provided the distances aren't going to be too great, or attempting to drive too large of a signal. I would personally hide these third panels all over the house, one in each room where you have speakers. You can make the counter or shelf connections for these patch panels hidden on the wall, and with builtins you can put them to the side instead of the rear, for instance where the TV may connect.
The only problem you get into here is the multitude of cables on the rear of a good AV setup.
Another patch panel you may want to install is if you plan on putting in many security cameras around the house, you can install the coax or rca cables ahead of time for the cabling so that you only need to hook the cameras up after the fact. For instance, run a cable to each eave corner on your house, and install cameras later at your leisure. Just think it out ahead of time where you may want to put more than one camera for this to work. Also, install horizontally mounted-door protected GFCI outoor outlets next to each coax plug.
You also want to make sure that there are seperate AC returns from each room, instead of one huge sucking hole in the middle of your house.
Don't be afraid to run network drops all over the house, network cable is relatively cheap nowadays. Use cat6 when you know you'll want to put a computer their, and cat5 everywhere else, possibly even putting singlegangs for the cabling on the other side of or the next over stud from where you install any electrical outlet.
Networking? Cat-5e (Score:5, Insightful)
Its a lot of bandwidth, cheap, and a universal lingua-franca.
I'd also have 802.11whosiwutzit access points, and more specifically cubbies with power so you can upgrade the access points.
Also, don't just string cable, string CONDUIT so you can upgrade the networking should you ever need to.
Control, you must have control! (Score:4, Insightful)
The 7.1 speakers in your AV room is good, you can get nice in-wall speakers, which makes things look cleaner. Also consider some additional in wall speakers all over the house, you can pipe music all over for parties. If you have a hottub or deck outdoors, a couple of outdoor speakers are virtually a requirement. Again, with the proper control, you can adjust audio source and volume for any zone from any panel in the house.
As long as you're wiring, also remember that you need power for stuff. Don't skimp on electrical outlets. In fact, consider running a couple of separate circuits all over the house, with a UPS in the basement.
Consider an intercom instead of shouting up the stairs at the kids.
Finally, make sure you don't get too carried away. Some day you'll sell the house, if the neighborhood isn't affluent enough or attacks the wrong kind of buyers to appreciate all the wizz-bang technology, it's a waste. My boss did much of what I described to his summer-house on a lake. But most of the people who moved there were retired folks. The couple that bought the place were totally baffled by virtually everything in the house.
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I'd definitely put those conduits in. You never know what future requirements will be (says somebody who put together a house when thin ethernet was popular...).
The 7.1 speakers in your AV room is good, you can get nice in-wall speakers, which makes things look cleaner.
Yes, but you end up with speakers not facing in the ideal direction. Wall-mounting brackets are ideal, IMO.
As long as you're wiring, a
STRING that conduit! (Score:5, Insightful)
You can use cheap PVC stuff instead of the expensive rigid metal variety, so that you can afford to use larger-sized conduit (although the latter provides some nice shielding if it's properly grounded); and use gentle, sweeping curves instead of tight corners, but make sure that if the signal conduits are parallel to any power, they're several feet apart, to avoid inducing a current in your Ethernet. Since standard AC wiring puts outlets near the floor, and light switches are 3-4 feet from the floor, that means running the signal cables more like 6 feet from the floor, and dropping down to the outlets you wish to install.
Since the cost of pulling cable is generally a lot more than the cable itself, do yourself a favor and put in the Cat6, even though you don't think you need it yet. A centrally-located wiring/server closet isn't a bad idea, provided that you give it good ventilation. Use the upper part of the closet for the electronic gear and patch panel, middle for your AC distribution breakers (if any) and UPS to power the server and network switch, router, etc., and the lower part for storage of things that won't die if they get wet.
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Also, don't just string cable, string CONDUIT so you can upgrade the networking should you ever need to.
I did our house with flexible blue conduit (smurf tube) to everywhere I thought I might want someting in the future.
To run cable, I vacuum a wad of kleenex tied to a string through a run, then use the string to pull the cable/cat5/whatever.
Not too expensive if you do it yourself. Running the tube goes a lot faster with two people.
Re:Networking? Cat-5e (Score:5, Insightful)
When talking Tech and all, it isn't a real good idea to stock up on unneeded supplies for future use. The industry ends up going other directions to often. Imagine if you stocked up on a bunch of sdram because you thought your wouldn't need to buy memory again. Imagine if you purchased the top of the line P4 in 1999 thinking you would never need a new computer. If you have the money to waist or a need for the stuff, go for it. If your thinking of the future, keeping your options open is more important then top of the line.
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Well, that assumes a lot of things. Like 2, 5, and 10, won't be skipped over and fiber on the last mile won't be implemented. Sure those speeds will be fast but when your paying for a 14 or 25 gig connection or something similar to that, sticking with twisted pair seems foolish.
The future isn't
Power over ethernet IS GigE... (Score:3, Informative)
PoE is a matter of switch choice, not cable choice.
One word... (Score:5, Insightful)
Crawlspaces.
If that's not practical, try to have a few key walls with hidden corridors in them so you can run conduit or whatever you might need in the future.
Two words... (Score:2, Informative)
(cheap plastic conduit)
run "intertubes" (Score:5, Informative)
Re:One word... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:One word... (Score:5, Informative)
Having just built, here was my list
- Do not use wooden I beams, uses floor trusses [alpeng.com].
- Run conduit if you can, otherwise use flexible tubes. I agree with the string idea, it works great. Just make sure to label the strings and run your design by a contractor before cutting holes in 2x4s. A conduit hole sometimes will reduce the structural integrity of the wood and you will not pass inspection. Most holes also have to be fire proofed by packing the outside with caulk.
- 10' ceilings in the basement. It gives you room to finish with drop ceilings or drywall with room for vents. It is normally only about another $3000 - $5000 and adds more value than that upon resale.
- Don't run a single water heater, use two tankless ones [tanklesswa...rguide.com] on each side of your house for fast, efficient hot water.
- Ask your heating/cooling contractor about zoning your house if it is over 2700 sq. Depending on your climate it is worth the extra payment to have properly heated/cooled rooms.
- A central vacuum system with the unit in the garage. Easy to empty as your trash cans are right there. Also doubles as your car vacuum.
- 4' wide stairways. Especially into the basement (if you do not already have a walk out basement with a patio door). It is much easier to bring up stuff from your shop or move furniture.
- I put in-wall speakers for my surround sound. I wish I had used wall mount. Only use ceiling mounted in-wall speakers. Of course you will have to know EXACTLY where your furniture will be: it makes a big difference.
- I ran a lot of CAT 5e and I use only two of them. Everything else uses wireless. Even my security system is wireless with an internal cellular modem. You can run it, but I doubt you will use all the wires. I can get an "excellent" signal in my whole 1.25 acre property with my single draft-N router.
- Go to a lighting specialist with your plans and make sure you look REALLY hard at where you want your lights. It make a huge difference.
- Do the same with your electrical. Place your furniture and look at placing floor outlets, outlets above your fireplace mantle, above your cabinets, inside tiered crown moulding (rope lights for accent), etc.
Just remember. Pimping out the electronics may makes you and your geek friends happy. Designing lighting, electrical, and convienence items (closet systems, central vac, etc.) makes the other 90% of the world love it. Oh, and don't forget to budget for landscaping. That was another $55K for me.Perhaps giant remote-deployable pontoons? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Perhaps giant remote-deployable pontoons? (Score:4, Insightful)
But on a serious note, something more important then waterproofing might be security. There are still a lot of people without down there. And stocking a home like a future model space ship or something will create jealousy and resentment. Not to mention when someone still can't find a job and decides your million dollar equipment investment looks more appealing at a pawnshop for $25 bucks to feed or clothe the family another couple days, your going to end up missing some equipment.
And on an Insurance note, IUF you do this, have it professionally installed. I know it will cost more but the insurance payback from damage will cover the costs of redoing it better. I installed a computer in my friends car and she had it stolen. Her insurance wouldn't cover it but would cover the radio. Something about it being personal property and not a part of the car. I typed up an invoice for her and shows it had been installed like the radio and was part of the vehicle now and they decided to cover it. Of course we were only going after replacement parts costs, I didn't charge any installation labor or anything on the invoice. I just showed it was installed and integrated into the car instead of siting on the back seat as if she came from the store with it.
It is something I think your insurance agent should be discussing before it is done. Even a qualified friend who is willing to goto court and say "we did that and it costs us this" should be enough to have it considered professionally installed.
Think about energy (Score:2, Insightful)
Heat exchangers instead of air conditioners.
Solar.
I suggest... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Either way, yacht or house on polynesian-style stilts, I'd definitely go with solar panels and high efficiency electronics for independence. And Euro high-efficiency toilets for conserving water. Solar water heating should be very practical in New Orleans and how about a rainwater collection system?
Keep a smaller boat in what is curre
Re:I suggest... (Score:4, Funny)
In Soviet New Orleans, unhappy home runs away from YOU!
Whatever you do... (Score:3, Insightful)
CAT5e (Score:5, Informative)
Also keep in mind that you might not want to live in that house forever so whatever crazy crap you put in there might be a turn off for a prospective buyer. In that aspect, make sure you document and have layouts of all your excess cabling (network, cable, telephone, speaker cord, etc...).
document! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:document! (Score:4, Informative)
Frys Electronics has them for as low as $39ish.
If sorting out electrical wiring you can find one for AC outlets at many big-box hardware places.
Two words (Score:4, Funny)
Polarizing windows. (Score:2)
Re:Polarizing windows. (Score:4, Informative)
Took me a long time to find thanks to Microsoft, but here you go http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/Wind
http://www.sage-ec.com/ [sage-ec.com] makes them and links to a number of places like http://macdonaldsystems.com/glazing.htm [macdonaldsystems.com] that sells them.
Re: (Score:2)
I think it is available, but expensive.
We put in "PowerRise" shades by Hunter Douglas. Motorized shades controlled by simple IR, about $200 for a normal window. Pretty slick when our four big den windows open or close. "Lower the blast shields..."
They run on a bunch of AAs, but last a good long time usually. To do over, I would have run some sort of electrical and control wire so that I could run them off a transformer and a wall switch, but it is ok like this.
I suppose... (Score:3, Interesting)
Use the right network architecture. (Score:5, Interesting)
The reason CAN is so special is that it drives decision making into the network level. It's like taking Sun's motto of "the Network is the Computer" and applying it to large scale automation tasks. Most people try and go the easy way by using the off the shelf crap that is out there but the truth is that home automation has hardly begun because the real power tools are being largely ignored by the less than technically courageous types that typically do home automation.
Low Tech Approach Is Better (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd put my money into things which will save you money, such as geothermal heatpumps [energystar.gov], thermally-controlled attic fans, and high-end windows [energystar.gov] [PDF] and doors.
Additional benefits can be had from hiring your own construction supervisor. My experience has been that builders will use cheap unskilled la
Hmmmm. (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, sorry. You're pimpng your house, not building an evil lair. Never mind. Big hat with a feather should do.
Build Dilbert's Ultimate House (Score:4, Informative)
new orleans + electronic gadgets = (Score:2)
lots of tupperware
LED Lighting System (Score:2)
I recently had the opportunity to do so. (Score:4, Interesting)
some other ideas... (Score:5, Insightful)
Instead of considering what sorts of technology might create an interesting environment, focus on what you want the house to do. Will you have lots of local friends? Think of the things people do at home. Sleep, relaxing, and entertaining. Try to use available tools to facilitate these activities. Simply filling a new house as a tank to store electronics is pretty boring, and probably a waste of cash, too. Intercoms? Server racks in closets? These are well and good if you're trying to run an ISP or a galaxy class starship, but ditch them otherwise. And don't buy any 400 dollar kitchen-aid appliances just because they "look good on the kitchen counter".
Back to the local friends thing-- Set things up so you can watch some movies, sit people down, and have a nice comfortable flow between the living room and the kitchen. Entertaining friends is 50% food, 50% chat. If you still have the ability to control the layout of the kitchen, do it such that you can prepare food in front of your visitors. This lends incredibly to socializing. It reduces the rush to finish, perhaps even extending the process moreso. The best kitchens I can think of have a center island with plenty of chairs and a nice work area for the host to do all the focused work. Toss all the ranges and ovens on a back wall because they are rarely visited. I know that's not really in line with your question, but I'd personally like to hear someone reply to this particular thought with improvements as it's personally interesting to me.
In the living room, most of your guests won't care if you have the 8 thousand or 15 thousand dollar 7.1 surround. Just drop a reasonable amount of cash on yesterday's receiver, dvd players, and speakers, and get a screen just big enough that everyone can get a good look at. Best Buy and friends wouldn't have you believe that after three beers, you won't be able to tell that the 1500 you spent is roughly enjoyable (I didn't say comparable) to the rest of their stock.
If you just sit back and think things through, maybe you'll decide that some must-have item on your list doesn't actually make a lot of sense, and you'll save some cash... or find something else just as silly, but will get more use.
Similar to my solution (Score:4, Interesting)
I have an apartment with (maybe) 600 square feet and most of that is the bedroom. I still manage to host a party for 30 and everybody has a good time. I took the biggest blank wall and, opposite, put a shelf right near the ceiling on which sits a $800 projector from costco. I also bought a $60 dvd player and a $850 5.1 stereo/receiver from Best buy. (found one that had been previously opened, discount=good). atop the receiver sits my Wii. The only trick is running the cable from the receiver on one side of the room to the projector on the other, and the cables for this I was able to get at the dollar store. Anyone else would sell me the same 25' for >$100. I'll take the signal degredation, thank you. If I suddenly come into some money then I'll get apple TV and hack it so i can run VLC and connect that to my receiver, because right now the only problem is that I have no way to get 5.1 out from my Mac (that I know of).
This set up has a number of advantages. It's almost invisible. I don't have to worry about a guest thowing the controllers at the wall. The projector makes a 93" picture, which would cost about $10,000 if it was a flat panel TV. I can't watch during the day which forcibly curtails my video addiction.
The kitchen is only remarkable in that my breakfast table is one of those flat arcade machines you can sit down and put your drink on. This way People can Wii Box, smoke on the balcony, hang out in the kitchen, or Galaga to their heart's content.
I have a single 802.1g Wifi connection which doesn't see much use, a decent number of fish and easy to take care of plants (like bamboo), and a few pieces of art. I used the Rastorbator to blow up my favorite photo from spain and it covers one wall. My place still provides me with all the high tech I need, requires no maintenance, is girl-friendly, and all I need to do for a party is roll up the carpet to prevent spill damage.
So I hope that gives you some ideas for your place.
X10 automation (Score:2)
PVC Pipe! (Score:2)
You'll also be able to tell people you get your Internet "through a series of tubes" with a straight face!
To state the obvious, (Score:4, Funny)
HTPC (Score:4, Informative)
We just put in a HDTV and stereo system. This was a real problem in our existing construction, since we had to run about 25 cables of various sorts.
Instead of putting components in a closet, we used a TV shelf in an unused corner. Helps keep kids out of it, uses the space, and swivels for access.
We wired for 7.1 sound, so that is 8 new wires. We used orb speakers, they are small and nice. We also ran wires to the kitchen and deck. I have heard some amps support dual subs, but we only ran one RCA.
I ran a 35 ft HDMI and component and some composite just to be sure, since the TV is difficult to mount / dismount. HDMI / HDCP stinks, we have to power cycle the amp/box occasionally when it gets screwed up. Grrr.
Order your cables online, there are many cheap places with nice cables. Maybe I should have run two HDMI, but I assumed I could always get a switching amp.
Having the wires hidden is really nice and clean, not a jumble of HT mess. The Wiimotes hang around and a couple of DVD cases usually, but that is not too much clutter.
Cable, new power, Ethernet. Nice wall outlets where needed.
And we left pull ropes in case we need to run more cable in the future.
Whatever they pay guys to run cable in existing construction, it is not enough.
And we used a shelf in an existing closet to hide the cable modem, VOIP, and router. Just cut a hole for the wired ETH and run some power into the closet.
Pneumatic Tubes (Score:5, Interesting)
Electric trains running from room to room along the crown moulding, and through tunnels in the walls.
Lift-off computer room floor in the living room.
Underfloor fishtanks.
Wiring (Score:4, Informative)
With the wiring closet method, you might end up with more than one (IE a closet on each floor) in which case youll also want to run conduit between the closets, and possibly between there and the attic/basement.
This way you can pull cheap cat5e now, and later easily upgrade to cat6 or fiber, as well as run low grade cat5 for simple wiring purposes (IE phone, security, alarm, or any electronics you want to wire up together or to a computer.)
This not only lets you upgrade as needed, but you don't have to waste money on fiber you won't use just yet, or worry that whatever you ran won't be compatible later. You just run what you need when you need it, as you need it.
Another thing to keep in mind, do NOT run electricity/power lines in the conduits! Not to mention it wont meet electrical codes, but will cause interfearance with data/signal cables. So you'll want to do/have-done the power lines seperate, and lots of them.
Even if the house is only rated for a set amount of amperage from the mains, and youre limited in circuits in the breakerbox, it's still a good idea to run extra wiring to plug outlets in the wall and simply leave the lines unused by the breaker box.
This way if you ever move your server room/closet, you can disconnect and reconnect outlets as needed when the time comes.
Cooling! (Score:3, Insightful)
What you really need in New Orleans (Score:5, Insightful)
Then you're ready to start thinking about control gear for all this, so that if a big storm comes when you're not there, shutters close, pumps start if needed, power is cut in wet areas to prevent shorts, gas valves close, water lines are isolated to prevent contamination...
Structured wiring cable (Score:4, Informative)
Put in a biger than you think you'll ever need structured wiring panel. Put in a wall mount swing out rack mount above it for the rack mount UPS, the rack mount ethernet switch, small shelf for your Vonage adapter(s), video routing equipment, security camera DVR,
Replace all the wiring and update the electrical service panel. Put in a automatic transfer switch to accomdate a generator (wire the generator junction box outside if not adding the generator now, but put in the transfer switch. In an area with natural gas? Run a line to the same area and have it capped off (and run one to where your outdoor BBQ will be just in case the hi-tech attracts friends frequently)
Determine where your flat panel entertainment device will go, as well as the one for your work, if different. Accomadate a power oulet (clock style that is recessed) and data cables to the location for video to be remotely accessible. Similarly wire the ouside security cameras with siamese cable, even if you don't install any camera yet. Or wire the camera locations with cat5 and low voltage power cable for a future net-cam security system, although normal video to a central location and a video server/dvr is cheaper and almost as flexible or more flexible depending on the money spent.
The importnat thing: Wiring now during the rebuild and leaving wasted wire in the wall is cheaper than doing concealed wiring after the walls are up.
Consider running high voltage and low voltage conduits to the attic and other potentially hard to route to areas or locations where maybe you want something but are not sure yet. Also, consider having some outlets in the house to be battery backud up UPS driven where a BIG UPS sits in the wiring closet. Old "APC Matix" units show up occasionally on eBay.
I can not stress too much that you want, really really want, to put in the wire and access ways and conduits etc. for your wildest dreams while the walls are stripped. Don't forget IR sensors and transmitters as well for whole house AV control. They'll run to your wiring cabinet too.
Hull shape... (Score:4, Funny)
A little work now saves lots later (Score:4, Informative)
The biggest problem you'll have is getting adequate wiring to all the places that it needs to go to. Your LAN isn't the big issue; wireless works well. But what about an alarm system? You'll want two-pair to every door and window for an alarm; one pair is good enough but there's always one doggoned bad wire somewhere - the second pair is your safety net. What about audio / video? Built-in speakers or wall outlets for speakers? Where should they be located now, and after you rearrange the furniture a couple of times?
The suggestion to install conduits between the rooms and a central location is a good one - but keep in mind that having an outlet in a room doesn't necessarily mean that the outlet is where its needed. Unless you're got built-in furniture that defines where things will be located, choosing wire termination locations is your biggest problem. Attics and crawl spaces work even better - that way you can run a wire down a stud cavity and have it end up in just the right place - even years later.
And always remember that all power cables and outlets stay at least one foot away from any other wiring.
Think long and hard about what you want to accomplish, where the major pieces will be located, where outlets would be handy under all different room configurations. Then put in twice as many wires as you think you'll need and you'll be pretty close to right. Need a coax for video? Run two. Need speaker cable? Run two. This way you aren't stopped by bad wires, and when you get that dual-tuner Tivo or a 5.1 stereo system the wires you need are already there.
I spent Thanksgiving 2005 in NOLA (Score:4, Informative)
Based upon our collective experience, had my Brother-in-law chose to stay, this is my advice to you.
If you're planning on owning a home in New Orleans, you need to PLAN on having to gut & clean the first floor once every 10 years after it floods. It is much like living in Southern Florida where you just plan on getting a new roof after each hurricane season..
Don't bother trying to build a flood wall. We found out the hard way that the water doesn't come in through the walls and windows, it percolates up through the concrete slab itself! So, first thing, if you have a cement 'basement' or first floor, seal up the slab with an epoxy paint, then carpet it or put in linoleum. Paint the exposed 2x4's with a good mold resistant primer, then hang the cement wallboard used for bathrooms on the lower 4' of the walls. The upper 4' you can use mildew resistant wallboard or regular sheet rock. Do not use regular sheetrock mud for taping, use the slow cure mud that is sold as a powder and you add water and it dries (cures) in 60 minutes. Last, go purchase a bucket of 1" swimming pool chlorine tablets and drop them inside the walls ever other stud. This way, if the water rises up, the water in the walls will chlorinate itself and when the water recedes you are guaranteed not to have mold in 'them thar walls'.
Take LOTS of pictures of each step of the process. The reason houses are being sold as gutted is that this is the only way that the new buyer can be sure that there is no mold and the house is clean. You will boost your resale value through the roof if you show how much attention you paid toward preventing future water damage issues.
Alternately, you can skip all this and simply put up mini-blinds for walls and you can just raise them up whenever it floods and airing the place out will be a breeze.
Re:I spent Thanksgiving 2005 in NOLA (Score:4, Informative)
Also when the water recedes you'll have a toxic and corrosive residue left inside your walls. (As well as having had it soaking into your studs and sheetrock.) If any moisture gets inside the walls without a flood - you'll have a *very* toxic, *very* dangerous, *very* corrosive puddle of goo in your walls potentially giving off *very* toxic, *very* dangerous, *very* corrosive fumes.
Those tablets aren't toys - and shouldn't be tossed around without some very serious thought as the very serious hazards you can create by doing so.
12 volt wiring system paralleling the 120 volt (Score:5, Insightful)
Why? 12 volts is the standard for solar powered photovoltaic lighting systems. With LEDs coming down in price and cranking up the lumens, a solar cell system with a 12 volt battery system can light your home at least enough to see by -- and it would be free, free, free as long as the sun shines. Hell, you can use Sears DieHards as your battery bank. Considering the efficiency of LED's maybe just one, if all you're doing is keylighting. Consider it a bulletproof backup to the grid.
Of course, PCs run on 12 volt power supplies. I don't know how that would work out, but just mentioning it. There are 12 volt laptop adapters out there. And I'd think it would be child's play to adapt the outlets to USB power plugs, stepping them down to 5 volts. The painful part is that there are so damned many 12 volt plugs to choose from. The simplest is the cigarette lighter plug (actually sized for a cigar, if you ever noticed).
There are a lot of car accessories that run on 12 volts systems, and a lot of camping gear as well.
Best part is that it's difficult to be electrocuted with a 12 volts and low amps.
Re:Hardwiring is usually silly (Score:5, Informative)
An example might be if you have a central mythtv box, and several TVs. If you stream from the box to one TV, that may not use up all 137mbit, but add a second stream and you might.
So yes, run Cat5.
Also conduit runs to everywhere (leave the pull string in) and cubbyholes for APs are great ideas. That will future proof almost anything- and if you add something with the conduit, pull both the cable and another pullstring so you can keep adding stuff.