****EVH's house building thread****

[Deleted member 651465]

****EVH's house building thread****

Index

[LIST]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17186213&postcount=1"]Floor plan[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17186303&postcount=5"]Ground work started[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17186643&postcount=10"]Blocks being laid[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17187420&postcount=28"]Roof on[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17187737&postcount=37"]Internal walls go up[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17187940&postcount=43"]Pulling cable[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17194904&postcount=91"]Cable routing[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17195173&postcount=94"]Painting[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17378514&postcount=132"]Underfloor heating 1[/URL], [URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17378782&postcount=134"]2[/URL], [URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17379193&postcount=138"]3[/URL] and [URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17379257&postcount=140"]4[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17379999&postcount=141"]Gas going in[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17568618&postcount=163"]Screed dry, stairs going in[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17568791&postcount=165"]Painting continues[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17568893&postcount=169"]Ensuite going in[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17570979&postcount=179"]Stairs complete[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17598705&postcount=198"]Tiling[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17690141&postcount=212"]Watertight[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17690216&postcount=213"]Kitchen going in[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17690368&postcount=215"]Bathroom going in[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17690450&postcount=217"]Boiler going in[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17899748&postcount=231"]Bathroom suite almost done[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17899779&postcount=232"]Ceiling speakers in bathroom[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17900024&postcount=235"]Kitchen almost done[/URL] with [URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17922862&postcount=248"]video[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17932217&postcount=257"]BT underground duct and services[/URL] and [URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17979461&postcount=265"]here[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17932308&postcount=260"]AV rack delivered[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=17987689&postcount=276"]Phone line patch panel[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18026090&postcount=319"]Kitchen complete[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18026107&postcount=320"]Utility room complete[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18026185&postcount=325"]Terminating the Cat 6[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18189837&postcount=359"]Bathroom complete[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18310106&postcount=409"]Carpets down[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18326099&postcount=422"]Furniture arriving[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18442371&postcount=442"]AV rack up and running[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18688344&postcount=462"]Walls and driveway going up[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18688646&postcount=465"]AV rack 2.0[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18782731&postcount=488"]Driveway almost done[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=19283177&postcount=508"]Path and garden going in[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=20028277&postcount=527"]Ceiling speakers and AV kit delivered[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=20028912&postcount=530"]IR remote control[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=20043526&postcount=532"]AV rack 3.0[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=21323658&postcount=569"]Solar PV installation[/URL] 
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=21333602&postcount=572"]Solar PV complete[/URL] and [URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=21343974&postcount=579"]here[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=23722494&postcount=611"]Solar PV spreadsheet and generation stats[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=23724837&postcount=616"]WAN point to point internet installation[/URL]
[*][URL="http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=23724908&postcount=618"]AV rack 4.0 [/URL][COLOR="Yellow"](latest)[/COLOR]
[/LIST]

Welcome to my house building thread. This is not a "how to build" thread but rather a documentation of our ongoing build, a 4 bedroom detached house due for completion October 2010. This thread has been a long time coming since I didn't think people would care if I started a thread full of pictures digging foundations etc

The brief is to build a home big enough for us to live in for the forseeable future, to kit it out with lots of gadgets and technology but to hide it all away for maximum minimalism. I chose under the stairs as the Node-zero for all the equipment.

This is the floor plan we chose. I cannot claim any of the glory as we ripped it straight from a show home and stretched it to fit our plot. Great success!




Anyway, this is what we started with..

It's a pre-fabricated bungalow. Think of an Ikea house, all flat pack and held together with bolts and not much else. The garden is a reasonable size and has a water course running between another plot of land. We found it in the local paper due for auction. It's in a good area, so we took a gamble that we could get planning permission and put in an offer (June 2009) to the seller before it went under the hammer.

6 months of planning applications, bat surveys and delays later and we finally got planning permission! (December 2009). Now, the fun bit. Demolition.

As the planning application took longer than anticipated we lost our ideal window to build. The weather was against us and so the subltle de-construction was out the window. In the space of 2 months it took to clear the site and dig the footings we had heavy snow, rain, more rain and frost.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

So, on to the digging phase (yes, it was a candid shot! haha)

Trenches dug, and the blocks next.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Now, as I wanted all the services and gadgetry under the stairs I decided to get the BT line re-directed underground. Thankfully, I know an Openreach engineer who give me some 50mm ducting for the job. You can see the draw ropes and the 90 degree bend which appears tight in the corner of the soon-to-be nerve centre.

You can see the compacted stone going in, the damp course laid over the top and finally the concrete slab laid.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Moving along from the ground works. More blocks arrived shortly after.

Didn't take the guys long to lay the blocks. At this point in time we're in early March 2010 and we had several weeks of dry weather

The insulation in the cavity is standard foil backed boards. 3 or 4" I believe.

It's also at this point where you think "ahhh, be in soon" as the progress day-to-day seems to come on.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Nice one! Subscribed to thread

Your plans look great....I'd love to build my own house. So what sort of tech you going to be installing?

Multi-room audio system
CAT6 gigabit network
HD video distribution system
Discreet IR control

I'll explain more as we get there, but to give you an idea I have 88 network cables throughout the house that handle TV, internet, phones and IR control, a pair of speakers in every room and dedicated 5.1 system in the living room.

Fantastic,

Would you be willing to share costings? it's one thing i've always wondered how expensive it would be for this kind of project, as it'd be a much preferred for me in the long term than buying someone else's design!

Tom.

I'll try. I don't want to go in to too much detail but the budget for this build is £72,500, excluding the cost of the land itself (£80,000).

 

[Deleted member 651465]

First real milestone hit. The joists are set for the first floor.

Looking inside the living room and kitchen (respectively) really changed when the joists were on.

Some of the internal walls took a back seat while the lintels and joists were tied in.

We were more concerned with getting the building water tight while the weather was holding! One picture also shows the inevitable driveway coming. Doesn't look like much because the fence is recessed but you will be able to drive around the side of the house eventually.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Coudl you not have used some sort of bluetooth system for control rather than ir?

Possibly. As it runs over CAT6 it was no real chore to chuck some cable in and go hard wired.

you have a stream next to your house too :O

This looks good, is there a door to get from the lounge to the kitchen from the utility room? As i think you might regret that in the future

No. The utility will be full of cheapy kitchen units and appliances so the best we could have done would be a kitchen/serving hatch, but I'm not a fan.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Onward and upwards as they say..

First view of our garden in the last thumbnail. It tapers around to the left, but the boundary actually goes back another 1m or so. You can see where it should be from the brown fence that the neighbour has up. For the sake of work I'm leaving it as-is until the house is sorted.

First look at the rooms upstairs. As the majority of the walls mirror those downstairs, we just got the builders to carry on straight up. This means we get more solid walls and will cut down on the expensive partition/wood work.

From left to right.. spare bedrooms on left of house, smallest room aka Office () at front right of house, looking at the bathroom, and the stairs.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Second real milestone.. the topping out. Complete with fashionable orange ladder®

Boring stuff now. We went for a regular, basic grey tile. The alternative was a rough dressed welsh slate but the difference was hundreds more and the pitch of the roof meant it wouldn't really be seen unless you stood in the garden of the old lady opposite!

All guttering, fascias and window frames are white.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

I just meant so you didn't have to point the remote at the ir thing,

It's in the ceiling anyway

Looks good EVH. You'd better decorate it well to do it justice.

Thanks for the kind words. The wife has declared herself the interior designer so I'm hoping the same thing! Thankfully we both have similar tastes.

Where we don't I just whinge and she accepts.

Looks nice. It's interesting how building methods differ througout the country. I've just completed a build myself in Scotland, it's almost impossible where I am to find someone that want to build in block. Everything seems to be timber frame kits now. While in England the opposite seems to be true.

I wanted to go timber frame and had designs drawn up, but at the back of my mind was resale value. As you say it differs all over the UK, but what suprised me was it would have worked out the same cost anyway.. which is why we plumped for tried and trusted blockwork.

Fascinating stuff.

Will this be house no. 5150 when finished ?

Ha!

Smashing. You've got to have ambition to undertake a project like this, but it's definitely worth it. What will it be valued at when finished, about £250k?

I hope. Next door went up for sale a few months ago for £230k and it's a tiny smidgen smaller.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Next up, the last stage before the house is water tight.. the windows and doors.

I am fortunate enough to work for a glass manufacturer, so I get my choice of glass at cost. Nom nom.

Temporary fire door with hefty locking system fitted, to preserve the proper front door (and side screens) from damage during building.

For those wondering, the red box outside is a diesel generator that provides electric.

Render is actually a "white"

Takes about 8 weeks to dry completely, which isn't helped by constant downpours or the bad colour correction.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

On to the stuff that most people care about.. the interior.

Apologies with the spam-tastic pictures of the outside, but there won't be any more changes for a while so it's best to get them out of the way.

Not many pictures of the stud work upstairs. As mentioned above, most of the walls are solid block. Pictures include bathroom and doorway to the master bedroom, main bathroom, partition for 2 bedrooms on left of the house, the double width cupboard above the stairs (as I mooched all the room under the stairs, it was deemed we needed a place for shoes ) and the ensuite wall that backs on to the office.

I wanted all the equipment and gadgets to be hidden as much as possible, and decided that the TVs in the living room, kitchen and master bedroom would be best if they were wall mounted. One quick stop at ebay and I nabbed some decent brackets.

The one in the living room is suitable up to 60" (which is handy as I have a 60") and the kitchen and master bedroom brackets both swing out on an arm, so I placed them on 1/2" plywood surrounds to gauge the positioning. I don't want the TV too high or too low, so getting this right was critical.

Also shown is the utility room (where the consumer unit will be) and the partition wall of the main bathroom where the speaker cables, and the cables running to the roof pass through. Top tip: always mark routes for future reference!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Nice!

Would have preferred it all grey with a red door

It's going to be white with a red door

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Some more close ups of the TV brackets. The main picture being the one in the master bedroom.

I have run 4x CAT6 (purple), 1 WF100 (green) and mains to each tv location. The CAT6 carries HDTV on 1 pair, so that leaves 1 pair for expandibility e.g. ethernet TVs and a phone line connection, or another TV!. The WF100 is a foam filled satellite grade coax, to fall back on.

I know many people say to run 2x coax to each TV but honestly I was losing the will to live cabling this house.

The break down of the cabling, for those who are interested..

Living Room
17 x CAT6
7 x speaker
1 x screened RCA (sub)
2x WF100

Kitchen
15 x CAT6
2 x speaker
1x WF100

Utility
2x CAT6

4x Bedrooms (each)
11 x CAT 6
2 x speaker
1 x WF100

Bathroom
2 x speaker

Ensuite
2 x speaker

1. Van Damme 2.5mm2 speaker cable
2. Canare LV77S screened subwoofer cable
3. CAT6 LSZH (low smoke zero halogen)
4. Webro WF100 coax

Currently sitting in a big box, on the floor of the downstairs toilet.

The IR cable in each ceiling terminates at a standard CAT6 socket. This minimises the problems of straight termination and should be easier to sort if problems arise. Connected to the socket is a 3.5mm jack to CAT6 adaptor, in to which the IR sensor plugs in. It sounds more complicated than it really is, but I thought the ceiling would be a better mounting position than a wall socket, as there would be some serious forward planning to avoid putting the sockets in a place that might obscure the remote.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Next stage is the plasterboarding. The ceilings upstairs were done when the roof went on, but this first picture shows the main living room.

Speaker cables (blue) are dropped down in the relevant positions. I tried to keep all measurements equidistant from light fittings to maintain visual symmetry. The blue pull rope is taped on to the ceiling IR jack as it is very fragile and I didn't want it getting damaged during plastering / painting etc.

Shock horror.. a first problem!!

The plasterer was convinced that he'd put the boards on the wall properly, but at the end of the living room the boards were 2 inches from the socket. He claimed the house was not square, and that the builder was at fault. His suggestion was to triple board the walls

We got the builder round and there was nearly a punch up, but it was agreed that he'd dropped the ball and would have to re-do it. The picture above shows where the plasterboards have been ripped off. Thankfully it was only the 1 wall in the living room.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Your house looks great mate, it's a credit to all involved.

I know what you mean about the resale of timber frame. People in england recoil in horror at the thought of buying such a house. But up in Scotland it's just the norm. I believe it's partly to do with our building regs being tougher with regards to U values than those in England. The timber frame provides quite a lot of insulation. Some people up here are even going a step further and using SIPS, we were not brave enough to do that.

Yeah, that's the big advantage (U values) but I had choice of glazing so I went with the top spec units and a good window profile which gives us good u -values, so it's a happy trade off after I bottled it

Putting all that cat cabling in was a great move, it'll give you so much flexibility in the future. Had similar plans, but the budget went to rat poo and it got dropped.

I hope so! I was going to run fibre but a) I don't have access to a splicer anymore b) been a few years since I used one anyway c) ££££

Haing watched many grand design episodes I assume your wife got pregnant half way through the build, it seems to be the done thing!

Funny you should say that.. she is!.. due in October, hence the deadline

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Sooo, after the balls up downstairs the plasterer decided to start upstairs while he ordered more boards for downstairs. The CAT6 cables were bagged up to prevent them getting grubby with adhesive etc. I also left several notices not to bend them. To be honest I think I did his head in, but if you're relying on it for several years you want it done right.

In this picture you can see the hatch to the loft. It's 400mm wide and 600mm long. It's a killer to squeeze my 6ft 1" frame up there, so I'm applying to get it widened with the building inspector, because we'd have to cut some trusses to do so. I also don't fancy getting the Christmas decorations up and down that gap.

The insulation is actually sound insulating, as it was on offer at the builder's merchants. I suspect it'll come in handy!

Once the upstairs was boarded, the downstairs was done.

This is a shot of the kitchen aka temporary storage area prior to boarding.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

I don't know if it's the hormones, but the wife has agreed that the right hand end of the kitchen (marked dining room on the plans) can be a gaming den / seating area. I hope to take advantage of some USB -> CAT6 adapters for the PS3 / console accessories.

We've already bought a double sofa so there's no going back now

Next stage.. pink plaster!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I didn't think I'd get much interest.

Some shots of the fresh plaster after it has been applied.

The carpenter putting up the door linings. If you look the 1/2" board that did house the TV bracket in the bedroom has vanished. We chose to mount some batton between the stud work, so it could be plastered over and the bracket mounted flush later. The final picture showing that double cupboard again.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Just out of curiosity how much did you spend on all the cables.

Great thread btw looking forward to seeing the rest of it and yes i'm very jelous

I bought 4x 305m boxes of Low Smoke Zero Halogen CAT6 (LSZH) at ~£75 each and I have about 15ft left! That's 1220 metres of CAT6

As for the speaker cable I got it through AVForums. Ordered a drum of 300m and have a little left over. Cannot remember how much I paid, think it was something like £1.40 a metre.

The 15m screened sub cable was also bought through AVForums (different seller) but I forget how much it cost because I ordered it with saturday delivery, which bumped it up.

The WF100 coax was bought on a 250m drum from Satcure for £69.99. Still have some left as the the runs were only singles. It is handy for making interconnects though.

Looking really good.
How much work did you do yourself?
Leave the building to the experts and going to do the cosmetic things yourself? Or did you chip in with the building. I don't think I'd be confident living in a house I had a hand in building!

I did zero of the building myself. The only thing I've done is run AV / network cables / sound as I used to do it in a previous job.

What will all the cables control?

I'm currently renovating a house and have stripped the plaster from the attic and the master bedroom. I've also removed the ceiling from the bedroom (the attic floor is above it) I've gutted the kitchen and plan to knock through the chimney that divides it and the dining room into a 9m x 3.6m room.

I've never thought of any gadgets until seeing this thread so what type of things could I install?

Well phones can be plugged in to a RJ45 socket with a simple adaptor, turning any of the 88 runs in to a possible phone point.

I use 1 pair of CAT6 to run HDTV on, and of course as already mentioned there is IR control of all the devices that can run on it. I'd take a gander at home automation sites and see what is possible. There are literally hundreds of applications available.

Looks awesome EVH!

No radiators?

Underfloor heating downstairs, radiators under the windows upstairs.