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

[Deleted member 651465]

The shower tray we chose is a cast stone thin-profile contraption at 1500 x 900 wide. Unfortunately the room wasn't quite 1500mm wide at one point, so we had to cut the plasterboard to get it to fit in the ensuite. It was literally 2mm difference

We should have fitted the tray before the ceilings were plastered downstairs but I dropped the ball, and so we have to fit the tray on legs. Not a disaster, but it's on the "things I'd do different if I did this again" list.

That bit of the wall we cut out was filled with some off-cut plywood, so the tiles can be fitted to a permanent surface. The floors were also laid with plywood, so the tiles can be laid without fear of them popping up. The bucket was filled with water and poured down the tray to test for leaks... great success. Not a drop!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

To be honest, if you look at all the cables already going through joists and partitions, you'll realise it would have been an epic headache to plan a route for that thermaskirt stuff. It took me long enough to plan and route the existing cables, and that's without ducting (which I avoided for cost purposes).

So, the lights have been fitted to the outside of the house.

They are basic coach lights that can be switched on, or run from a PIR. There are 2 sets of lights around the back to cover someone coming in each set of double doors. Seems a bit excessive You can see 1 of the external sockets. There's one around the side too.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Onwards and upwards..

The TV bracket was put back on the wall in the master bedroom. If you have been reading the thread you'll see how we originally had the bracket mounted to a piece of plywood, but decided against it and went for a flush fit.

There's about 2 inches of gap between the bottom of the bracket and the switches, but it looks a lot less because the plate that the TV will fix to is bigger than the backplate itself. Should have no problems hiding the sockets once the TV is hung.

The stairs are now 90% fitted. The newell posts have to be capped with square tops, and the hand rail and spindles at the top of the stairs need to be finished near the front bedroom. That's without priming, sanding and painting

@ MrLOL.. Yeah. Sorry, was a hectic night last night. I use MSN, so if you want to add my email in trust we'll talk.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

I have, but both the swivel brackets will only ever be used when extended. I don't have the TVs yet either, so I can always take the bracket off and buy a better / slimmer one if it looks gash

Is that your setup?

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Can't believe you got the chance to create your own house and didn't design it

1) This isn't Grand Designs. I don't have £500,000 to play with to build a glass box on the yorkshire moors. 2) Planning permission is hard to come by in my area as it's classed as rural and 3) We did go through several designs with an architect, it's just we got to see the show home "in the flesh", so it was much easier to visualise the layout and it was genuinely a layout we liked.

Is it me or are those Cat6 modules in the faceplate upside down? Label normally at the top no?

Well spotted. I did mention that in a previous post though

 

[Deleted member 651465]

for such an awesome fit out I'm surprised to see your power setup under the stairs, especially as you are opting for a 42u rack, surely a UPS and PDU setup would be better on every level, all the sockets on the wall made me cry a little inside, rip them out and shove one or two 16amp commando sockets, then enjoy a monitored, filtered and redundant feed.

other than that, I'm jealous

It did cross my mind, and that's certainly how we did it in work for the clubs etc, but I was mindful of what would happen should I sell the house. The cables and back boxes are surface mounted for this reason (easy removal). I didn't like the idea of a UPS and a big battery under the stairs.. bad experiences.

It's a bit late now, but i was wondering why didn't you build the internal walls from brick rather than just a bit of wood and plasterboard.

Surely the sound proofing is horrible, and you hear everything that is going on in every other room of the house?

Looks good though. Excellent work.

Well, it's only the upstairs that has partition walls.

Where the layout upstairs mirrored that downstairs we did carry through the walls. For example, the bathroom walls etc, but where it didn't we just stuffed the cavity with superglass acoustic insulation. Time will tell how that works.

EVH, how are you going to cool all the stuff under the stairs? With 12 double sockets worth of gear running thats going to create some serious heat.

The plan is to have it all enclosed with push-to-open hidden compartments (to give the illusion the stairs are simply closed). However, it will be vented, and possibly an extractor fan linked to a temperature sensor.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Just a quick update to show the tiles in the bathroom and ensuite.

White gloss tiles on the walls, three quarters up behind the bath and completely enclosing the shower area. Dark grey ceramic tiles on the floors, both in "brick" pattern. Both sets of tiles cost £9.99 per squ meter

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Can I ask what sort of Cat 6 cable did you use? I have been looking online and there seems to be a massive price range.

Do you know a good place to buy it?

I can't link to where I bought it as they would be classed as a competitor

It's low smoke zero halogen (purple sheath) CAT6 that you can buy in boxes of 305m, cost around £64 per box if that's any help.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Ok guys, some much needed updates.

We're expecting our first baby (4 days overdue!) so I've had to postpone some work lately, which means we won't be in on schedule. The new schedule is now "before Christmas". Estimated time to completion is about 4 weeks. I'd like to complete the garden too, but we'll see

Another landmark, the door going on. It's a red composite door with an integrated peephole-knocker. The two side screens either side of the door provide that extra bit of light in the hallway. For security both panels are glazed with laminated glass. The pattern is called "chantilly".

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Meanwhile, our kitchen has arrived..

Ordered at Howden's along with the utility room. I know people are asking for costs, so for reference it cost £6000 for both rooms, and that includes all appliances. Thankfully I am not putting this lot up! I nearly broke my back unloading it through the back door (hence the mud).

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Bathroom furniture also arrived this week...

All the hardware we bought was round, hence the circular theme throughout.

The corner sink is for the downstairs toilet, and has a smaller variation of the tap pictured here.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

highly commendable

was the render a decision that you had to think long and hard about or was it in your head from the start?

Yeah, it was a pretty hard decision. Brick costs more because of the materials and labour required but ages better. Render is cheaper but requires painting / maintenance.

We knew we had a tight budget and weighed up both options. We saw a few houses with this new render and liked the look of it so it was a case of "why not?". Picking the brand of render was probably harder as everyone you speak to says different things. I just didn't want something that went green.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Now that the house has a working alarm and secure front door, we chose to fit the boiler. It's a combi boiler by Baxi.

Still waiting for the gas meter to be installed though! Doh!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Now, amongst the Eleventy billion jobs that need doing, here are some of note that have been done recently..

Extension socket from front door to under the stairs now wired.

Cables boxed in and primed, in the downstairs toilet.

Ceiling IR sensors fitted in all rooms. Tried to place them in front of any potential objects and away from direct light sources that might "blind" the sensors. It's to the left of the picture, if you struggle to see it

Newell caps fixed on top of stair posts.

Stairs primed, curtain pole bought.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Oooo, Laufen

What IR sensors are you using and what's their primary use?

Essentially, anything that requires an IR remote to operate will go over the IR sensors. For example, the Sky box, AV receiver and various others.. you get the picture.

Do a video walk through of the house

At the end, I will.

Think we're due some updates

Indeed. Wouldn't believe how things seem to slow toward the end

Awesome, it always amazes me how much effort and coordination goes into making a house

Nailed it in one. That's why some prefer to hire a project manager.

Do the energy saving bulbs interfere with the IR? Mine play havoc with the rmeotes but maybe its just by old ones?

I've tried to place them away from lights, for this reason. I haven't tested them yet, so it's make or break.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Right, some long awaited update pictures. Sorry for the crap quality, these were taken in rubbish light conditions.

The main bathroom. Pop up wastes on the sink and bath, which is why you can't see a lever.

Just a bit of skirting, the freestanding bath tap, and to paint the pipes.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

I'll try to keep the "tech" posts, separate so if people are quoting we don't have 15 pictures etc. Ideally, if you do quote, link to the pics!

Some waterproof ceiling speakers I've picked up from eBay. I purposely didn't pick anything spectacular, because the acoustics of a bathroom (in general) are dreadful. These have sufficient power, and should do the job nicely. Same pair in the ensuite.

Step 1 - Mark the template for the speaker

Step 2 - Cut the hole out

Step 3 - Fit the speaker. Solder tags, yay!

I think the finished result looks good enough.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Besides the obvious glossing and painting we've also had the downstairs tiling done and the kitchen is starting to go in.

The room is separated in to two by the "L" shape of the kitchen. The other side will be used as a gaming den / TV snug. For those that care the kitchen is from Howdens, and is called "glendevon white" with a stained Oak work surface. The utility room also has units (from Howdens), but has a laminated worktop and the carcasses are from a different range. The tap will be on the unit next to the built in dishwasher.

Great thread m8, im sure its probably inspired a few people to go down a similar route.

Underfloor heating looks good (i do that for a living), im surprised you went for a combi rather than a heat pump though, did you look into them?

Yeah, did consider that. Considered a lot of things like Rain water harvesting, solar hot water and ground source heat pumps but as this is a first time buyer's house.. well, the budget

 

[Deleted member 651465]

seriously, what make are the IR units

Sorry mate, I'm not ignoring you, they are from a company called Keene Electronics (link)

I rung them up and asked for discount because I required 6, a IR commander and general advice and they oblidged

Looking very nice mate. Coming along very well.

How much did you pay for them speakers in the bathroom out of interest? Looking at doing something like this myself.

Cheers

I think they worked out at £35 a pair (free delivery)

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Nice price, have you had chance to see what they sound like yet?

Not yet. The 39U rack is coming this week, so once the rack is installed under the stairs I can begin terminating the various cabling.

Looks fantastic EVH

When are you aiming to be in?

Christmas is the plan. The building inspector won't sign the house off until we get disabled access round the front of the house, though :facepalm: