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

[Deleted member 651465]

Quick question for you EVH, re the HDMI over cat6 baluns. Did you test the cheap (~£20) sets available everywhere from the likes of the rainforest and ebay? The reviews on the rainforest seem to suggest that they are OK, but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts as you have no doubt researched this.

HDMI over cat6 solutions seem to vary in price so much, i have ordered a cheap set for when i get home to "test", as i have a similar rack&distribution system due to be going into a house we are in the process of purchasing.

Edit:

Further questions as i have just read some more of your posts and you have opted for almost exactly the same kit as me

1) The cheapo ebay waterproof ceiling speakers - what are they like? Passable at volume? I was planning on the same items.
2) What did you use to feed the speakers? I have a ton of old cat5e which i will not be using for data in favour of cat6, so i was planning to use that possibly, 2 pairs pos 2 pairs neg?

I've got a hdbaset system here, for testing.

In effect, it's better than a HDMI over cat6 solution, because it only requires a single cat 5/6/7 to pump full HD. However, the downside is cost. I've been testing 2 different suppliers systems, and each transmitter/receiver is £400-£500.

I've also found that while it works flawlessly with every source in the rack, it just won't play ball with the Onkyo receiver.. throwing a green screen (bad HDMI handshake / HDCP error). HDMI over cat6 gets around this (especially the cheap ones) by terminating the HDCP i.e. stripping the HDCP from the signal, so you get better success rate.. this is why many suppliers are now moving away from that and going hdbaset (the HDMI.org is not best pleased about people messing with copy protection).

I'd still recommend them, however I have a £90 transmitter/receiver set from HDCable.co.uk, so I can't say how the cheap ebay ones perform. I'd say the critical thing with either system is a direct connection. Do NOT put any wallplates or connectors in the way of the cat6 and you'll be fine.

1) No matter how much you spend on speakers, you're always limited in bathrooms / areas with massive "hard" surfaces that reflect sound. This is exactly why I didn't go for the B&W speakers I used everywhere else.

From my testing, they are more than ample when taking a shower / bath / toilet. I haven't cranked them yet, but they are great at low to mid volume.

2) I used Van Damme 2.5mm speaker cable. Bought it from The Media Factory (www.tmfsolutions.co.uk). One of the guys, Joe Ferdnand posts on AVForums and can quote you for any length you require. I bought a massive 500m drum, as I installed it everywhere with an audio source.

I have used Cat 5 on a job, in the past, and it will work, but if you have the option then I'd always go with speaker cable / bell wire over cat 5. If you really want to use the cable then you could just use 2 pairs per terminal, or even 2 cables per speaker (+ve and -ve).

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Thankyou for your detailed reply, much appreciated

I notice that you are running through a structured system though? Are you finding that it is giving you issues? I was really rather hoping to structure the house properly as you have.

No problem. Fire me an email if you require any other help

As for my system.. yes, it does work, but at the same time it may not work if I did it again, purely because nearly every source I've read on the subject recommends direct connections. I guess my termination was good?

FYI: every break in the cable increases resistance by as much as 10-20%. I couldn't get the system to work at 1080P using the patch panel and the wallplate in the chain, (which is why my balun is plugged directly to the feeds behind the rack - this does 1080P no problem), but 1080i was fine over the 2 breaks.

If I were to do it again, I'd leave 5-10cm of extra cable at each run, so you can directly terminate it while you test, then if you need to put a socket on, you have the extra to play with.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

More pictures / updates

Soon, very soon

Hi

Did you think about installing this?
http://stealthacoustics.com/installation.php

I am really considering installing this in the living room, they are very very expensive but they will go down very well with the wife.

Yup. I think I mentioned it in the first few pages..

Good idea, however a) you lose room space because you essentially have to compensate for the depth of the speakers by building the walls deeper and b) they are expensive, and honestly all the ones I installed as part of a previous job never blew me away. By having the sockets on the wall you can go as big or as small as you like, and if you sell you don't have to rip half the wall off to take your speakers.

I'm happy with the setup I have now. I'd like some mahoosive floorstanders, but not until our daughter is older and I can train her not to lunge at them

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Right guys, sorry for the long delay. Had some things going on lately, but it doesn't mean things haven't been happening

Of note, I've now got a wireless broadband service (25Mb down, 25Mb up) and we're in the process of having solar panels fitted.

These pictures are the latter (I'll be back with the broadband stuff later).



I was originally going to post the image above as a teaser, but it's already been a while, so I saw no point



This is a before shot..

There are a number of things you need for a solar installation:

1. Solar panels (15x 250w Sharp panels)
2. Inverter
3. Generation meter (tells you what you're generating)
4. Isolation switch

The system we've opted for is a 3.68kW system as that's the maximum limit you can have without seeking permission from Western Distribution Power (can take 12 weeks). Not sure if this applies to Wales only, but there you go.

Originally, this was set to be installed as 16 panels * 230W per panel = 3680W, however, due to a shortage of the panels we chose, the installers have uprated us to 250W panels, so we're now having 15 panels * 250W per panel = 3750w.

Also, as the government is currently in court regarding the drop in feed in tariff (from 43.3p to 21p), we're pushing to get this all set up before the next deadline and the tariff drops again. With any luck, the supreme court rules the original decision valid and we'll claim the full 43.3p but that's a chance we're taking.

The full cost of installation is £9,500.



At some point, you need to connect the panels to the inverter, which then converts the DC current to an AC supply. From here, it is fed back to the consumer unit and in to the national grid. Obviously, being a "finished" build, there was always going to be some destruction involved in getting the single feed from the inverter to the consumer unit (hence the pictures above).

The most direct route chosen, was to channel down from the roof, through the bathroom and down in to the utility room where the consumer unit is situated. This means the cable can be buried in the wall and enter the utility above the consumer unit, and can be hidden with with minimal trunking.

It just so happens that the area affected is behind the bathroom door, so it shouldn't be too noticeable once filled and re-painted.



This is the outcome of the first day. You can see where the ceiling has been cut to ensure they didn't hit any vital services such as the mains cabling, alarm, Cat6 etc. The 2 black boxes are essentially a terminal block for the main electrical feed, which has been spliced.

Sorry for the poor perspective, the cupboard opposite prevents a better frontal shot.



This is the final install of the additional components. I hope to have the cabling in white plastic trunking, but you can see how the feed from the roof (far right) enters an isolation switch, which feeds the consumer unit. From the consumer unit it enters an RCD and in to the generation meter.



Here is a shot of the inverter itself. Being the first day of the install, none of the panels are on the roof, so none are wired up here, but you get the jist of how they are fed in to the inverter (far left), and how that is manipulated down to the single feed (far right).

More to follow.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Well, the panels are up

 

[Deleted member 651465]

They're Sharp panels, 250W per panel.

Unsure of the model numbers though

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Ahh sweet, will be very interested in how you get on with the output of those.
Hope you find a way of auto updating a web page with your generated/usage stats.

I've been looking at the inverter today. There's a COM port on there, but no RJ45. I wanted to network it up and do something similar

I mainly wanted to set up a way of checking how much I'm generating at a given time, as the only way I can do this currently is to look at values on inverter in the loft. Obviously, I can subtract the most recent generation meter reading, from a known value the day before, although that would only give a 24hr value.

I wanted to see the sun come out and see the reading go up! haha

Updates!

Very nice house, I have to say this is ticking a good few of the boxes I have in my "dream home" setup. Especially the network cabinet underneath the stairs

I <3 your house EVH, such an inspiring build and testament to the hard work you and your family have put into it.

Thanks for the kind comments. I am trying to build a house with everything I want, but at the same time, actually serve a purpose and not cost the earth. Given that the current build cost is around £90,000 (not including the land) I think it's coming along great.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Sorry for the crap pictures, but here are some final shots of all the stuff.







The system only generated 0.81 yesterday, so this is what's been generated today (9.69).

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Serial to USB adapter surely?
or
http://www.network-serial-port.com/

and then..
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/solar_software

I'll have a look at that, thanks.

You see the two LED's on the Meter, you can read that with abit of a build using an arduino and some code, then stick an Ethernet shield on for networking the display etc.

Interesting, I've been looking to do some more arduino projects.

Do you have a link to that particular schematic?

So that would be 9.69x~41p, £4? Is that right? Presumably you also don't draw off the national grid so you add whatever your energy bill is to the earnings?

Electricity flows in AND out of the system (hence the black terminal blocks above the consumer unit).

The easiest way to explain it would be: I generate electricity, what I use is taken from that generated output, and what isn't, is fed back in to the grid. It pays to use the electric in the days, rather than in the nights because you can't store what you produce. This can mean changing your lifestyle by doing little things like washing your clothes in the day, rather than a night cycle etc.

If for example, I'm generating 1kW and using 1.5kW then I draw 0.5kW from the grid. If I was only using 0.3kW then 0.7kW would be fed back in to the grid.

I'm not sure how you calculate a monetary value (it's new to me!), but I pay 14p per kWH from npower. The government gives me 43.3p for every kW I generate, so almost £4.33?

 

[Deleted member 651465]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3766010/Solar PV readings.xlsx

Here's a link to the Solar PV spreadsheet I keep.

I take a reading every night and monitor the output and usage

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Some updates incoming, it's been long enough

You may, or may not have picked up on the broadband problems we were suffering whilst we first moved in. Essentially, we had a REIN issue that was knocking the ADSL out randomly throughout the evening and weekend etc. It's down to a faulty electrical supply nearby, but we never got around to pinpointing it and BT... well, *facepalm*

So... I thought I would be stuck until my parents had a rural broadband service fitted. It is a form of point to point wireless access point that receives signals from nearby fibre-fed towers, in the local village.

Interested, I asked the engineers on the job, if I could receive the signal at my home (approx 5km away). They said they'd do a site survey and left. Looking at the graph you can see the distance, the trees and elevation of the "line of sight".



A few months later and this is on my house..



The first day they installed this, they chose to screw it directly to the PVC fascia of the house which I was a bif confused by as there are high trees in the neighbours garden opposite to our house, and I didn't think it would work. It did work, but at "10Mb".

Considering we paid £500 for the privilege of the install, I demanded they come back and put it on a longer pole. They took some convincing, but I always find the mention of "not happy, not paying.." always swings the argument. It's now on a 10ft pole.



If you look at the bottom of the antenna you can see lights. Each light indicates a level of signal strength except the first 2 on the left. 1 is power, 2 is LAN and the others are signal. Red is low, amber is medium and green is full signal for their respective band.

Much better! The ping is surprisingly good too considering the distance it's coming from. It can drop as low as 3-5ms in the winter when the trees have no leaves but aside from whipping out the chainsaw, this is always going to be my limit.

The end goal is fibre to the home, or at the very least fibre to the cabinet, so if I have to remove the WAN antenna I will use the pole they've put up to house the DAB radio aerial. Obviously I will shorten the pole first!

EDIT: Had FTTC installed a few weeks ago on 01/03/2013, so we're not using the wireless service anymore!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

I've also been busy ripping apart the rack and upgrading the kit.

Everything is now black, except the DAB radio and HP switch

Removed:

• Apple AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi access point
• Billion 7800 ADSL modem @ 6496/1024kbps
• DroboPro NAS with 12.5TB storage
• Brush faceplate for coax cable passthrough
• 16 way coax patch panel (2 LNB, 1 Freeview, 1 DAB, 6 rooms)
• Humax Freesat HDR+ with 1TB HDD
• Apple Mac Mini as HTPC (running Plex)

Installed:

• PoE adapter that feeds the rooftop WAN antenna
• ASUS RT-N66U wireless router
• Seagate 2TB USB external drive
• Sky+ 1TB satellite box

The coax is now wired directly in to the splitter and generally I've tried to maximise the space by using all-in-one devices such as the ASUS router.

The idea behind it, was to make as much room down the bottom for Sonos multiroom audio boxes, and I've done that. There's now 10U of space below the AV receiver with a 2U unusable slot down the bottom for airflow.

If any when BT infinity is installed (provisional install date 22/02/2013), I will dump the Seagate drive and put the fibre modem on the shelf next to the ASUS.

Apologies for the dust!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

What is this wizardy?! Who's the company that have done the internet?

http://www.resqnet.co.uk/

Totally forgot about this incredible build! Great work man, and those net speeds are awesome

Thanks! I can get 40Mb down, 40Mb up if the trees were cut down according to the engineer that undertook the site survey.

I've considered asking the old lady opposite if she minds me taking 1 or 2 trees down, but it might sound like a stupid request and we've been getting along well, so I don't want to **** on her chips as she's house proud.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Oh wow I'm using that phrase in future

That's actually faster than the net I get with TalkTalk, is it reliable?

Yeah it's been very reliable. The only major outage as been as a result of a lightning strike to the mast that feeds me.

Took out their switching gear, access point and did all the cabling! In fairness they sorted it in 3 or 4 days.

Just go hammer some rusty nails into the trees in the middle of the night

I may or may not have done this already

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Awesome stuff, I had no idea these kind of wireless systems were available in the residential market.

Did you have the equivalent of a massive digital spring clean? 12.5 -> 2TB is quite a reduction!

Neither did I. Like I said, I only found out about it through my parents when they had a letter from the councillor regarding funded broadband in their village.

I'm not sure what the connection would be like with total line of sight but I suspect it could achieve well over 100Mb. My parents get their signal from a mast on Morriston hospital, and when they first installed the antenna they were getting 60Mb from over 2km away

Regarding the downgrade in storage.. I had all my DVDs and Blurays on the NAS, but I just found that I was playing films from the disc more than firing up the media centre, and when someone came along and offered to buy the NAS for a reasonable price I couldn't say no.

I used the money to build a new water cooled PC, which I use to do wedding photography, so it turned from an expense in to an asset. Or that's what I told the wife when it all arrived

EVH you make a lot of people jealous! Great work.

Thanks. I hope to post pictures of the outside when the weather clears up. We've done a lot since the last post, so I promise not to bump the thread without some form of update.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

EVH, great build log. It caught my interest as I'm from Swansea also.

We live about 2 miles apart from one and other.

Nice to finally see someone else on here from Swansea





This is the latest shot I have of the outside, as it's still hammering down, but it gives you a pretty good idea of the finished article.

The drive is tarmac'd, the side wall has been undercoated and the garden has been started. I haven't stained the rear of the driveway fence because of the watercourse, but it is on my "To do, but probably never will" list.



I originally wanted to dump a load of soil in the garden and seed it myself (as shown here), but it turns out my brother knew a guy that runs a turf company, so we ended up cheating!

I keep telling my house-proud neighbour, it's turf that was ripped up after Wimbledon finished

 

[Deleted member 651465]

What's the go here with the AVR then? I assume you not using the HDMI ins on the back of it to connect PS3, Sky etc... if this is the case how exactly are the sources playing through the 7.1 speakers?

Also, is it possible to have watch things from the Media Centre on different TV's? If so how is this wired up?

Sorry if the questions seems a bit daft, trying to figure it all out.

Every source is wired to the amp via HDMI, and the output of the amp is transmitted to the TV over cat6, with HDMI baluns on the end of the run.

Amp ---> HDMI balun out ---> Cat 6 ---> HDMI balun in ---> TV

This means that I can use the amp to play any source as normal, as the cat6 is just a medium that carries the HDMI signal.

I need to buy a HDMI matrix, which will allow me to pipe a different source to each room (£3000-£5000 for good ones) but I could opt to use a regular HDMI splitter (£200-£500) if I just wanted to view the same source on every TV.

At the moment the living room is the only room able to receive all inputs, with other TVs just using a coax feed for sky etc. It's one of those things that I still need to do, but haven't really needed to sort. I could always unplug the feed to the living room from the patch panel and switch it to another room, manually if I wanted.

Thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad a mod has moved the thread now too

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Double post

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Aye, the images were uploaded on imageshack which went ages ago.

I'll lock the thread now but if anyone has any questions, shoot me an email. I'm still happily running an evolution of the full network rack albeit I've upgraded to UniFi kit with 4x wifi access points and have maxed out the 24 port switch