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

[Deleted member 651465]

Firstly, let me apologise to everyone for the lack of updates.

I thought I'd lost my digital camera last week, but managed to find it on the weekend so I've been busy snapping the changes.

I'm new to the thread so bear with me while i catch up.

What hardware are you using to control / send the audio around the house ?

What HD video are you planning to distribute, Sky HD and Bluray i presume ? and i guess thats where the IR control comes in - to change the channels on the Sky HD box / Blurayplayer downstairs ?

Audio
All the audio will be sent around the house using Sonos Zoneplayers, connected to the ceiling speakers. The plan is to have them all housed under the stairs, and just keep various remotes lurking around for control. At first I'll buy 2, and slowly add one to each room as money permits.

The remote works on their own proprietary wi-fi called a mesh network, so I'm waiting to see if it will work with so many boxes (up to a max of 8 in the house) in such close proximity or if I will need the Sonos Zonebridge extenders in some of the further reaches of the house.

Devices can be connected to each Zoneplayer via an RCA input, so I'll have the possibility to daisy chain other devices to them and get them pumped around the house.


HD video
I want to be able to pump any HD source to any TV in the house. So far, I have the following list of kit..

• Humax Freesat HDR (replacing Sky+ HD)
• Sony PlayStation 3
• Mac Mini (media centre)

The plan is to add a dedicated AV amp (possibly dedicated Blu-Ray player) so the living room can process each source in 5.1, where the other rooms will run off the standard stereo from the TVs. 7.1 is a possibility if I can link the zone 2 from the AV amp to the ceiling speakers via the zoneplayer, as mentioned above.


IR Control
Essentially, each room has an IR receiver which will be linked back to a commander unit in the rack. From this commander unit, each device will be fitted with an IR transmitter (stick on sort) so the commands can be routed automatically, and without swapping cables.

I'll add pictures later

 

[Fr0dders]

I'm familiar with the sonos kit

I was wondeirng if you'd found anything that was better. Evidently not

I take it the Freesat HD system isnt going to be able to show different channels upstairs to whats downstairs as its just distributing the HDMI signal ?

Our next house will be self build, i invisage doing it within the next fews of years, so i'm currently spending far too much learning about stuff i wont need to know for years, but hey nevermind. Its all good to learn new stuff right ?

Is there anything else different from conventional in the house ? been reading about alternatives to conventional central heating. Or Is underfloor heating sufficient on its own

 

[Deleted member 651465]

@ MrLOL.. I know of better kit as I used to install it in a previous job, but honestly can't afford multi zone cloud amplifiers and soundlab DSPs

Anyway, as promised, some updates..

First job after the flooring was dry, was to trim off the excess foam insulation around the walls. Pretty self-explanatory, but nonetheless it had to be done. A sharp blade and 20 minutes later = success.

A quick tidy up later and the skirtings and stairs are ready to be fitted.

Pretty happy with the height of the cables coming in under the stairs. Was worried they'd be too tight to the bottom of the stairs, but it should be perfect for the rack. The twin and earth for the mains can be wired up now we know the final positioning of the stairs.

The duct with the pull chord and wood is for the underground BT line, and the other duct with the CAT6 is an emergency extension socket feeding a double socket by the front door (if BT decide they won't fit a master socket under the stairs) I have read they'll only fit an external faceplate on new builds, hence the backup plan. We shall see!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

For the electricians and network geeks amongst us..

First picture shows 1 of the 88 CAT6 modules fitted throughout the house. Those upstairs are fitted upside-down as the cable comes from the floor below but it's not really noticeable as it's the same for the whole 1st floor. Pretty standard cabling.. kept the sheath as close to the termination point as possible and kept the twisted pairs as tight as possible before punch down.

Second picture shows a finished CAT6 socket - blanked out to protect the competitor mention

Third picture just shows the mains board in the utility. Obviously not finished at that point.

Yes, there are 12 double sockets under the stairs, on their own ring main

At this point the IR sensors are connected to the ceiling cable and filler applied to the ceiling to ensure it's all nice and tidy before a final coat of paint.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

As you can see, the staircase was primed but has no hand rails at this point. We went for a "pencil round" architrave as I believe it's as close to minimal as we could get. Has a slight chamfered edge which keeps it from being too plain.. If that makes sense.

The upstairs pictures show the radiators now that they're hung. They're double width and should give us more than enough heat in the rooms. A family friend who supplied all the plumbing gear assured me that his calculations are good as I was not keen on massive rads "for the sake of it".

 

[Mp4]

Nice updates! Outstanding job

Sub to the post

 

[Andr3w]

12 double socks on their own mains?

Thats....excessive

 

[ShaolinDreams]

what are you planning to put under the stairs that requires 24 plug sockets.. a secret batcave?

 

[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!

 

[krisab]

I would LOVE to build my own house, only that i unfortunately do not have the funds to do it

I am going to subscribe to this

 

[Greenlizard0]

Awesome.

And we're installing that shower as well!

 

[Django x2]

Underfloor heating is for ******. ThermaSkirt is where it's at now

 

[Fr0dders]

@ MrLOL.. I know of better kit as I used to install it in a previous job, but honestly can't afford multi zone cloud amplifiers and soundlab DSPs !

Really ?

Do you use msn ? If you've got the time i'd like to pick your brains at some point

Underfloor heating is for ******. ThermaSkirt is where it's at now

I'm interested in this kind of stuff, Do tell more ?

What benefits does it have over underfloor heating (besides being in the skirting boards id guess)

 

[Chopper]

I have to take my hat off to you EVH, that is outstanding - I love to see things like that done to a high standard. You will have a fantastic home for years after this - well done.

 

[arknor]

is thermaskirt that crap which was on the dragons den and no one would invest in?

 

[Fr0dders]

Just been reading their website - yes it is.

Dont really see the point in it over underfloor heating.

I guess its easier to retrofit however, but not applicable to this build.

 

[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.

 

[Fr0dders]

Looking great.

Did you read my question about MSN ?

 

[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.

 

[Fr0dders]

cheers. I'll add you at some point later today