Forum menu
Ooooo - I really like those roof windows (makes note for imminent loft conversion.
If you have access to the fire wood (you obviously do) how about a wood fired hot tub for the court yard. Something like this http://www.forestflame.co.uk/wood-fired-hot-tubs.php, but I have seen all-in-one clay ones which look very nice (until you see the price!)
EDIT: iDave gets there first...
practice the accent
Please don't say that. I grew up near Banbury, with its collision of the West Mids and the Cotswolds.
good luck anyway.
Cheers. Current job going better today - making me wonder why I'm contemplating another job.
The fickle nature of working for other people.
Your own wind generator thing, not sure why every other new house doesnt have one built on the roof, sell the excess energy back to the grid.
top stuff Bristol!
Thats the kind of thing I had a dip in in sweden.
£3695 plus delivery.
I think Ive found where the contingency can be blown if I get to the end of the job without being violated by EON*
Heated bathroom mirror is a relatively inexpesive, subtle thing that is brilliant to use.
I agree on the cabling - run cat5e/cat6, a couple of points to each room, and you can run anything you like over it later with the appropriate baluns - TV/FM aerial signal, AV, telephone extensions, etc - or just use them to connect things to the network.
you can run anything you like over it later with the appropriate baluns - TV/FM aerial signal, AV, telephone extensions,
really? I never new that.
how easy would it be to use it to, say, provide low current power, or speaker signal or as you say TV coax?
Sharks in a canal with a bridge. At least try that?
tinsy - they're still very expensive in terms of capital cost, but with the new feed in tariff, might just start making economic sense soon...
Sharks in a canal with a bridge
cant risk the mosquitos.
Stoner have you looked at Teak baths? Expensive but your new place would/may suit one nicely, they make a lovely round one, and its vastly expensive... 🙂
Helio
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
Sauna sauna sauna sauna sauna with a plunge pool outside.
I know! Two way full length mirror in the bathroom, and hidden cameras in the guest room?
...and one of those goldfinger type tables that sink into the floor with a scalextric track on?
You only live once, so crack on!
how easy would it be to use it to, say, provide low current power, or speaker signal or as you say TV coax?
You can supply up to 15W via power over ethernet (PoE), which uses 4 of the 8 wires for power, very commonly used for IP phones, CCTV cameras, wireless access points and the like. There's a new standard ratified to deliver 25W.
TV - something like this: http://www.cyberselect.co.uk/product/438 - although with a blank canvas it's much easier to get a proper aerial set up with regular coax going to each room.
Speaker signal - well it's copper wires so should work but would need to look at what the cable can handle. Have seen people comparing cat5 against audiophile stuff but they usually use 4-6 cables together, per channel. Things like the squeezebox devices are another approach to distributing audio around the house, and just work over regular cat5.
Agree with the Cat6 cabling and network points next to plugs where you are likely to put a telly, hi-fi, pc etc
Home Automation:
http://www.ukrocketman.com/homeauto/index.shtml
More pimp: I'd fit Star Trek style "fsshhhhtiku" doors throughout.
More practical: [url= http://lifehacker.com/265155/turn-your-staircase-into-a-set-of-drawers ]staircase drawers[/url].
[img] 
[/img]
More green: [url= http://www.greenworks-energy.co.uk/sun-tunnels.php ]sun tunnels[/url] throughout for daytime lighting
i was gonna say spiral cellar. I think they are pretty cool. I saw those dormer/velux windows at grand designs live a few years ago. very impressive.
tinsy - they're still very expensive in terms of capital cost, but with the new feed in tariff, might just start making economic sense soon...
The small cheap ones are sh*te, and you won't make you money back, FIT or otherwise.
You need to be spending around £30k on a decent sized one, which ought to provide a complete return over a few years.
Solar (esp. solar heating) is better on a small scale. As is small scale biomass.
Tank (approx 4800litre) is above the kitchen
Somehow, I don't like the sound of that...5 tons of water sitting above the kitchen.
If it were me I'd be absolutely going to town on the insulation, never mind teak baths & swedish hot tubs.
Oh, & your a jammy bugger. 🙂
can't risk the mosquitos
You fit the sharks with frickin' laser beams; they kill the mozzies.
Well EON have jst taken me round the back. Dry.
So the budget for treats has been cut by £3k 🙁
ah well.
Has Cat5/6 got a range limit on cable lenght?
insulated like a fat chick in a duvet factory.
Have you booked Kevin McLeod?
hoohee?
Turn your stairs into a giant marimba.
Him off the telly - Grand Designs bloke - he follows interesting developments waiting for things to go wrong, then pretends to be happy when it all works out. I wouldn't go there.
the geezer from grand designs isnt it?.. might be worth it at that rekon they pay for the footage they take.
I'm not sure I had appreciated the full grandeur of the project previously. It needs a moat. 🙂
there's a bar in Livigno with a great copper spiral slide to the basement - which can be ridden...... better than stairs
ahh. dont watch TV so he's passed me by.
Im quite capable of screwing this up without some arse off the TV looking over my shoulder and assisting in the screwing-up! 😉
BD - the proles round 'ere have webbed feet. A moat would be no good whatsoever. I might have a look at mercenaries instead.
[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2555/4146892424_dc56f4c64e_d.jp g" target="_blank">
You need a garage that converts into a boathouse, like ours. Most of the year, this is a [url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_mc/4021505645 ]big, barn-like garage[/url]. Occasionally, it turns into a boat house.
Unfortunately, we haven't discovered how to control this conversion as yet, and we're at the whim of the river.
(Excuse the crappy pic - needed full zoon on my phone to avoid getting my feet wet.)
Cat 5 = 100meters
not sure about 6 but probably the same
anything over that go for fiber optics
mt - cant see flickr here, but Im guessing you need an argocat for your garage 😉
cheers keith. Maybe Ill have a word with my sparks about it.
You need a garage that converts into a boathouse, like ours. Most of the year, this is a big, barn-like garage. Occasionally, it turns into a boat house.
Good grief, Mike. I know you told me it had flooded last week, but I didn't expect it to be such that you looked like you live in the Everglades..!
Time to trade the Yuba in for something more practical. Like one of these:
[img] 
[/img]
This is called Xylonite - I sailed on it once as a child.
Have you considered a floating duck house:
[img] 
[/img]
Cat6 cable has the capability to do 10Gb/s for a maximum of approx 50metres.
To do 1Gb/s (this speed is starting to trickle into homes, previously) it is 100m.
Im currently in the midst of a self build.
As others have said, insulate like crazy, that way it doesn't matter what sort of power you use to heat as youll hardly use any of it anyway.
Wetroom is easy to do at this stage too. A good shed is obviously top priority.
That is the sensible bit, now for the all important frivolous extras 😀
I'm building some proper speakers into the wall of my kitche/family area. 12" subs in huge ported cabinets which will live under a bench and mids and tweeters above, built into solid plywood boxes behind the plasterboard.Add the appropriate crosovers and voila, boomin system for the price of a decent set of floorstanders..
Im using a [url= http://www.myryad.co.uk/Myryad-Mi/info.htm ]Myryad MI[/url] to power it, built into the wall with the body of it in a cupboard behind for easy cable access and airflow round it.
I'd rather spend on this than a system which plays music throughout the house. Have you ever listened to in wall/ceiling speakers??
My brother in law spent £6000 on one of these systems and now has the pleasure of crappy sound playing down onto his head in every room. He likes it though.
Ive also got a [url= http://www.starceiling.co.uk/star_kits.html ]star ceiling kit[/url]to use as a nightlight in the upstairs hall/gallery.
Thought about CAT 5 but can't really see what Id ever do with it so didn't bother.
I've seen these shower tv screens. Does anyone really watch TV in the shower?
A guy i know in Denmark has an area to clean his bike in his basement. Hose is plugged into hot water and we just wheeled the bikes in and washed the bikes in the warm and dry. This makes such a difference after 3hours on a cold and wet ride.
I as many have said i would also put in cables for speakers and probably network the house.
[img] 
[/img]
How about a network of crawlways and hatches in the ceilings, containing cats that could be tasked with watching you masturbate?
They could be combined with the cables for the over-head sound system, so that as well as having the same music playing down on you wherever you went you would also be observed by puritanical cats.
The possibility of actually realising a long-standing internerd meme in physical form is also quite exciting. You might be able to get lottery funding for it.
it might require a lot of cats.
it might require a lot of cats
Introduce a shift rota?
[i]I've seen these shower tv screens. Does anyone really watch TV in the shower? [/i]
This is another example of all technicological progress in our society being driven by porn, isn't it?
If your question is "does anyone really watch grot in the shower?" I should think the answer was "no" before the advent of the shower tv screen, and is now "hell yeah". 🙂
"does anyone really watch grot in the shower?"
Nah.. the hot water means you end up with "silly string".. 😯
Take a look at what's available in home automation. It's something I'm trying to get into. Still amazed at the money people spend on interiors and neglect the bits you can't see.
[img] 
[/img]
Have you considered erecting a platform for storks to nest on? 🙂
[img] 
[/img]
This is a round billiard table with a stripper pole in the middle. If I had more space I would certainly be considering one. It [i]might[/i] be possible to arrange it so that storks could nest on top of the pole.