Speakers in the ceiling in pretty much every room would be my top priority.
maccruiskeen : full re-wire, means light switches can be relocated to suit doors
I know - I'm not doing a full rewire, thats why I'm re-re-hanging the doors
This:
Bike storage?, e.g. a rack or a suspended jobbie
A caravan out back to live in [s]and turn the house into a bike workshop.[/s]
The caravan to live in is a good idea. Gutting the house as you are suggesting will be miserable to live with IME
Wired smoke alarms.
Consider lighting circuits for side lamps etc - these can all be switched from the wall socket.
Don't forget TV aerial cables (like I did until about 2 weeks in).
We hadn't lived in our house before we gutted it so weren't sure where stuff was going to go - which meant educated guesses on where to put sockets - we went for a pair in each corner of each room + 6 where the TV goes.
Separate circuit for the fridge so if you ring main goes (but I hear these are on the way out now?), your fridge doesn't.
Also, think about if you want any home-automation stuff like Hive / Hue etc.
It would be using a small amount of power 24/7.Re: USB I'm an electricity ignoramous, but does that mean you're rinsing electricity 24/7, or there is an increased fire risk, or what?
I can't see it not being an increased fire risk.
Also - you've turned something really simple and pretty fault-free and timeless into something that can malfunction/date.
But mostly it just doesn't sit right 🙂
I'm an electricity ignoramous, but does that mean you're rinsing electricity 24/7, or there is an increased fire risk, or what?
All the ones I've installed have negligible standby current. If you buy from a reputable seller (rather than off Ebay), they will (hopefully) be properly designed and perfectly safe.
A mate did this recently and along with the rewire we put in a wired house alarm, cable for the distribution of audio/video to every room, cable for TV/Sattelite points, 4 network points to every room including the loft and finished it with remote controlled lighting circuits/switches.
Swimming pool in place of living room. 😀
Faraday cage in the dining room? So the kids can't text message during dinner? 🙂
Swimming pool in place of living room.
Nah, you want one of these...
All the ones I've installed have negligible standby current. If you buy from a reputable seller (rather than off Ebay), they will (hopefully) be properly designed and perfectly safe.
+1
Buy them from screwfix not china.
They don't use transformers, I can't remember the last electrical device I bough that used a transformer rather than a switching power supply. And thy replace things like the chromecast power supply, the phone charger by the bed, etc which would otherwise be plugged in 24/7 anyway.
And if it did fail, or catch fire, it's going to be trip the RCBO pretty quickly being part of the plug socket itself!
And they're no more in danger of dating than any other socket design. and if 2.1A USB becomes obsolete, the whole socket cost less than Apple charge for an iPhone charger anyway!
I wouldn't fit them everywhere, they're relatively expensive, but they're great where they're needed.
Agreed about the network points. I put two by the TV in the lounge (long before smart TVs became a thing) and now I wish I had six. A small network switch does the trick but it uses up a mains socket. So I'm also short on those now !
I wanted a home cinema system, so mains power & an HDMI back to the hifi rack was vital for installing a projector. Probably should have put a network point up there too but I've not needed it yet.
And then wiring for the speakers, obvs.
With the room stripped it was also an opportunity to fit a hidden drop-down projector screen behind the coving. Very simple but makes a much cleaner install.
Still on the AV front, a later project to refit the bedroom, we put power + SAT + network points halfway up the wall for mounting a TV with no visible wiring. Definitely worthwhile as it'd look a right mess running trailing wires there now.
PIR activated lighting in the walk-in wardrobe has been a nice touch.
Don't bother re-plastering; just dry-line the outside walls. You will be able to fit a smaller boiler and save money on heating.
Fit a parallel 12v wiring loom for lighting. Fit a discrete home urinal in the workshop or downstairs loo. Fit heated mirrors. Separate circuits with 5 amp sockets for table lamps controlled by one switch.
How about a keysafe near the front door?
I love the USB points in my mains sockets, so handy
More sockets than you think you need
What do you consider as dry lining? Metal stud then board? Still needs skimming and won't have the thermal properties of an insulated board.
having done this recently;
A lot of sockets in sensible locations, you will still end up using extension cords though.
Underfloor heating is something I regret not doing but was beyond the cash availability at the time.
Ethernet is a waste with Wifi faster than most internet connections. The main concern should be getting BT to put the phone line into the house in a sensible location, so no under the bedroom window, nowhere near a power socket or anywhere to stand the BT router, grrr. Im getting it moved to an alcove so I can just keep it out the way (of sight) without trailing wires everywhere and connect my NAS without it needing to be whirring away in the middle of a room.
BT fitted me a combination phone/ethernet socket previously so that's already sorted. Never had a house alarm but think it's probably worth it. However killer dog does a pretty good job at the moment 😆
If I were building a house from scratch I'd aim to have an access panel to allow me to isolate individual radiators, water supply to boiler, taps etc. It might be overkill but would be very handy and give peace of mind with regards to isolating leaks.
Other things which make a house easier to live in... Proper cloakroom to store coats, shoes, bags etc. Utility room etc.
I'm surprised at how much people are bothered about cabling and not proper house 'features'
Maybe because the question was asked in the OP?I'm surprised at how much people are bothered about cabling and not proper house 'features'
The OP also mentions putting in an en suite so the question clearly isn't related entirely to cabling thoughts.
Anyway, I don't want to derail the thread as some interesting suggestions may pop up, it was just an observation
Everyone had one of these when I was growing up.
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SR - That is the neatest woodpile I have ever seen 😉
Full, high quality sound insulation in every wall and every floor hat isn't solid.
Panic room. When you buy a new bike and the wife panics over how you can afford it, lock her in until she calms down. Possibly combine with previously mentioned co2 alarms to avoid awkward conversations with her friends and relatives.
Not read everything above, one aspect to think about in main living rooms is 3-5amp [u]light [/u]sockets switched from wall point by door, so table lamps etc can be switched off as you leave the room by one local light switch and not walking round he whole room turning the lights out!
3-5amp sockets are the round pin type just for lighting as I understand it...1st world problem but it's a joy when you can turn all the lights out by the door at night , (confession) our family room has over 24 bulbs, I wanted choice with lighting and it was before LED dimmers controls!
Next choice look up Philips LED digital lighting controllers if you are going for new lights...
With respect to wall [u]plaster[/u], insulation is key AND how to detail the window reveal junction, i.e. use barrier tape to seal joints, so when mastic and plaster shrinks away you don't get draughts at the windows.
Good luck can't wait for the update photos:)
I'd buy a top end Traeger and live off Pork ribs and Beer.
Not read everything above, one aspect to think about in main living rooms is 3-5amp light sockets switched from wall point by door,
Got those in my place - took me five years to actually get round to putting some 5amp plug on the lamps around the house and wish I'd gotten round to it sooner - a) because they're ace - b) because its difficult to break the habit of switching the lamps off individually at the end of the night so the next day when I switch them on at the lightswitch they don't come on 🙂
Doing the same,
Cat 6 for Internet to every room, and to the back of all TVs. Then run a spare two to the back of each TV point and all back to a central area. Can then not only have wired Internet for devices in every room, but can use the dual Cat6 to put HDMI signal over. Means you can then have a centralised Sky/Audio/NAS etc to every TV
The idea of having al this wired for me anyway, was that the wifi is then free to just be used as personal Internet use and possibly SONOS, also means you are permenantly connected for devices and not reliant on your wifi strength
A 40% bigger budget than you think and a char grill. That's all.
Are the insulated wall panels the ones with a metal layer? That will kill your wifi... so a decent bit of wiring around the house is essential! 🙂
Also something I'm actually quite impressed with in this house from the previous owner. The hot water tank is wisely in the attic space (get it out of the way) so the nice spacious cupboards in the utility room have small radiator in.
Gimp cage.
Panic room incase the gimp escapes.
Current boiler is in the loft. That's going to be replaced with a newer one that will hopefully pay for itself in 4 years in gas and insurance savings.
