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Ask Slashdot: Ideas For a Geek Remodel?

Posted by samzenpus on from the don't-forget-the-robot dept.

An anonymous reader writes "What would you do to 'go geek' if you had a major remodel on your hands? My wife and I are re-modeling my in-law's 3000 sq foot single-level house, and we're both very wired, tech-savvy individuals. We will both have offices, as well as TVs in the bedroom and dining room. My question to the community is: What would you do if you had 10-20,000 to spend for this kind of remodel project? What kind of hardware/firmware would you install? I'd love to have a digital 'command center' to run an LCD wall-calendar for the family, and be able to play my PS3 from anywhere in the house (ie, if everyone wants to watch Netflix while I'm in the middle of some Borderlands). What else have geeks done/planned to do? This is a test run for a much, much nicer house down the road, so don't be overly afraid of cost concerns for really great ideas. We will be taking most of the house down to studs, so don't factor demolition into costs. For culinary-minded geeks, I'd love any ideas you have to surprise my wife with cool kitchen gadgets or designs."

60 of 372 comments (clear)

  1. This is the in-law's house right? by suso · · Score: 5, Funny

    Invest in a good voice recognition system and write some regexes that will detect your name in various contexts and alert you if they are leaving their house to come over to yours.

    1. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Remember Rule 1 in remodels:

      A poorly planned remodel costs three times as much as originally budgeted.
      A well planned remodel only costs twice as much.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 3, Funny

      That's pretty accurate, but you forgot to mention that the estimated time for project completion will be about 50% of the actual time needed for project completion...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    3. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by hardie · · Score: 5, Informative

      One more--if you're doing the work yourself, it will take anywhere from 2 to 10 times as long as a real contractor would take. This is why their pay grade is higher than yours (in contracting...). The quick estimate is to take the contractor's wage (say $60/hour) versus your "skilled" labor at $10: it will take you six times as long.

      Next, add in the effects of only working on weekends (if so), and not being in shape for a full day of serious hustle contractor labor...it takes even longer.

      I am a dedicated do-it-myselfer. I don't mean to discourage, but go into this with eyes open.

      Steve

    4. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 3, Funny

      As a former builder I can tell you, we don't do that. Telling someone it will take longer is a great way to lose a bid... and thus never get a chance to even start the job.
      The "Scotty Principle" works only if you have a nice safe government paycheck.

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    5. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by geoskd · · Score: 5, Interesting

      As a former builder I can tell you, we don't do that. Telling someone it will take longer is a great way to lose a bid... and thus never get a chance to even start the job. The "Scotty Principle" works only if you have a nice safe government paycheck.

      I have to second that. Home owners never believe contractors who tell them a realistic (much less padded) estimate for how long a project will take. For some reason most homeowners think you can Drywall, Spackle and sand 2000 Square feet in a day...

      I just finished a 2000 square foot renovation project. Complete teardown (to the frame, and in some instances even that had to go). The project took two of us working on it part time: 5 years to complete. The original budget for the project was $75,000. Final expenses ended up around $180,000. We definitely went overkill. Individual thermostat control for each room, Radiant floor heating, and Silent Valance cooling. Whole house Gbit Ether, CATV / phone to every room. Satellite hookup on the roof (even though we don't use it, the box is there and properly wired). 15 New skylights with motorized remote controls. Heat Pump heat and cool with Natural Gas backup. I skipped the Geothermal, but I highly recommend it for the long run. I can still switch the heat pump for a geothermal unit, and will probably do so when the heat pump eventually dies.

      Additional items that are definitely worth the money, but don't have any geek shininess to them: Spray foam insulation. If you have the walls open anyway, put in spray foam. at 7.5 inches thick (exterior wall), the stuff has an R value of around 50, and unlike all other forms of insulation, it wont degrade over time. I have several rooms in my house that you can heat with a candle. My total heating bill is less than the cost of running the household appliances, even in the dead of winter.

      You'll also want to make sure you have 500 AMP mains. This will ensure you have adequate power for everything in the future. Along with this, run at least two separate strings of 20 Amp outlets to every room. You never appreciate how much power modern equipment can draw until you try to run your mini-fridge, microwave, and 1000 watt stereo, only to discover that all the outlets in the house share a single 15 amp breaker... I have 2 20 amp circuits for every room. I can run most of a normal persons household on the power handling ability of half my living room, but I'm pretty sure My house is ready to handle tomorrows do-hickeys. I would also recommend getting some LED accent lighting for common areas like kitchens and baths. This stuff can be very dim, but provide enough light to act as a night light. Very cool to have instead of turning on bright lights to go the bathroom in the middle of the night and waking up the whole house.

      -=Geoskd

      --
      I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
    6. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by Spazmania · · Score: 3, Interesting

      500 amp mains? The heck do you plan to do that draws 120 kilowatts? Run 1200 incandescent bulbs?

      --
      Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
    7. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by loufoque · · Score: 2

      Running a jacuzzi in a cold storage room maybe.

    8. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by TubeSteak · · Score: 2

      Additional items that are definitely worth the money, but don't have any geek shininess to them: Spray foam insulation. If you have the walls open anyway, put in spray foam. at 7.5 inches thick (exterior wall), the stuff has an R value of around 50, and unlike all other forms of insulation, it wont degrade over time. I have several rooms in my house that you can heat with a candle. My total heating bill is less than the cost of running the household appliances, even in the dead of winter.

      I'm pretty sure with 7.5 inches of foam, you won't have any problems, but for everyone else:
      Spray foam can lead to moisture & mold problems if not done the right way.

      If you don't have enough foam, it can lead to condensation and mold in the walls.
      Or you can have the right amount of foam, but on the wrong side of a vapor barrier... you get condensation and mold.

      As a related but separate issue, individual rooms that are too tightly sealed will have higher humidity... leading to mold.
      Central air is almost mandatory if you want to seal up your house this tightly, just to circulate the air and prevent mold.
      Old drafty houses don't have this problem, because they breathe (too much), and moisture takes care of itself.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    9. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by vthome · · Score: 2

      Here's a counterargument: yes, it'll take you 2 to 10 times as long as "real" contractor would take. However, the quality of the work is defined by *you*, and you *can* afford to take time and utilize a proper process that takes time, instead of a shortcut (just one example: use correct glue instead of "5 minutes curing"). A contractor won't be coming back a day after to finish the job - it'll mean two trips for them, lost time, lost income. You are, however, right there.

      One of my horror stories, with lots of pictures and links (use automated translator): http://xn--80ax0d.blogspot.com/2008/06/blog-post.html

    10. Re:This is the in-law's house right? by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 2

      I you really want that much power, you really should have done a three phase service instead-- keeps you at a 400A panel rather than 600/800A construction.

      No fiber though? That is the most useful thing you can provide-- easier to run your 4k display remotely off that than use 2-3 Cat 6 cables.

  2. Dude. One word... by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 5, Funny

    Star Trek living-room.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Dude. One word... by godrik · · Score: 4, Funny

      some slashdotters need to learn how to count! :)

  3. System under glass by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The #1 thing I've always wanted to do is put the whole entertainment system behind glass and give it muffled fans and intake filters. I'd really like to eliminate every little bit of noise finally, even the TV has a hum to it. And then there's the dust, which could be all but eliminated by using the right materials for building the enclosure, and the use of the aforementioned filters. I'd give it its own system for control of temp and humidity too, since that's relatively easy if you have all the other parts.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:System under glass by TWX · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That's fairly easy to do with a simple closet off to one side with a tinted glass or plexi door. I actually use a 5' telecom cabinet that was designed with some fairly nice wood paneled sides. Friends of ours have a pseudo wine fridge for their large collection of reds in the form of a closet with an AC duct into it. You could combine these, add a baffle to close it off in the winter from the heat, and have such.

      I would suggest multiple Cat6a ethernet cables to each room. Two per wall, and if a wall is particularly long, possibly more sets. I would pull four into each entertainment center, and pull them in behind where each of the kitchen appliances goes, into every curio cabinet, where the laundry is, where the hot water heaters and air conditioning units are, and even to where the doorbell is, though that last one might remain unterminated in the wall. The beautiful thing about four-pair twisted pair wiring is that it can be used for not only ethernet and computers/appliances, but for telephones, intercom systems, security cameras, and all other manner of low voltage devices. Pick a nice closet as the concentration point and be sure to label everything so that you can figure out what it all is later. If you're feeling adventurous, put in conduit for all of this ethernet cable so that it can be upgraded or added to later. Probably 3/4" or bigger given the size of Cat6a. Yes, I know that everyone carries on about wireless, but wired really is the way to go for anything high bandwidth, like when all of the TVs are on and streaming different content at the same time.

      Consider putting single-mode fiber in too. That could be a bit pricier though, and my guess is that it would be less essential than the copper.

      In each room that will have any chance of having an entertainment center, put 2" conduit from the entertainment center location to the rough middle of the ceiling, terminate the conduit in doublegang boxes. That'll be for video signal cables. Or use a triplegang box at the entertainment center end and run eight speaker wires- front left, front center, front right, rear left, rear center, rear right, side left and side right. That way you can use a 4 way, a 5 way, a 6 way, or an 8 way surround sound system without having to change the cabling.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    2. Re:System under glass by peragrin · · Score: 2

      instead of just pulling cat6 through the walls go ahead and install 1/2" or 3/4" conduit to each location where you might want Network or Cable TV. Star everything to a central location.

      That's where your network equipment goes. all of it.

      In the future you will be able to easily replace all the cables to the then current standard.(remember cat5 while still being installed only lasted 15 years before it started to be replaced by other things)

      this way you can replace all wires and equipment as you upgrade relatively painlessly.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    3. Re:System under glass by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Pre-string the unused conduits with pull strings. It's much easier to pull new cable that way.

  4. Unrealistic budget by Aranykai · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As a general contractor, assuming you are doing things(paint, flooring, maybe light fixtures and blinds) to the entire 3000 sq ft, your budget that remains purely for tech is going to be approximately zero. Its doubtful that budget would even allow for much of a kitchen/bath update depending on what part of the country you are in.

    --
    If sharing a song makes you a pirate, what do I have to share to be a ninja?
    1. Re:Unrealistic budget by IdolizingStewie · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I have to think that given that budget, what he means is this is what we have left over for tech upgrades. At least I hope that's what he means.

    2. Re:Unrealistic budget by bob0the0mighty · · Score: 2

      As a general contractor, assuming you are doing things(paint, flooring, maybe light fixtures and blinds) to the entire 3000 sq ft, your budget that remains purely for tech is going to be approximately zero. Its doubtful that budget would even allow for much of a kitchen/bath update depending on what part of the country you are in.

      Not if they do most of it themselves. I've redone the floors, moldings, painted, replaces lights and door hardware for less than 4000 in my 1000 sq ft condo. Once you start talking major appliances it gets much harder to save money, but cutting out labor saves a ton of money and you'll learn some useful skills.

    3. Re:Unrealistic budget by NEDHead · · Score: 2

      Pex for plumbing, geothermal & solar for heat/AC & electricity, closed cell spray foam insulation. And don't go with the cheesy looking 2 1/2" door/window trim or hollow core doors.

    4. Re:Unrealistic budget by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It used to be 'This Old House'. Now it's "This Old Mansion". I don't think their renos reflect the average person's home by any measure. You can't base what an average person does to renovate based on that show. I stopped watching when it started getting as ridiculous as it is.

      I have a cousin who renovated two 100+ year old homes for a fraction of what those guys spend. He lived in the first for something like 10 or 12 years. He renovated the second one in the early 90s and still lives there (it is an old farmhouse built in the 1880s or 1890s that is now part of an older subdivision that grew around it). But the heavy work isn't all that can be done to save. For example they found a nice granite counter top and island top that was used in a demonstration kitchen and was close enough to what they needed to only need a bit cut off the end (they looked for something like this, they didn't stumble on it... these are things you do to save money).

      Of course if you aren't capable of using a hammer and saw, then you need a lot of money to spend on a contractor (or if you have a lot of money to spend that you don't need elsewhere, and your priorities dictate you don't want to do it yourself). FWIW, my cousin and his wife did almost all the work themselves, and he is a math teacher. The kicker is that the job was done so well that it was used as a demonstration home by the government as to how to properly renovate a home using energy efficient materials and insulation. The inspectors visited at a number of points during the work to make sure it met the criteria (he had to apply up front and was given a grant to offset some of the cost on successful completion). He did a good job.

      Maybe the OP could volunteer on a couple of Habitat For Humanity projects to get some experience working on homes if they need to learn a bit first. In the meantime watch out for the many contractors who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground or who just like to cut corners and rip off the customer.

      --
      -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
    5. Re:Unrealistic budget by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 2

      O.o

      I'd love to know what kind of upgrades you have in mind that a $20,000 budget for tech is "modest". In my book, that kind of budget, devoted solely to tech upgrades, is enormous.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    6. Re:Unrealistic budget by flibbajobber · · Score: 2

      Which is fine if you want each half-wall to be a slightly different tint of blue.

      Then you "box" the paint. Pick up sufficient paint to do the whole job, and if they are in several smaller tins you simply mix them all together in one big pail. Return to the smaller tins for convenience (certainly at least one tin, for later touch-ups).

      Even when buying new, if you are obtaining several tins of the supposedly-same shade you should still box them.

  5. Kitchen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Faucet over the stove.

    1. Re:Kitchen by Fear+the+Clam · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Also a proper venting range hood. It's amazing how few houses have this simple thing anymore.

  6. Ethernet! by DogDude · · Score: 4, Informative

    Lots and lots of Ethernet ports. Wireless is insufficient for the True Geek.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:Ethernet! by Auroch · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Lots and lots of Ethernet ports. Wireless is insufficient for the True Geek.

      Well, it's not a bad idea. The wiring can be done in a way that you can thread other things when ethernet is no longer fast enough.

      Though, if you're going to do that - why not send all the cords to a central part in the house, and install a command centre there? You can use it to re-direct connections, spy on internet usage, selectively disable (or re-route) certain wires ...

      --
      Quartz Extreme and Core Image. Are there any other real reasons to spend all that money on generic hardware?
    2. Re:Ethernet! by modmans2ndcoming · · Score: 2

      I wired my old home (single story built in 68) and my new home (colonial built in 80) with gbit Ethernet. It is not hard....please though... get the 6 foot auger bit to properly drill behind walls.

    3. Re:Ethernet! by Razgorov+Prikazka · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And to add to this, redundant tubes. So if one day you decide to switch to glassfiber, extra speakers, or something, you don't have to break up all the wall's again, just run them through those tubes.
      Or alternatively you could have all the tubes, valves and wiring neatly side by side running in plain sight at the ceiling, color-coded, and labelled , just like a sub-marine. Then have a "command centre" with the whole system, flowrates, temperature's, power-usage per socket a and other measurements at your finger-tips.
      http://image.yaymicro.com/rz_1210x1210/0/499/inside-a-submarine-4993d2.jpg
      Or maybe not if you go for cosy :-)

      --
      rm -rf --no-preserve-root / ...and let /dev/null sort them out...
    4. Re:Ethernet! by swalve · · Score: 2

      Right. Don't forget to install cat5 and an outlet to a couple of high locations for wireless access points. Just like they used to install outlets above the sink for clocks.

  7. Lighting automation by beernutmark · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As soon as we moved into our new house I replaced all the switches with an Insteon system and an ISY-99 controller. I absolutely love it. Being able to turn off all the lights in the house from the bedroom is great. I can put the kids lights on timers, see if any lights are on, have the sprinkler system turn on per water need (connected to weatherbug), setback the thermostat automatically when we leave the house, have a night kitchen run scene, etc....

    A DIY friendly system and the programming language on the ISY is easy to use and quite flexible.

    I have been very happy and wish I had done it on the old house.

    #2 favorite thing (actually probably #1 but it is not really a remodel item) is a whole house Sonos system. The perfect audio sync and ease of listening to anything anywhere in the house is great. I used to be a developer for GiantDisc (which still has the best cataloging system available anywhere) but the Sonos ease of use and perfect audio sync won me over.

  8. A house? NO! by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since you've asked for a true geek solution it is necessary to get out of that immobile structure with it's permanent address and accompanying tethers to "the man". Get yourselves into a geek-pimped Class A motorhome so that you can live off the grid as much as possible. A strict observance of anti-surveillance protocols will be a must, including burner phones. Keep them guessing which Wal-Mart you'll camp in next, and have fun wardriving. Field-strip your gear regularly and don't leave anything behind anywhere. Destroy this message. Good luck.

    --
    I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
  9. How about a novel idea... by bleh-of-the-huns · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And let your in-laws decide what they want..

    More to the point, anything too advanced you install, you will have to support...

    --
    I came, I conquered, I coredumped
    1. Re:How about a novel idea... by malakai · · Score: 5, Insightful

      My wife and I are re-modeling my in-law's 3000 sq foot single-level house, and we're both very wired, tech-savvy individuals. We will both have offices, as well as TVs in the bedroom and dining room.

      Am I the only one scratching my head on this? Are they doing this for his in-laws? Why would they both have offices at her parents house? Is it their house now? Why call it her parents? Did they not pay for it?

      Put a digital clock in each room, call it a day, and invest the money in a high yield bond, until you can afford your own home.

      --
      -Malakai
      A Dragon Lives in my Garage
    2. Re:How about a novel idea... by PNutts · · Score: 2

      Agreed. "TVs in the bedroom and dining room". My mom had a TV in the bedroom and living room since the early 60s. For the sarcasm challenged, she is not tech savvy. And I don't thin being "wired" by watching movies and playing game consoles is something to brag about. By that definition my seven year old is wired. Definitely a slow Sunday.

  10. An unusual idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I know that you said this in the abstract, but I'd really avoid having a TV in the dining room if I were you. Not to sound too much like a 1950's stereotype, dining is a social occasion, and dining together is a good time to talk. Have a TV in your office/den and if you're having a lazy lunch etc, take the food there, but try to have a clear space to have dinner together and you'll find it really encourages conversations.

  11. Comms and power by Gordonjcp · · Score: 3, Insightful

    An adequate supply of CAT5 (or CAT6, really, it's getting cheap enough) and mains sockets in every room.

    I'd also look at ecological heat and power measures - wind and solar power, solid-fuel stove and a ground-source heat pump.

    1. Re:Comms and power by Richard_J_N · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Interestingly, different people perceive these things differently. I personally find that the flicker caused by LEDs (especially at 50Hz, without capacitors) is really annoying.

      But the real problem is that one can't really use "colour temperature" to get a good understanding of lighting quality. You have to look at the distribution too.

      Colour temperature is essentially a "weighted average" of the emission spectrum. But white LEDs have a strongly bi-modal spectrum (basically blue + yellow), which looks nothing like the smooth blackbody spectrum from tungsten/tungsten-halogen. So you can match colour temperature, but have a widely different spectrum.

      Also, while the human eye has only 3 separate types of sensor (roughly "R,G,B"), with their own response curves, the resonances of the dyes in clothing, paint, or skin pigments have their own resonances too. The result is that, even if you can't distinguish LED and tungsten light from each other (when looking straight at the bulb), you can tell the difference in the scene that is illuminated.

  12. TV in the dining room? by Guano_Jim · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's a matter of personal taste, of course, but I'd keep the TV out of the dining room and spend the money on something else. You need a place to get away from information overload.

    We've declared our dining room to be a screen-free zone-- no TV's, laptops, iPads, smartphones, whatever. It's the one room in the house where we sit, eat, and converse as a family.

    I find the half hour or so when people aren't checking Facebook, tweeting, playing minecraft, checking their calendar, etc to be pretty refreshing. It's amazing what you can find out when you ask a kid how their day was.

    --
    3D Printing Tips and Tricks at Zheng3.com
  13. Kitchen advice. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Layout and work flow are key to a great kitchen. Fridges that have cat5 and lcd screens are essentially toys. Spend your money on quality cookware and utensils that are commercial grade.
    Think about little things like;
    how do I cool stuff down efficiently,
    what is the best convection equipment that I can afford.
    Where do I rinse vegetables?
    Is there filtered water and how well can I clean oversized pots. A pot sink is a better alternative to a double shallow!
    Get a small commercial salamander oven that can top brown ...not a cheap toaster oven.

    Don't spend your money on toys!

    Above all set it up so that more than one person can work in the kitchen at a time without having to worry too much about stabbing each other! Your wife will love you for that much more that all the geek toys you can stuff into a kitchen now a days.

    Sure put a sit down bar away from the prep area where you can have a laptop or whatever and put sound in the kitchen but by and large all this is secondary to a well thought out design and quality equipment!

    I am a cook and know what really matters in food preparation.

    1. Re:Kitchen advice. by godrik · · Score: 2

      I totally aggree with that.

      I only cook as a hobbyist, and clearly kitchens tend to be poorly designed. One typically does not need any "toys" in there. At most leave an area where you could put a tablet in a position confortable enough to read while cooking, everything else is pretty much useless.

      A common problem I see in kitchens is that there is no good way to evacuate the steam/smoke/fog that comes out of the cooking. Put a damn window in the kitchen or a really good ventilation system!

      If you put high cabinets, think that when opened you'll bang your head if it opens like a door. Something that slides in is probably better.

      I want to emphasize again the sink, pick the largest thing you will clean (most likely a soup pot, or an over grill) and make sure it fits in the sink.

      I often run into the problem that there is no large surface I can safely cook on. When preparing a pie dough (for instance), you will need space to lay it on and spread it (not sure what is the proper english word for that). If your kitchen does not have an appropriate space making that dough will become a pain.

      Often in cooking, having a small FOO, means having a useless FOO (useless you also have a large version). My freezer is small and it makes it almost useless for cooking purposes. I can not easily fit a large bowl in there to keep mousse or cream really cold.

    2. Re:Kitchen advice. by MMC+Monster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Another thing:

      12. Take photos of all the walls right before the drywall goes up. This is your x-ray vision in case you need to pound nails (or snake lines, or whatever) later on.

      --
      Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
  14. Re:Hidden conduits to allow rewiring by Fear+the+Clam · · Score: 2, Funny

    And if you want to eavesdrop on anyone all you have to do is put your ear to the tube.

  15. Outlets! by yotto · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Power outlets every 3 feet.
    Network outlets every wall.
    Cable and phone in every room.
    10 years from now they'll call you and say "Remember when I said I didn't think I needed a power outlet in the closet? Oh man thanks for insisting!"

    --
    Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
    1. Re:Outlets! by magic+maverick+ · · Score: 2

      Yeah, this.

      Except that you don't need phone cables, 'cause the ethernet can deal with it. Oh, and lots of pull lines. Like heaps.

      And solar on the roof. And insulation. Wait I already said that. I should have read the thread before commenting...

      --
      HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
    2. Re:Outlets! by swalve · · Score: 2

      If the house is of a moderate size, you can save money on wiring by installing a couple of sub-panels. Instead of homerunning 5000 feet of Romex down to a panel with 80 breakers, put a couple of panels in different ends of the house. Even just locating the panel in a centralized location rather than the corner where the service comes in will save wire.

      And while it might seem psychotic and anal-retentive, label the outlets just like they do in commercial buildings. I'm sure there is a way to do it that will blend in with the decor and not look commercial.

  16. Conduit, everywhere. by ka9dgx · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd put some big conduit and wiring ducts across the house, with drops in every room. This way you can pull whatever cables, fiber, etc. you need.

    Why are you remodeling someone elses house?

    1. Re:Conduit, everywhere. by berglh · · Score: 2

      This is a good idea, it's quite common in Australian houses now, to rotate your fire blocks/noggins between the wall studs 90 degrees so that the width which normally blocks all cable drops in the cavity becomes the height of the Noggin. This leaves a nice cable sized cap between the dry wall/plasterboard and room exterior to allow you to painlessly drop cables anywhere, in any room from the ceiling. I was worried about structural integrity, so far I haven't seen any houses with this arrangement been blown over by a big bad wolf - it is probably wise to check your building code whether this is a legal wall configuration in you area.

      It is horribly convenient to have access to drop a cable anywhere you want, most conduit is ugly on the outside of the wall in my opinion. However, if routed inside the wall, the conduit would be a last layer of defense for any mice/rats crawling around inside your house against chewing your cables, if this is a concern in your area - in most places in Australia this is not so much of a concern. I do think some good cross house conduits/trays in the ceiling is a good idea for cable routing and management, but have never implemented this myself as yet.

      http://www.hometips.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/wall-construction.gif?84cd58 - just rotate the fire blocks 90 degrees and you'll be thanking yourself that you thought ahead when you are trying to find room for the child/family member that you didn't plan for.

  17. Conduit by PPH · · Score: 2

    By the time you get your CAT 6 cable pulled, it will be obsolete and you'll need CAT 7. Or 8. Who knows?

    Put in wall boxes, pull boxes and some 3/4" conduit runs to a central panel/server location. Then, whatever happens, you can yank the old stuff out and put new stuff in.

    For the kitchen, put in a couple of extra 20 Amp circuits (two general purpose circuits are required by code).

    For the rest of the house, separate the lighting and outlets on separate circuits. Code (and cheap electricians) allow these to be fed off the same branch circuit. Bu there's nothing more annoying than plugging in something and having the lights go out as well.

    Extra lighting in the master bedroom if you like to share videos with other couples. Some of this amateur stuff is pretty poorly lit.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  18. room-by-room zoning by chrispitude · · Score: 2

    This is out of your remodel budget, but it's a possibility for future new construction. Consider room-by-room zoning:

    http://www.getemme.com/room-by-room/index.php

    This system places a small, discrete wireless thermostat in every room, which provides two advantages:

    * Each room can respond separately to room-specific demands, eliminating hot and cold spots in the house.
    * Different rooms can have different temperature programs.

    We have the older version of this system (MyTemp) and we love it. It's not cheap, but I only paid the difference between the builder's standard 2-zone system and this system. Some highlights from our own use:

    * To simplify scheduling, you can group rooms together to form named zones. For example, we group the master bedroom/bathroom/closet into "Master Suite". Most of the downstairs is grouped into "Living Space".

    * We set our toddler's room to more moderate temperatures than our room, since we like it very cold at night.

    * Guests can set the guest bedroom to whatever they like. When the room is not used, we simply press the button on the wall controller to put it into "Saver" mode. This runs the room on an alternate program you define with wider temperature swings.

    * Any room can be put into/out of Saver mode at any time.

    * The temperature of any room can be overridden temporary with arrow buttons on the wall controller. Just came in from mowing the lawn and you're hot and sweaty? Crank the temperature down in the family room and kick back! It changes the temperature of that room only, leaving other rooms in the house/zone undisturbed.

    * Each room/zone is completely programmable. For example, our bedroom is on a 7-day schedule (it's always relaxed during the day), but the toddler's room is on a 5/2-day schedule (relaxed during weekdays because he's at daycare, conditioned during weekend days because he takes naps).

    * I work from home. My home office always ran hot due to the two computers. With this system, it now directs air conditioning to the office as needed, which has been fantastic. No more fiddling with vents!

    * You can bring up temperature graphs for each room that allow you to see the temperature history and heat/AC calls from the room. I can actually see the air-conditioning demand follow the sun on a room-by-room basis as the sun swings around from the east to the south to the west. All rooms stay perfectly comfortable, regardless of whether the blinds are opened or closed, etc.

    * For special rooms like dedicated home theater rooms or workout rooms, this system is a huge advantage. Anyone with a home theater can tell you how warm they can get after two hours with the projector, A/V equipment, and a bunch of dead bodies. With Emme, the room will demand as much air-conditioning as it needs. If you don't use the room often, put it in Saver mode as you walk out to save a few bucks.

    * House-sized HVAC units have minimum airflow requirements. When only one or a few rooms are calling, the system conditions as many additional rooms as needed to meet the minimum airflow requirements of your HVAC unit, using a pressure sensor in the plenum to account for any flow differences from room to room. It's smart enough to choose the rooms that are furthest from their comfort points, which would have been the rooms that would have called next anyway.

    * To save energy, the system can circulate air instead of running your heating/cooling. This is possible because it knows the temperature of every room. For example, in the summer, it can circulate air from your cooler rooms on your first floor to warmer rooms on your second floor, without kicking on the AC compressor.

    This may all sound complicated, but it's not. The complexity is hidden from you. You simply create your zones and program temperatures over time, and the system does the rest. The best advertising for this system is the user manual:

    http://www.getemme.com/pdf/Emme-Room-by-Room-User-Manual-WEB-4.5.pdf

    Feel free to ask me any questions; I'd be happy to share our experiences.

  19. Re:good luck by DerekLyons · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For culinary-minded geeks, I'd love any ideas you have to surprise my wife with cool kitchen gadgets or designs.

    This I don't even understand, and I like to experiment with cooking.

    Me too... Most culinary minded geeks I know are decidely *not* fans of unique gadgets/designs. They're creatures of pattern and habit when it comes to hardware.
     
    The culinary geek world is unlike the rest of the geek world - we don't generally seek the latest and creations because the foundations of the world's cuisines are generally old, tried, and true. Gadgets and new shinies mark the dilettante and the fashion victim, not the culinary geek.

  20. My dream kitchen... by sandytaru · · Score: 2

    Touch screen computer built into the wall with Internet access. Bookmarks to recipe websites, Food network, and a calendar/planning system for keeping track of food inventories. A small printer to print out labels for foods. Also, iTunes or Pandora, and a good 5.1 speaker system set up throughout the kitchen.

    More counter space than any one person could ever possibly need - or so you'd think. Two stoves, two ovens (one convection.) A central island with a bar on one side. A large dry pantry. An entire wall cabinet dedicated to storing cooking dishes. Two refrigerators. A deep freezer. A microwave oven that doesn't have an LCD interface left over from 1985. (Good lord that pisses me off. $350 for an over-the-stove microwave, and the display still only handles 8 characters at a time. What the hell, Maytag?!)

    Proper track lighting overhead, and recessed lighting under the top cabinets. One counter taken up by a giant chopping block cutting board. Good tile floor, not linoleum. A comfortable rug in front of the main stove. A proper tile backsplash behind the sink. That new no-touch on-off faucet I've been seen commercials for that basically predicts whether you need the water on by your body language.

    --
    Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
  21. Wainscotting and conduit by MickLinux · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would have easily removable wainscotting for access to the walls, and lots of conduit allowing whatever room-to-room connections I might need later. I'd model it on hospital setups, but go cheaper:I'd use luann paneling for the wainscotting, for example.

    --
    Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
  22. LED Light Strips by Ramley · · Score: 2

    Don't forget about lighting, and some of the REALLY cool things you can do with LED's.

    For about $25 (US), you can pick up 16 foot reels of bright LED RGB lights (30-60 LED's/meter). They come with remotes, so you can control color, brightness, effects, etc.

    I've done some very cool access lighting in strategic places around the house, and it's pretty awesome.

    The low-hanging-fruit, of course would be in the kitchen with under-cabinet lighting. It's even cheaper with one-color (white) LED's... It took about 30 minutes to "install", and the ROI is huge. Especially with the wife.

  23. Secret passage by c++0xFF · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Since you're going down to the studs anyway, find some place to put in a simple secret passageway. You know, for the kids and grandkids.

    Look for dead spaces in the walls. It can be as simple as going from one closet to another. Try to connect to the crawlspace, maybe.

  24. Re:Pneumatic Tubes! by AmazingRuss · · Score: 2

    These tubes also make great carnival rides for smaller pets.

  25. Re:good luck by geoskd · · Score: 3, Informative

    Plumbing is hard because you need to use a $150 wrench, once, to install some weird gasket that you can't buy at a big box store. Hire that out along with drywall.

    Do not: I repeat: Do not hire out your plumbing. The vast majority of plumbers are doing one of three things:

    (1) Installing old school copper: This is extremely expensive and time consuming. Plumbers will charge 4 to 5 times what the installation should cost, in materials costs alone. In addition, copper takes about 10 times as long to install as modern PEX, even for a professional.

    (2) Installing everything with Sharkbite (tm), or similar connections using home depot quality PEX. This will work just fine, but the contractor will charge you for the connectors +50% markup, and those connectors are unreasonably expensive as it is.

    (3) Install everything with crimp style (as seen at home depot) connections. The trouble with these connections is that they eventually fail. It may take 20 years, but what does the plumber care, in 20 years he wont be around to have to fix it.

    The best way to get the job done these days is to use "expansion style" PEX connectors. These connectors will last longer than the building, and are very inexpensive compared to the Sharkbite (tm) variety. The biggest issue with expansion style connectors is the tool needed to make the connections. The cheapest route will cost about $150, and requires a fair amount of upper body strength. For a single install, this is probably your best bet. Even including the cost of the tool, it will still be much cheaper than a plumber, and will only cost you about 16 hours to finish the rough plumb-in of two bathrooms and a kitchen. (I can do it in 8 to 10 hours, but I do this all the time.) For the more hard-core, you can get an electric version of the expansion tool for about $450. This will cut your install time by 40%, and save your arms. If you plan on doing this to more than one house, the tool may be worth the money. Using the motorized tool, you can do the install in about 10 hours (I can do it in 6). Lastly, just having the tool is not the end of it. Do your homework. There is a right way and a wrong way to use the tools. If you do it right, you will have connections that will outlive you by a wide margin. Doing it the wrong way, and your connections will leak from day one. Ask your local plumbing supply warehouse for more information.

    -=Geoskd

    --
    I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
  26. Cameras to monitor the house infrastructure by MinistryOfTruthiness · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In light of the approaching hurricane, and during heavy rain in general, I like to make sure my sump pump is keeping up (I live in an older house). Rather than continually going down to check on it, I installed a WiFi IP Camera in the room pointed at the pump. That way I can check on it periodically from my phone without actually going in there. Of course, infra-red LEDs are a must on such a setup, but they come with most cameras anyway. To generalize, cameras wherever you might want to monitor the state of the house. This would be separate from security cameras.

    --
    "I know that every word that man just said is true, because it's EXACTLY what I wanted to hear." -- Space Ghost
  27. Conduit, not Ethernet! Wider doors! Server closet by billstewart · · Score: 2

    Ok, Ethernet's fine too, but what you really want is some 1-2" conduit to a central location, so you can easily rewire the house with whatever kind of wiring you need decades down the road, if anything's still using wire. Maybe it's for audio, or fiber for something, whatever, but you won't really know. Expect that somebody in the future is going to want to put the TV/stereo/whatever on the other side of the room from where you want it, and run conduit there too. And make sure there are enough electrical sockets in enough places (though current electric codes mostly do that already.)

    Also, you want wider doors, because you or whoever you sell the house to in the future may be old enough to need a wheelchair, and an extra six inches of width makes moving furniture a lot easier also. And you want good insulation, and wiring from your HVAC vents to your server closet (because at some point you might want to automate those) and maybe an occasional niche high up in a wall to put whatever electrical stuff there makes sense (e.g. a clock or fan or TV.)

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks