Wiring Weekend

Just wrapped up a 3+ day effort pulling all the network, tv, and speaker cables I wanted.  It was quite a lot of work, but I am so satisfied.  I am so glad I got this opportunity, and took it, and thankful to those who helped and/or helped with the kids so I could work.  This home will truly be mine now!  Every cable is labeled.  I've got a double-network drop in a closet location that's great for wifi access point.  I've got two coax drops in the attic for any dish or antenna we may get. All the connectivity I (hopefully) will ever need by the TV's and desk.

In the end, we've got:

• 18 runs of RG6 coax totaling 976 feet
• 25 runs of CAT6 totaling 1320 feet
• 5 zones of in-ceiling speakers and two 5.1 in-wall surround sound setups totaling 596 feet of speaker wire.

Next up, clean up this area with a CAT6 patch panel, a coax distribution block, some nice shelving for the various devices that'll go here (cable modem, router, switch, SONOS speaker distribution, NAS):

Outlet area in great room under TV.  From left to right we've got 5.1 surround sound speakers, 4x network, 3x coax, a hole with conduit up to the hung TV to pull any cables we need behind the wall.

Picture of in-ceiling speaker location in master bedroom.  I rigged up some acoustic insulation above them to try to keep the noise from being loud upstairs.

Break-neck (break-back?) speed

Things are progressing very quickly now. I met with the electrician for our planning walkthrough today, and first of all I've got to say it is very impressive being there when everyone is working. There were two plumbers, an HVAC guy, two general builders' guys working non-stop, and a couple other I-don't-know-who's coming and going.

It was a little nerve-wracking going into the electrical walkthrough, because they talk about placement of every switch, outlet, and light in the whole house. Fortunately I'd spent good time researching and documenting our "wants", and it really helped that the same electrician did their spec house that ours is a copy of.

The electrician was great: easy to work with, good attitude, and didn't bat an eye at a few of the (what I thought were) unusual requests. When I said I wanted an outlet in a few closets way up high for wireless access points, an outlet inside the kitchen island for the fancy mixer lift, and switches by both sides of the bed to control the bedroom lights, he just marked the studs and moved on.

We got to talking about kitchen lighting, and:
Electrician: "What type of lights above the island?"
Me: "Some type of hanging light, probably 2 or 3 pendant-type things."
Electrician: "OK, we'll need to know how many."
Me: "By when?"
Electrician: "Tomorrow morning."
Me: "..............."

 So we have some research to do tonight :)

I've decided to do all the low voltage wiring myself (Cat6 networking, RG6 coax tv, in-wall and ceiling speakers). I was shocked to learn that my opportunity to do so will be 4 days from now, as they will be ready to insulate and drywall starting next week. I will be staying home from our normal Memorial Day trip up north to pull a ton of cables. Exciting, nervious! Can't wait to see drywall start going up next week!

A woman has a right to change her mind...

So all of those things we (I) decided before...scratch that.  ;)
The orders are placed so no more changing my mind on cabinets and plumbing fixtures.

Cabinets: We will have white kitchen cabinets with a dark colored island.  The rest of the cabinets (bathrooms, mantle, computer desk) will be the dark stain.  I really like it and I'm glad I went with what I like instead of being afraid of what I will think in 10 years.
Plumbing: I had also made the decision of upgrading to brushed nickel instead of chrome.  Alas, the budget won on this one (brushed nickel is quite a bit more $).  So chrome it is.  I must say...the plumbing was the least exciting part so far.  I mean, how many toilets can you look at?  And lets get into the details of garbage disposals.

Next on our list is flooring.  We are pretty set on "luxury vinyl tile" on the hard surfaces.  It can look like wood or ceramic tile.  But it is much more durable that wood (less scratches, better for water mishaps) and warmer than ceramic tile.  With the kids and the dog durability is top on our priority list. 
Here is a picture of the wood look floor we are looking into (in a different house).  Pretty cool stuff!

 

As far as progress on the house, I have been really impressed with our builder Erbes.  They seem to have the subcontractors scheduled at exactly the right time.  They are also very responsive and helpful with any questions I have.  We have a roof on and windows in so it can rain whenever it wants now. ;)

Jesse put together this awesome "photosphere".  Like a picture that you can drag around 360 degrees.  It is the post before this one.  Check it out!   

Also, I changed the title of our blog to "Let's Stop Moving Already" thanks to inspiration from Sarah O!

Photosphere

Testing a Google Photosphere, 360° image I took from the great room on 5/14/2014.

Views: Great Room Photosphere 5/14/2014 by Jesse Gardner

A roof over our heads

Shingles on the roof are done!

Looking forward to getting the windows installed in the next few days and get this thing water tight.  It's been raining a lot this past week, and it really bugs me to think about how much water has ended up in my house.  But I'm sure it's normal and fine.

We've finalized and ordered the cabinets (white in kitchen, dark island and bathrooms) and plumbing (chrome fixtures).  Working on flooring at the moment.

Meanwhile, in preparation for A/V cabling Jesse is going to do, a 10-box, 350 lb UPS shipment came the other day..

Up, up, and away!

Well, the first day of framing showed a lot of progress, to say the least.  It went from looking like kind-of-a-basement to kind-of-a-two-story-house in one day!  Thunderstorms with high winds are forecast for the next few days, hopefully we can get through it without any damage.

Framing day 1 complete

Egress windows on left side

View in from great room window

Yesterday we met with the plumber to choose all the fixtures.  Still working on countertops.  Tomorrow is a first look at flooring.  You definitely see how people's budgets spiral out of control without discipline.

Rain, rain, go away...and creepers, too!

Despite the fact that it has been drizzling since Sunday (really...I'm only exaggerating a little!), they have gotten everything done as scheduled. 

Here is a picture of the foundation after it was back filled.  That means push dirt up against the concrete basement walls. ;)  You can see where our driveway (sandy soil area) will be and the notches for the garage doors.  They spread black dirt where we will be planting grass. 

 Here is a look at the inside of the basement.  The big notch is where two egress windows will be.  One for the family room and one for the guest/in-law suite. ;)  Jesse and I are both surprised at how tiny these rooms look from here.  They are actually good sized rooms, but the perspective is off when you look at it like this.

 

You can also see an electrical box in this pictures.  That is what they were working on in the rain yesterday morning.  I drove by the house to check on the progress after school with the kids.  All of the workers were long gone, but in front of me a white Subaru swerved to the side and parked in front of our lot.  He got out and was staring at that electrical post.  His vehicle wasn't marked with a business name, which I thought was odd.  I have no idea who he was (he could have been legit, checking work or something?), but creepers please stay away.  

Next week the framing starts!