House Build - Wiring

Mike2006

Hi,

I am in the early stages of a house build. Hope to break ground very soon.

My dad is an electrician so he will be wiring the house.
He is old-school so he won't be up to date on the latest and greatest 'features' so I am here for some advice.

I am looking for some good ideas which are extra to the norm on a house build. Stuff that you have put in and said 'I'm really glad I did that or that was very handy' or whatever.
e.g. 5amp sockets in living room for lamps which are controlled by a dimmer switch at the door of the living room...
You get the idea...

Thanks,

Mike.

2011

5amp sockets in living room for lamps which are controlled by a dimmer switch at the door of the living room...

5A sockets are great, but dont put a dimmer on them! Dimmers should always be matched to the load that they supply. With a 5A socket circuit it is never possible to know what may be plugged in. The load may exceed the rating of the dimmer or a light plugged in may not be suitable for dimming. However you may put an inline dimmer on the flex of some light fittings to get around this.

Here are a few areas to thinks about:

Good zoned control for your heating system. This will save you money and give you what you want from your heating system. There is an example in the circuit diagram sticky. I am sure your farther will understand it.

Network your house with CAT5E or CAT6 cables. Wifi can have blackspots.

Wire all TV points for LCD/Plasmas with HDMI cables. Figure out where you want your satallite box, it will need a phone point. It looks best if this box is remote to the TV and not in your face. A minimalist look without lost of ugly cables looks best with LCDs. Install calbing so that a computer tower can be plugged into the LCD/Plasma. Then you can sur the net on a big screen! Think about wiring for surrond sound in the sitting room also.

Have SWA cables going to your front and back garden for future garden lights. Install the switches for them too.

Wire for electric gates (power cable and intercom cable).

Put a light in the hotpress on a door switch.

Lighting is very important and often overlooked. Go to lots of lighting showrooms to get ideas. Also you will find that prices vary a lot!! I think that there seems to be a move away from downlighters now. They have become a bit "nineties". They have thier uses but many people over used them in the past. They also can get very hot so insulation could not be packed around them. Leaving spaces in the insulation is a must but this will cause heat loss. It is nice to have a light switch beside the bed in the master bedroom so that the lights can be turned on/off from the bed. Also wire for an alarm keypad beside the bed as well as a phone point.

Wire for extract fans in each bathroom.

Stoner

+ 1 for above

Add Surround sound cabling in living rooms, decide if you want ceiling or speakers mounted on stands. There are some nice ceiling speakers out there, maybe pull in the cables for both options.

Power and control cable for access control gate.

If you aim for some sort of computer room have it on its own power circuit wired off a 20 Amp RCBO

Dedicated Socket and Lighting supply to the attic (if you ever intend to extend or build out)-- TV and Computer point left on a loop here too.

there is a nice little 4 channel dimming unit (1000W max) available c/w scene control etc, nice for standalone dimming in living room or dining rooms or for living/dining combos, limited with respect to expansion, but adds nice features to where people want them most.

WRT down light, LEDs are great, now cheaper to buy, but can still lack some punch, so think about maybe having an extra one here and there as shadows can form, you can reduce your lighting bill with LEDs but in many cases you may need to have a couple more lighting points when compared to 50W Halogens.

Power for the hob extract fan

Fans in bathrooms need an isolator

Power supplies for electric showers, many now require 10 sq earth and IMHO single gane 45 amp cooker switch os the bathroom is a better job than a pull cord, less maintenance.

bing 4-6 co ax cables out to you sky dish point-- bring all data and tv cables to a single point somewhere accessable like an attic, wire a link to your incoming phone line to here too.

Also IMO dont bother with standard phone cable anywhere, CAT5e is nearly the same price, and at some stage you will be happy with the extra cores, notmal RJ12 phones can plug into computer RJ45 points, so keep all your phone and data points the same

Mike2006

Thanks for the ideas so far folks.
They are exactly the sort of ideas I am looking for.

Mike.

Stoner

If you are going to print this off and show it to your Dad, I would just like to say

Sorry Mike2006 Sr.

Davy

+1 what the lads already said. The Cat5e is a minimum

One thing you might want to add is come cctv cameras. Then wire back to a dvr. A utility room or the likes is good for this as it will always be on and you wont here the fan running.

You can get complete packs with the cameras, cables and the dvr all in one if that suits you. You may want to get a dvr that you can supports lan so you can watch it while away from home.

Dont forget the wired smoke alarms and heat detector in the kitchen

magconn

switch beside bed to turn ensuite light off !! Always leaving that damn thing on!! Also for herself(ahem !!) sockets near a mirror for the ole hairdryer and straighteners!
Maybe run cables for sky dish out to garage so you can put dish onto garage and not house (might need to check first where signal is best)
Also run cable out to garage to set up back up generator, handy for when ESB decide to pull the plug at dinner time, christmas day and coldest feckin day of the year

Weatherproof Sockets outside for christmas lights,(think about it)

oh, and i KNOW its not wiring BUT, put a tap somewhere inside your front boundary wall, or side wall, so handy for watering the plants flowers when the monsoon season ends ! Really !

Have fun

2011

put a tap somewhere inside your front boundary wall, or side wall, so handy for watering the plants flowers when the monsoon season ends ! Really !

He's right you know!!

magconn

2011 wrote: »

He's right you know!!

yes SHE is !!!!:)

2011

yes SHE is !!!!

Ops!!! Sorry my bad !

Also for herself(ahem !!) sockets near a mirror for the ole hairdryer and straighteners!

..........:D

davelerave

if you're considering 'flatplate' accessories you can ask your dad to fit 35mm deep boxes.less hassle later .also maybe link smoke alarms to burglar alarm panel for a separate sms text alert for fire .

JuniorB

Sensors for lights at front and back doors ( and garage?) so when you come home on those dark winter nights the light shall greet you

paddymick

When it comes to wiring for sockets im a believer in its better looking at them than for them so dont be shy with them have at least 1 in each corner.
If its a 2 story house have a couple of differant cables running from the board to the attic for later theres no need to connect them, saves a lot of hassle down the line.
Even if you have no intension of having an electric shower in the up stairs bathroom or ensuite run a 10sq T+E up to the attic(you never know;))

Throw in what ever wires would be needed for solar panals in the future

Oh and decide on what finish your sockets,switches etc are going to be before first fix because depending on the brand in some cases things like a 3gang switch will fit on a single back box and in other cases it might need a double back box ive been caught out with this before,its not so bad changing the box later if its a studded wall but it can be a pain if its solid block

westwicklow

Also consider a digi-dialler.... you will be able to phone your electric kettle to have the tea (nearly) ready!!!