Rewire and futureproof

oldsmokey

Hi, were in the throes of rewiring and smartening up an old farmhouse. Nothing too fancy going in but eould like to make sure the floorboards stay put for next few years.. everyone in the house uses internet. Anything we should instal to give decent access through the house? Anything else we could / should stick in before the floorboards go down? Thanks..

Neutrals to every light switch in case you ever decide to go the smart switch route.

2011

A few thoughts:

Old farm houses tend to have thin walls which wifi can struggle to penetrate. Therefore it would be best to have wiring in place for several wifi routers. That will mean something like a CAT6 from each wifi router point back to wherever you locate the ethernet switch. I would also wire a CAT6 to devices that are permanently connected to the internet such as TV points / satellite boxes.

Carefully consider your satellite and TV arial requirements. I would bring at least 4 double screened coaxial cables from the roof to the satellite box.

I would install speaker cabling in the kitchen and sitting room.

Think about smoke / CO2 detector wiring.

Good heating controls are very important, this not only make life more comfortable but will save money. Get your plumber to have as many zones as possible.

You could also consider installing wiring for a generator changeover switch, this can be handy in rural areas.

dubbrin

Snotaul Goodman wrote: »

Neutrals to every light switch in case you ever decide to go the smart switch route.

This x2 ^^^

If you need to boost your wifi signal in one or more locations, then maybe consider putting a power point somewhere in the weak signal area(s) where you can plug in a powerline adaptor discreetly out of the way. E.g. in a cupboard/built in wardrobe.

If you're ever going to consider a heat pump to heat the place, then maybe run a larger cable to a location where you think the outdoor unit might go. E.g. from the board to a utility room/external wall so it can be fed outside later. Talk to an electrician or supplier about the size/spec.

KAGY

2011 wrote: »

You could also consider installing wiring for a generator changeover switch, this can be handy in rural areas.

Or for solar if you go for it in a few years. A cable from the attic to a possible location for the batteries as well as too the consumer / fuse board

dubbrin

Send on your postcode, we'll be over in an hour. Put the kettle on:pac:

2011

KAGY wrote: »

Or for solar if you go for it in a few years. A cable from the attic to a possible location for the batteries as well as too the consumer / fuse board

Not a bad idea, but I would still want the standby generator. When power is lost in rural areas some homes can be without power for extended periods especially those that have a dedicated transformer. Even a relatively cheap 6 kVA generator can supply a lot of important loads (such as a well water pump) for extended periods. PV solar is great but a lot of investment would be required to have similar back up 24 hours a day even for a few days.

jmBuildExt

Agreee with cat 6 and decent co-ax...
Make sure there are sockets in the corner where your christmas tree is going. (And in the corner that your missus will want to move it to in 4 years time)

salmocab

If there is a loft of any type a duct or easy route to it from your fuse board and wherever your cat 6s & coaxs go to. Also either a duct or w cable to allow for a car charger in the future

oldsmokey

2011 wrote: »

A few thoughts:

Old farm houses tend to have thin walls which wifi can struggle to penetrate. Therefore it would be best to have wiring in place for several wifi routers. That will mean something like a CAT6 from each wifi router point back to wherever you locate the ethernet switch. I would also wire a CAT6 to devices that are permanently connected to the internet such as TV points / satellite boxes.

Carefully consider your satellite and TV arial requirements. I would bring at least 4 double screened coaxial cables from the roof to the satellite box.

I would install speaker cabling in the kitchen and sitting room.

Think about smoke / CO2 detector wiring.

Good heating controls are very important, this not only make life more comfortable but will save money. Get your plumber to have as many zones as possible.

You could also consider installing wiring for a generator changeover switch, this can be handy in rural areas.

Great stuff, thanks for that

oldsmokey

dubbrin wrote: »

Send on your postcode, we'll be over in an hour. Put the kettle on:pac:

Youre welcome ...i owe a debt of gratitude to boardsies for lots of advice down the years...occasionally i try to give a little back. A cuppa tae in North Cork would be a pleasure

oldsmokey

salmocab wrote: »

If there is a loft of any type a duct or easy route to it from your fuse board and wherever your cat 6s & coaxs go to. Also either a duct or w cable to allow for a car charger in the future

Futureproof!

2011

salmocab wrote: »

If there is a loft of any type a duct or easy route to it from your fuse board and wherever your cat 6s & coaxs go to. Also either a duct or w cable to allow for a car charger in the future

Good catch! The EV charging point is very important. I forgot that.

The Cush

2011 wrote: »

Carefully consider your satellite and TV arial requirements. I would bring at least 4 double screened coaxial cables from the roof to the satellite box.

Doing a similar job on an old farmhouse also, regarding co-ax I ran this myself. I used satellite grade CT100 spec cable for satellite and aerial feeds. From the central point I ran 5 co-ax to the main TV point and 2 cables to all other points.

Instead of running the 4 cables from the dish to the satellite box run them to a central location where the feeds can be distributed to all TV points via a multiswitch for example, also run an extra cable from the external aerial location to the central point. Also use deep socket back-boxes, 45/47mm, as the connections can be bulky.

2011

^^*Funny that, I used the same cable and also installed multiswitch. Works well.

Risteard81

2011 wrote: »

Think about smoke / CO2 detector wiring.

CO :-)

oldsmokey

The Cush wrote: »

Doing a similar job on an old farmhouse also, regarding co-ax I ran this myself. I used satellite grade CT100 spec cable for satellite and aerial feeds. From the central point I ran 5 co-ax to the main TV point and 2 cables to all other points.

Instead of running the 4 cables from the dish to the satellite box run them to a central location where the feeds can be distributed to all TV points via a multiswitch for example, also run an extra cable from the external aerial location to the central point. Also use deep socket back-boxes, 45/47mm, as the connections can be bulky.

Why? I,m a bit of a luddite, have sky tv, why the 4 cables etc ? Ta

The Cush

oldsmokey wrote: »

Why? I,m a bit of a luddite, have sky tv, why the 4 cables etc ? Ta

Future proofing, if at some point in the future you decide to move away from Sky and go the free-to-air route and to distribute the sat signal to the various TV points around the house. Also you may be happy with Sky at the main TV but would like to have the range of FTA UK channels in other rooms.

Why the 4 cables from the satellite dish, the sat channels we see are transmitted from the satellite to your dish are spread across 4 sub-bands. When you select a channel on your Sky receiver a signal is sent to the LNB on the dish to access the correct sub-band that carries that channel.

In a home distribution network, for each TV point to select channels it must have independent access to each of the sub-bands when required. This is done via a unit called a multiswitch that takes the 4 sub-bands separately from the LNB and feeds them to the multiswitch. Any sat receiver connected to the multiswitch can now have independent access to the channels carried on any of the 4 sub-bands. Also the Saorview channels from an aerial can be combined in the multiswitch and down a single cable to a TV point if required.

That's a very basic explanation, the satellite forum will be able answer any further questions you might have.

oldsmokey

Thats a good explanation, the cush, appreciate it. We've only ever had one tv in the house, you're putting crazy ideas in my head..

2011

oldsmokey wrote: »

Thats a good explanation, the cush

Agreed.

In terms of future proofing just make sure that whatever dish, cabling, switch, AV amp, HDMI cabling you install is suitable for 4K