Rewiring electric. Anyone know someone who can help me figure out if/what else to run?
Good morning, all,
We have to have our place wholly rewired, and I’m trying to figure out what else we should plan on running now. The rub is that while we’re not exactly Luddites we are pretty close–just got a TV last year. So while I very much want to plan for the future while the walls are open, it all makes my head spin and we’re still going to want something pretty simple in the end–maybe sound, internet, and security, good quality but doesn’t need to be The Coolest Ever.
The posts I’ve found in the archive seem largely to be people who are getting something complicated (or maybe just know a lot more about it than I do!), and there wasn’t a lot of consensus on providers. I’d love to talk to someone who can help me understand risk of obsolescence, how costs are structured (if you’re going to do 1 floor should you just do 3, eg), what’s a good value and what’s a luxury? Can anyone recommend someone who can advise me on what to do, and maybe even work with the electrician to get it installed?
Thanks!
nf85
in Home Entertainment Systems 13 years and 10 months ago
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hyhaddad | 13 years and 10 months ago
The cabling in a house is the entire infrastructure and will dictate what you can and can’t do for the future. Most clients have no clue what is available and what will be available in the future. The ones who think they know, usually end up much worse off than the ones who admit to not knowing. When we meet with clients, we go over how they live. ??What their plans are for the future. What they like to do. Listen to music? Watch TV? Do they entertain? We factor in all of these items to come up with a recommendation for them.?? We don’t try to sell people what they won’t use. We design systems that are easy to use for everyone. Most of our installations require no instruction at all. And most important, we give ??free advice. Give us a try if you like. Hy Www.hdhtech.com
BKHomer | 13 years and 10 months ago
you can also contact erick the electrician hes very knowledgeable about low voltage wireing very frendly guy to work with. 347-512-4869
shahnandersen
in Home Entertainment Systems 13 years and 10 months ago
You really need to do to do the basics first: Life Safety, Voice, Data, Video, and Doorbell / Intercom. Then you consider your lifestyle. Would you feel more comfortable with a burglar alarm and or cameras or do you think that might be a selling point down the road? You can easily integrate smoke detectors and flood detection into alarms. Home theater wiring is easy to pre-wire and be buried in the wall to be exposed later if need be. Do you entertain? Maybe whole house audio would interest you; don’t forget the speakers on the deck. Is this a multi family? Perhaps you’d enjoy the convenience and security of video intercom or an intercom that rings your phone. The one feature that people always comment on in my very wired home is the access control. The convenience of waving a key fob at your door to unlock never gets old and homeowners rarely consider installing access systems because they they think it will be too expensive. Low voltage lighting controls are another fantastic feature that people often overlook. Hope this helps. Email me if you need any more info or ideas.
nf85 | 13 years and 10 months ago
Thanks for all the responses! To clarify, the recommendations on the wiring are very helpful, but where I could really use some pointers is in the I guess low-voltage area: sound, security, internet. I’m not sure how to assess what we need or even how to find the best person (is it just one?) to help us figure that out. Thanks again, everyone, for your wonderful info.
masterbuilder | 13 years and 10 months ago
I see a few posts recommending actual electrical wiring configurations. Electricians must install by code, including GFCI and AFCI receptacles, switches by code and numerous dedicated circuits for things like microwaves and A/Cs. Those are not options. For the OP, you may want to look into an overall service upgrade to increase your amperage so you will have enough power for a variety of equipment. Otherwise your electrician should know exactly what they need to do to pass the electrical inspection mandated by the DOB.
All of that is very different from low voltage, none of which is required.
Goatcrapp | 13 years and 10 months ago
I am in the middle of doing this same thing to a 3 floor… For my needs – while the walls are open- i’m running cat6 for security cameras (ip cameras that are powered over the wire (POE) are good and relatively inexpensive for the quality, compared with tandem (coax + power) systems.
I’m also running coax for cable to the living room and bedroom of each apartment. Though the need for phone line is diminished greatly – its not a bad idea to run phone line as well, to at least one room. Both coax and phone should be run to a gang at a single point of entry to the structure – whether thats in the basement, a back wall, or etc… you don’t have to drill through now, but when you do – it’ll prevent you from having to make multiple openings into the home (which is a pet peeve of mine… i hate houses where you see 3 or 4+ sloppily drilled and filled coax holes front and rear from previous cable/satellite installers.)
Things to consider since you’re doing it all new – run a separate circuit for AC – won’t dim the lights anymore when it kicks on and won’t trip breakers when you forget to turn off the coffee maker lol.
Also if you have room in the subpanel(s) – consider outlets and lights on separate breakers… in the event something does trip – you don’t lose your lights.
Dependiong on your plans, you can also run additional cat6 to the intended living room(s) and bedrooms… wireless is great – but a lot of new smart TV’s require costly adapters to get on the wireless, but have built in ethernet jacks.. also – its a “might as well item” that at most will add a couple of hundred dollars to the cost for a 1000′ spool (or two) and the associated wall jacks. I like to get my cable from cat6cableguy.com (formerly cat5ecableguy.com LOL) – very good quality cable ( i use it for my networks at work) and good pricing.
I prefer cat6 to cat5e not so much because of the range afforded, but rather the POE capability at range. cat6 is a thicker strand, and handles higher drain POE devices better.
With a project like this – the labor is the most expensive part.. so don’t save pennies on wire gauge. Go with wire thick enough that you can put a 20A breaker on all circuits.. minimum 12 gauge.. Don’t bother with 14/2 crap unless you’re running a single utility outlet or etc on it. Also – if you can open up the walls and pathways to the panel and sub-panels yourself, you will save a bundle.
Speaking of sub panels – since you’re doing the whole house – you might want to look at a sub panel for each floor. Running a 60A recessed panel will save you a LOT of labor and materials compared with trying to run all the wires back to the basement from 3 floors, and has the added benefit of being a lot more convenient if you ever do trip a breaker.. I’m doing a single 6/3 (6 gauge, 3 wire) to each floor, which will support the 60A, and then individual runs to their floor’s sub panel. Hang a picture over the panel and you’re done, lol.
bkmatthew | 13 years and 10 months ago
I have a friend who built a house many years ago, the advice I gave him then (for which he was extremely grateful and implemented in full) was you want plenty of electrical outlets in each room, you want a phone jack in each room (whether or not you connect it), a tv connection in each room (whether or not you connect it), twenty years ago Cat6 and Cat5E was in the future, but you want every room hooked up with that as well. You should also consider having a 220 volt outlets installed for room air conditioners, electric clothes dryers, and an electric grill if you have a patio or other outdoor space (unless you go for a natural gas outlet for a gas grill).
brucef | 13 years and 10 months ago
We don’t do security or sound, but we do computer networks.
Future proofing is predicting the future, which becomes harder the further out you look, I recommend pulling Cat6 or Cat5E wire thru the open walls, choosing a central co-location point that will remain accessible, and running many “home runs” to many locations.
The cost is minimal, as the high value labor and parts costs are in the terminations, which you are not going to do.
Ten years ago we cabled a library in Vineland, NJ, and the Board of Directors wanted future-proofing. We pulled fiber optic cable along with extra cable drops to all sorts of locations. While the fiber optic cable was a little pricey, the big expense with fiber is our technicians doing terminations, but…no terminations.
To my knowledge that fiber is still in the walls there, still “dark”. But I consider that a successful future proof. No, it hasn’t proved useful yet, but it wasn’t costly up front for the insurance.
You can conatct me offline bruce at jerseydata.net
stevecym | 13 years and 10 months ago
Hey, we are not far off in so far as electric use, we have lived on and off for years without TV – but alas, we have moved into a 1920’s house and there are not enough outlets. This is what I would do and this is not the final answer, it is only part of it. Try to get a sense of what you need and when you run your lines, use three strand. Use one strand and the neutral for your upgrades now and leave the other wire in place, at the junction box and/or outlet box and folded back in the panel, unused. You may wish to tag these in the panel box with the area of termination. Later, if you need another circuit, you can run a line from the outlet on the floor to wherever and when you need it, it is in place. So far as I know, two hots can share a neutral. I have been doing this for a while in my own house and figure it to be the best approach as the extra strand is a lot cheaper than the cost of labor – now or later. Mind you, I am not an electrician, I am a woodworker, so you have to take what I say and run it by a LICENSED electrician. Please do not attempt anything I say about electric work on your own. Steve http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/tinkerswagon
masterbuilder | 13 years and 10 months ago
Electricians are not the key people to talk to when you are inquiring about low voltage. Yes, they understand low voltage but they might not be on top of all the gadgets or really grasp what you want. I’ve done a lot of work with EzNet, and also it turns out one of my clients has a business running low voltage.
www.eznetcom.com
If you email me, I’ll put you in touch with my new client as well.
masterbuildernyc@gmail.com