Currently remodeling a domicile, with the sweet and expensive ability to add anything I want within reason. I plan on modernizing the place to bring it into the 21st century because this house deserves it (just a great structure with lots of history and nearing it’s centennial birthday).
Luckily, everything is built perfectly for access so nothing is off the table. I came onto this property with my own server “rack” and a mini diy setup for network debauchery, but plan on expanding that and installing a mini-server “room” (a fancy closet I might install in a “dead space” that I can pipe duct work in and out of).
I will be running all new electrical, A/C, Telecom lines, the whole works. I’m currently in the process of ripping out all the old coaxial, phone, piping, anything not ran properly or of a modern importance (probably reinstall phone and doorbell circuits but they’re currently strewn everywhere from previous installers). I’m also creating up to date blueprints for the structure and including mechanical systems/engineering schematics for anything I’m doing or plan to do. All of this will be saved to a USB for the next owner and printed out for a laminated notebook to stay with the house (maybe a copy for myself for the nostalgia one day).
The only 2 things I KNOW I want to do is installing
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a monitor with a pi that will run a weather and local data program that I’ve been working on into the kitchen area
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a multi-camera cctv system (local and offsite backup) with a monitor in a neutral-shared living area.
I will probably leave those parts of the system installed here unless it’s requested to be removed. I actually would love to leave everything here as a full system package for someone to “inherit” with the house but I’m not sure if that’s a benefit or a hindrance someone wants to receive.
There’s 3 different plans in the works (3/5/10 year plans, we are here for family but that will eventually not be required and we desperately want out of this area), depending on the time frame I might need to put in
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monitoring stations for renewable energy systems (solar/wind),
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a personalized-home weather monitoring system (barometric,temp,humidity) with a display and functionality to control the mechanical systems (A/C adjustment, daylight sensors for shades/lighting, etc),
and a bunch of other off the wall ideas I’ve been wanting to tinker with. Unfortunately most videos out there of “home setups” include someone with 10x my price bracket and their system is designed for themselves and their specific equipment in mind. I’m wanting to install something more generic that anyone would have use for (like weather and security). There are really only 2 “office areas” that I think would require a hardline besides any monitors I have to install for systems (I don’t mind running wiring, but I don’t think every room needs an ethernet port to be functional, or am I wrong thinking this way?). I will probably need to install repeaters in two locations though to cover the entire property in wifi because old houses gobble signals up but inside everything “just” reaches.
Everything I’ve done with my network so far I’ve gotten around needing a switch (it would’ve saved me a lot of hassle in the past but I usually find a way to get everything connected or just disconnect unused equipment that’s ran it’s course), but at this point I can’t expand any further without a headache. So now I’m looking at new tech and equipment I don’t have hands-on experience with and don’t know it’s proper use/limitations which I don’t like when making action plans. I figured just trying to get a general sense of what people want or see would be a better angle to come at since I don’t do this professionally and don’t have the insider knowledge of the taboos of home networking infrastructure.
TLDR: What kind of wiring, connection setups are important to you and won’t be obsolete after a few years? What do you consider a “modern” house to have or are decent “quality of life” improvements like lighting control, sensors, etc? What’s your best case scenario of equipment when walking into a house and seeing a pre-installed setup?
edit: I’m not sure why but for some reason I’m not seeing everyone’s comments (assuming de-federated instances from .ml but seeing it since I posted on .world), if I don’t respond I apologize and will probably look for a new instance if this is the case.
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If I could do it all over again? Wired ethernet to every room, back to a utility closet connected to a fiber line.
Fiber is a sore subject lol, it was a big local deal when fiber was coming to town with newspaper articles and everything about the big development and how great everything was gonna be with the upgrade in speed. Lots of crews all over the county for months (maybe years? time is fickle) and even had them running the lines on my street and a relatives on the other side of the main town. Turns out they decided to not actually make fiber available for the area, it’s just running through. I understand you can’t just splice into fiber lol, still irks me I have a box I can’t touch or move with “Fiber” labelled on it sitting on the property though and have to deal with cable internet that runs like it’s a DSL connection.
With wired Ethernet to every room, would something of this type of connection be aesthetically pleasing? I would like to bundle everything so there’s not an excessive amount of wall plates and others have suggested running two lines in parallel with STP cat6a (cat8 will probably be saved for the next place if it has fiber available). I’m just worried about the look of having several wall jacks or several unknown connections that might confuse someone (I will label everything but that only goes so far for understanding). If I include coaxial it might look a little like this style of outlet if I’m not running two ethernet ports. I’m starting to lean into the coaxial/single ethernet just because cable/satellite tv is still king around these parts and people love their boxes.
If you had to have a modem box for internet with coaxial or DSL, would you prefer that tucked away into the server closet as well? or keep that in a separate area with the phone connections and just run an ethernet from the modem to the server closet where the router and switch setup are at?
Combo plate is fine, but I’d argue not worth it. ITs much easier, more scalable, and more flexible for network wiring to be a separate junction box and plate. That also makes it easier to have multiple drops where appropriate, or to do future work.
I don’t know how big a concern it is but network wiring in parallel to power too much, can pick up noise from power lines. Wire them separately and you don’t have to think about it
Yeah, a combo plate with power would be fine, I don’t know that anyone needs RJ-11 phone jacks anymore, but if you have a use case…
Sorry to hear about your fiber problem. I’m similar in that I can get fiber to the house, but my exterior wall is solid cinder block and I can’t find an installer willing to drill through it. :(
I need to get a mason out to poke a hole, THEN maybe I can think about fiber.
But, yeah, run the internet connection in to the utility closet, connect that to a switch, then run ethernet from the switch to every room.
I recommend rectangular cable ducts where one face can be removed instead of using conduit. Also, it should never run parallel to a 110/220V power cable - you can cross them, but don’t run alongside them. Low voltage power (like PoE) is fine.
Finally - tell anyone who works on your house that if you find any electrical tape or cable ties — you’re going to ask them to come back and remove them - I wouldn’t do it yourself especially cable ties since there’s a non-zero risk you might damage the cable and have to run a new one.
Those two things should never be used — they’re quick and dirty tools used by lazy people who want to spend 10 seconds less time on today’s job, and don’t care if it creates hours of extra work in a few year’s time.
Velcro strapping tape is the way to go. It lasts longer and is easily removed. The only drawback is it’s a little ugly - I’ll use tape or cable ties if the wiring is exposed… but you shouldn’t have any exposed wiring in a house.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Reusable-Fastening-Cable-Double-Sided-Management/dp/B09C3SVY9Q
https://www.amazon.com.au/Rectangular-Cable-Duct-25-16mm/dp/B07QM6X9V7
For your CCTV lookup Frigate NVR, and grab a ~30$ Coral TPU for it. Run your cameras with a PoE switch.
Home Assistant is THE gold standard for smart homes. ZigBee is nice too, since they mesh and aren’t the same wave length as WiFi.
Edit: oops I meant ZWave, not ZigBee.
For my money, KNX>Zwave>Zigbee. Zigbee’s standard are not certified so you get non compliant devices that don’t work well, and 2.4 is a very crowded frequency with lots of interference not only from other wireless devices but also microwaves, etc. Zwave solves both of these issues and generally has a higher level of quality, but for me a wired standard will always beat a wireless one if I’m starting from scratch.
For the first stage, think about the equipment in terms of what wiring would support it. Focus on wiring.
You won’t regret even more wiring or running conduit to simplify future upgrades. Ethernet everywhere, more than one. If you might want a camera somewhere, run ethernet. If you might have an entertainment center or computer setup, run multiple ethernet. Doorbell wiring - consider ethernet. At least Ring has a doorbell cam for ethernet.
For automation, think local control. Your gadgets should prefer Zigbee, zwave or Thread, over WiFi or Bluetooth and not require a vendor website to run. You’ll need ethernet for a hub, but if you use smart switches, you can build out a network mesh with good coverage. Simple Zigbee/zwave sensors like door/window, or flood last a surprisingly long time on batteries, although powered is always better
If you wire things, use keystones. I didn’t know that standard. Makes it much easier to have ethernet. My house had non standard keystone type things. Those are sort expensive, I replaced them with keystones just not have to deal with anything other than keystones in future.
I totally agree with the first part. I’ll be building a home in a few years and I’m going to be running Ethernet cable to the home theater system, to the home office, to the doorbell, to the primary bedroom, probably to places where I need to put WAPs, and to places I may not need but could get use out of in the future.
I’m tired of having a WiFi router on one side of the house with crap coverage elsewhere and no way to wire my PC and game console without PITA cable running effort.
I’ll probably have a network closet built in somewhere or stick a router or switch in the utility closet so that I can put WAPs anywhere in the house.
One of the limitations that surprised me was getting a mesh router. I made sure to get one that could use a wired backhaul for availability and coverage (and yes I’m aware some will complain then it’s no longer a mesh). However I was surprised that they needed good WiFi connectivity for setup. I had to set them up next to each other before moving them to their intended locations (my house is not big but is just deadly to any radio signals)
- structured wiring
- home automation (zigbee, zwave, matter)
Put at least one network drop in every room. You can always cover it if you want, and the ability to change the layout in the room can be handy. Also new furniture can force layout changes.
Also add significantly more power outlets than you think you need. I’d go every 2-3 feet in bedrooms and offices. That way blocking an outlet isn’t a big deal.
If you’re already down to studs, it’s significantly cheaper to add more than you think you need than trying to retrofit things later. Conduit is a good idea to make adding or removing lines easier in the future. You can also add boxes for things like a sound system or intercom and cover them with drywall if you don’t want to use them right away.
At least one cat 6 ethernet in each room. Multiple outlets in any media room. One of my old houses had speaker jacks in each corner of the room which was a godsend when setting up surround sound for a home cinema setup.
lol I’ve seen that before and sympathize every time I see my router log filled with my partners apple devices doing their thing. I’m slowly convincing them to move away from it all with suitable replacements I find along the way.
I built a 24V DC power network in my server and office space two years ago, backed by a battery. The constant “UPS” is great, and its power efficient.
Wired links to doors and windows for wired contacts/sensors. The cheap wireless burgler alarms can easily be jammed. Also wires for automatic shutters (if you have shutters).
Metereological sensors (wind/rain/temperature) for e.g. retracting an awning if it rains or the wind gets to strong. Can also be used for control the heating/AC.
Network sockets (or at least tubes to run them through) basically everywhere. Have you thought of having an outlet where the big mirror in the corridor/entrance area is, so you can one day turn set up a magic mirror there?
Have you thought or wiring up motion sensors throughout the house to automate lighting (and get additional input for the burgler alarm)?
Wired links for any kind of camera is vital, be it the door cam, or anything watching the place for security reasons.
Wired smoke alarms! Not only will they be connected, so they all start beeping when smoke or fire is detected, but you don’t have to change batteries every other year, and you can integrate the output inot he home automation system and get a mail or SMS is case of an emergency-
What kind of smart appliances could you imagine? Smart fridge, smart washing machine? Even if there is a non-smart device, you can rig a raspberry pi or even an arduino to detect the beeping of your dryer and send you an email.
Well, and more network sockets…
Do you have some outdoors (patio, garden)? Does it have wifi coverage?
That’s just of the top of my head…
No one is going to think your solar/monitoring/etc tech is a great improvement. People barely consider actual solar to be a vast improvement.
Running cat6a to each room from a central location is about the only thing that would be helpful. Some areas will be good locations to also run hdmi, coax, and speaker wire.
Weather monitoring isn’t special, you can get a station for a few hundred that is wireless and easy to use.
Ducting a closet never makes sense since it heats up a lot more than the rest of the house. You would need to run dedicated hvac to it, or vent a door into the living space. Or just use low-power devices.
Heck, owning a home for only 3 years barely makes sense. Is it worth the hassle over renting? Will the market be down when you want to move?
Thank you for the cat6a recommendation. I was not trying to state this as something needs to be a “great improvement” nor am I looking for only recommendations that have a certain return value in mind. I recognize most “tech” things won’t be taken into consideration for resale nor will I probably stumble into a tech person who would appreciate and pay extra for the value. Ducting would involve HVAC as it’s something I’m familiar with and wouldn’t be an issue.
I wasn’t trying to get into a financial debate with housing and never said how long I’ve resided at this house but I can see how you would assume that from my post. I only stated the remaining years I have as a time-limit for any recommendations (can’t wait around for household fusion to come available :P /s). Think of it as a fun hobby/side-project I’m doing involving the Tech that will give me a stepping stone for familiarity and exposure to how I eventually want to do a “forever” home I’ll rot away in. I imagine there are plenty of projects/ideas out there I’m missing because I always run across something fun and new (like stair lighting with sensors and programmable modes).
The architectural design and remodeling parts involving financials is a whole separate category and has been my jam for decades so I’m not worried about that (dilapidated houses call to me and I’ve always answered so they can be lived in again). 3 years is plenty of time if you’re qualified and have the expertise, I’ve already spent considerable time working on this property so don’t worry too much about it. This is simply a “what do we want to do with the rest of our time here and improving the house that has shown us love” scenario. I do appreciate your comment though, I realize none of this is really special and helps tamp down my enthusiasm since I always tend to get carried away. The weather monitoring is an apt example, I never liked the prepackaged setups so had plans saved to build my own. That’s something that will probably be better suited for the next home.
