New home build. Lots of technology to go into it

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153 posts

Master Geek

#1771692 28-Apr-2017 09:56

Talkiet:

KShips:

Awesome build, look forward to hearing more as it progresses.

How are you setting up Z-Wave? With standard lighting circuit and zwave controllers behind each light switch?

If so, any reason you have not gone with star wiring so each light having it's own cable back to switchboard where relays are located, bus wiring to light switches (I'm thinking KNX or standard relays with controllers etc at switchboard for easy management)?

Great question.

I would have preferred low voltage star wiring, but the electrical contractor my builder uses either didn't know what it was or was playing dumb and didn't want to do anything but the standard stupid transformer on every light/circuit... It wasn't worth the hassle to fight it and the builders weren't prepared to use an alternate electrical contractor.

In any case I have trialled the system in my current home with just a couple of Z-wave controllers behind light switches and plug in sockets (Alexa, turn on the electric blanket) and it works fine, so I specced open backed light switch and power outlet boxes so there's heaps of room behind them for the zwave switches.

I'm using openhab on a raspberry Pi with a USB zwave controller. Based on how well it all works at the moment I don't see any reason to do anything differently in the new build except perhaps evaluate Google Home as the voice interface.

Cheers - N

That's good to know, when we build I will make sure to run this stuff past building company before get to far down track. I hope to be able to self manage electrical side using electrician contacts who are into this sort of thing.

I moved to openhab last week and so far looks really good. I'm also of strong opinion that system needs hosted in the house, not running on cloud system so that I'm not reliant on internet connection (ideally only accessible locally or via VPN) etc.

I was reading about failover options with openhab and the common issue people were talking about was how to handle Z-Wave controller failure as it stores the device ID's. There was mention of the new version of (I think) the USB controller has some sort of backup function.

Where did you source Z-Wave gear from? About to order Sonoff switch to test that out for shed lighting.

RickW

298 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1796245 7-Jun-2017 21:48

How's the build going? Any new updates?

Talkiet

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#1796302 7-Jun-2017 23:22

It's all going very well, basically on schedule and so far no problems...

I've had the electrical walkthrough where I caught a couple of little issues (I missed a location for a security camera and they had run cables through where the ceiling needs to be cut for the projector screen) but they were resolved easily.

I've just got a quote I can live with for the driveways and landscaping (who knew they all charge to take the soil away that is piled up from the foundation excavation and then charge you again to bring back soil to put into the garden?) and I think I'm about a week away from getting an estimated completion date which I THINK will be late August.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

johny99

495 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#1797743 10-Jun-2017 16:08

But isn't the morepork security system wireless Neil ;)

Talkiet

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#1797744 10-Jun-2017 16:21

johny99: But isn't the morepork security system wireless Neil ;)

Chuckle. I prefer to build my own, only slightly upset in the knowledge it'll be harder to use, more expensive and less featured than Morepork :-)

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

networkn

Networkn
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#1797756 10-Jun-2017 17:05

I've always had a nice soft spot for those colour bricks and aluminium. It's a nice looking house. That garage is mental :) Congrats.

RickW

298 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1797757 10-Jun-2017 17:06

Awesome, it's looking good. We should be starting our foundations mid july, it's crazy how quickly everything starts comming together.

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Talkiet

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#1807882 27-Jun-2017 20:36

Well, since last update I have....

- Had the electrical walkthrough and found a couple of network cable locations I had missed and cleared those up.
- Confirmed Carpet (yes I upgraded that), Vinyl and tiles (upgraded them too!)
- Chose the pain scheme and added a feature wall as the background for the projector screen needs to be a dark wall.
- Confirmed the builder has laid out the ceiling beams in such a way that the recessed screen and projector lift will work ok.
- Arranged the driveways and paths ($26k including landscaping)
- Added a steel framed gate to the area behind the garage.
- The GIB is all up and the plastering nearly done.

And now, I have received a planned handover date of 29th August - about 2 months from now.

The only slightly unexpected thing was an additional charge to remove some additional spoil (soil/rocks) created by the soak pit build. Unfortunately this was after I had negotiated with the driveway people to take away the stuff so they upped their price to cover it. Peter Ray should have advised me of this but they didn't - it's a very small issue though, only a few hundred dollars and it's only the second small unexpected cost (they total about $450 so far).

So everything still running right on schedule and I have got a copy of the schedule to completion which lists all the remaining jobs, trades and the dates they are scheduled in, so pretty good confidence in the timeframe.

What I still need to do:

- Buy all the home automation gear... I want to used Zwave still but it's all so expensive so I have been putting off the purchase. I really don't know what I'll end up doing here.

- Collect new furniture (new lounge suite)

- Build new end tables and a new dining table

- buy pop up powerpoints for kitchen bench

- Arrange fibre installation for as soon as possible after possession date. Actually, that's one thing I really dislike about Peter Ray so far, and probably the only thing... Their unwillingness to allow the installation before possession date. It's not a legal thing, it's a convenience thing for them (not an assumption - I asked - and to their credit, they answered honestly).

- Get paint for garage floor. Was going to use a fancy Rustoleum Metallic epoxy but for a 70M2 garage it was going to be an insane amount (well over $1500 for the raw materials alone)

- Probably hundreds of other other things... Not needing to shift out of my currently place immediately means I can be a bit lazy about planning the actual occupation though.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1807884 27-Jun-2017 20:47

With the fibre install, if they had done it during construction, then couldn't they have run the fibre conduit from teh road, up inside the wall?. Otherwise aren't you going to end up with ugly pipework and junction box up the exterior of the outside wall?

With the garage floor, did you get the slab power floated when it was poured? If so it should be a nice smooth surface and it may not need any coating. The cheap option that developers tend to use, is floor carpet, which covers a crappy slab, and is apparently cheaper than painting it. ALthough I imagine if you are doing woodwork in the garage, the sawdust on the garage carpet will be difficult to clean up.

Talkiet

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#1807924 27-Jun-2017 20:55

There's conduit all the way to the network cabinet so the install will be easy and neat, but Peter Ray won't allow anyone apart from their contractors to do any work (except for landscape and pathways since they are required for council certificates)... Pretty frustrating.

I'm going to paint the floor to protect the surface from oil and crap from cars so even a heavy duty garage carpet isn't suitable. It is pretty smooth already - should only need an etch and paint.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

darylblake

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#1807986 28-Jun-2017 07:28

Very Nice!

Mines so close to being finished too, but man that last stage is sooo hard.

I def don't want to have to go through the building process again.

Start: Jan.

Sorry not all of them were rotated properly.. Im so close to moving in. I was always thinking end of this month perhaps? But I think it will still be a few weeks away.

I am doing ALL the ourdoor work myself. So I have a very busy few months ahead of me.

Talkiet

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#1828384 24-Jul-2017 13:44

And have just had the first real issue in the build... The driveway has been built to the wrong level (It meets the garage THREE INCHES below the correct level). I have sent a photo to the contractor and had a very quick and polite "Please explain" discussion with him on the phone... He's on his way out to look at it in person but uggh... Hopefully he'll accept his screwup and propose a proper fix.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1828389 24-Jul-2017 13:48

Did your builder form a proper rebate in the garage slab for the garage door, to drain outwards?

mattwnz

20141 posts

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#1828391 24-Jul-2017 13:50

I always wonder how people clean under and to the side of those baths.

Talkiet

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#1828393 24-Jul-2017 13:53

mattwnz: Did your builder form a proper rebate in the garage slab for the garage door, to drain outwards?

Speaks for itself. They built to the wrong level... That's a bit of 3x2 for scale.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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