Geek My Crib

[theprez98]

Re: Geek My Crib

And don't get me going on so-called global warming ...or more precisely, don't get my bro Brandon going... http://www.brandonjaynes.com/blog/20...nient-science/

Yeah, I wasn't about to jump on that grenade either.

[INIT_6]

Re: Geek My Crib

all this talk about solar panels check out this site. Talks about the new 3d design to increases efficiency of the panels. You should check it out.

http://www.greenoptions.com/blog/200...ses_efficiency

One thing I have always wanted to do in my house is setup some marina speakers in the bathroom and a LCD panel with waterproof box around it and a waterproof remote. so I can listen to music and watch music videos or a.m. news.

Best of luck with your house. you should get some before and after shots. It's always cool to look at what your house looked like before the fire after the fire hit. and when it's all fixed up again. I worked for Xactware what all insurance companies use to estimate the damage of a house. I used to look at those kind of photos all day before and afters.

[renderman]

Re: Geek My Crib

Remember, it's your house, you can do whatever you want to it

As a kid I always imagined the things that I would do if I had a house of my own.

Well, I finally got one done:



I bet the neighbors are going to love me tomorrow :)

Figured you guys would approve though.

[DaKahuna]

Re: Geek My Crib

Remember, it's your house, you can do whatever you want to it

As a kid I always imagined the things that I would do if I had a house of my own.

Well, I finally got one done:

I bet the neighbors are going to love me tomorrow :)

Figured you guys would approve though.

You are right - I think it is outstanding.

Now you have me wanting to hang one from my deck.

[hackajar]

Re: Geek My Crib

I know now, pre-wire is a must. I have 3 spools of cable and no way to wire them at my house. There are these 4x4 beams in the way of dropping down behind the dry wall. Anyone know what negitives there might be in fishing the cable along side the 110v power. There are pre drilled holes from attic for those I could use.

[Thorn]

Re: Geek My Crib

I know now, pre-wire is a must. I have 3 spools of cable and no way to wire them at my house. There are these 4x4 beams in the way of dropping down behind the dry wall. Anyone know what negitives there might be in fishing the cable along side the 110v power. There are pre drilled holes from attic for those I could use.

Running Cat5 parallel to AC is generally considered to be a Real Bad Thing. It can destroy performance. If you have to do it, try to keep it to an absolute minimum. (As in less than a foot or two.)

[hackajar]

Re: Geek My Crib

Running Cat5 parallel to AC is generally considered to be a Real Bad Thing. It can destroy performance. If you have to do it, try to keep it to an absolute minimum. (As in less than a foot or two.)

Do you, or anyone, know how drops are done post construction? I'm afraid to drill through the 4x4s and compermise the structure of the house.

[Thorn]

Re: Geek My Crib

Do you, or anyone, know how drops are done post construction? I'm afraid to drill through the 4x4s and compermise the structure of the house.

Generally, you can drill through the center of support structural member like 2x4s and 4x4s as long as the hole centered and the diameter is 25% or less than the size of the structural member. Caveat: Much of this stuff is dependent on local/state building codes. Make sure that you are at least passingly familiar with their contents. Also, make sure you know how to locate existing AC lines and pipes. Finding them with a drill can be both exciting and messy, but it's rarely fun.

Another option is for post-construction installation is surface-mount channel, boxes, and jacks. It's quick, easy, and requires a minimum of tools. While it doesn't look as good as in-wall installation, it can give you some real savings in both time and money, not to mention skinned knuckles and blood, sweat and tears.

The best advice I can give you is to go down to the nearest Lowes/Home Depot/DIY center and buy some books on wiring. Most of contents of these books will be on AC, but some will have sections on "low voltage" wiring. They usually won't mention "Cat5" or any Category for that matter, but may talk about "telephone" or "computer" wiring. Or at least the books I've bought over the years were like that; newer ones may actually mention Cat3/4/5/6.

The better books will be liberally illustrated with step-by-step instructions, and cover in-wall installation in both new construction and remodeling, as well as surface mount techniques. Black and Decker and Reader's Digest used to publish a couple of nice books covering this stuff, although they were dated in the low voltage areas.

Once you've familiarized yourself with the techniques, do a but of research with Mr. Google on installing Cat5. Much of what you'll find will be building codes and restrictions, or install guides for campuses, but you should get some info on how to deal with things like running the lines parallel to AC.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Geek My Crib

Do you, or anyone, know how drops are done post construction? I'm afraid to drill through the 4x4s and compermise the structure of the house.

Assuming network cable....

You can run cable through the attic and drill a 1/2" hole down through the stacked 2x4 that the tops of the studs are nailed to. From here, you can get a metal pipe of slightly larger diameter than the hole, pound the pipe into the drilled hole, then drop a cat5* cable through the hole, between the studs. Then, you visit the same location in the room and find the same space between the studs, and cut out plaster to put in a wall-mount for jacks. (The pipe shouldn't be much larger. Ideally, it would be just large enough to let you tap the pipe into place with a little effort. Pounding the pipe means the pipe is too large and you risk splitting the 2x4 (or 4x4) as well as risk damaging the top of the pipe. Too small, and it will fall through. (*tink*!)

Done properly, you can cut the plaster close to a stud on the right or the left so you can screw the wall-mount that holds the jacks to a stud. Lack of this means you can try plaster screws, but they are not as reliable.

Biggest problems with this:
Try to get plenum cable to run through your attic-space
If there is insulation between the studs, it can be an inconvenience or make it nearly impossible to use this method, depending on the insulation, how it is installed, while it is there. This depends on the insulation used, and how it was put into place.
If you have power cables running through your attic, you will want to avoid them.
If you have florescent lights hanging from your ceilings, you will want to avoid them when in your attic.
Making sure that the two studs you are drilling between from the attic are the same two studs you are cutting a hole in the plaster, are the same 2 studs.
Cases where the roof is angled down near attic studs, can make it difficult to get a conventional drill (and hammer) in place.

Biggest advantages:
You are far away from power, and all of the risk (to data loss / use) and dangers (to humans) that are included.
If you ever want to run telephone to new rooms, you can use the same holes/wall mounts.
While you are in the attic, you can run cable for Cable TV too, using a similar method.