Structured Wiring / Future Wiring a Smart Home - Wiring Overview This guide details what you need for Future Wiring a home, It is best to do this while the home is being built, but there are ways to do it after the fact. Much of the information in this guide will also apply if you are just running a wire or two. Even if you are not doing the work yourself, this guide may help you in deciding what you want done.

If you are building a home, future wiring can add thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars to the value of your home. If you are not doing the work yourself, then you could also end up paying this much to have it done professionally. Most builders will generally not allow you to do this kind of work while the home is under construction for safety, insurance, or theft reasons. Still, I've built two homes and I was able to get each builder to let me do the wire installation myself.

If your home does not have a basement then you will need to find some other central location to run the wires to. Ask the builder for suggestions, but it will most likely be the closet / utility room that holds the hot water heater and possibly the electrical box or the attic. All this will be covered when you consider your Wiring Plan.

Plan everything out before you begin. Decide what wires will be run where. You always want to run too much wire instead of too little. An unused wire costs little, but trying to run a new wire after the walls are up can take hours. Be sure to read the guide on what wires to run and the guide on wire types to help you plan. You may also want to check out some sample projects for ideas.

Once you have your plan, you need to estimate how much wire you will need. You can save a lot of money by purchasing over the internet. Check out the parts guide for a list of what you will need and where you can get it.

Once you have a plan and your parts you are ready to get started. This wiring guide has everything you need to know to run your wires. You could complete the wiring job and terminate all the connections at the same time, but unless the builder is giving you a lot of time to work on the home it is best to leave that work until after you move in. Much of the finishing work must be done after the drywall is hung and painted anyway. Waiting until after you move in also decreases the chance that your wiring will affect the home appraisal and your housing taxes. After you close on your home closing this finishing work guide will help you complete the wiring job.

After you finish your work, it is time to have the cable, satellite, phone, internet... companies come in and do their job. They will probably need to run a new wire from the street to your home. This wire should be run directly to your wiring panel in the basement and then routed through the house from there. Even if you are using a cable or DSL modem for internet access, the modem should be in the basement and then the network wires should distribute it through the home. See the wiring plan for more information.

If the builder will not let you run the wiring yourself, then ask about a future tube. A future tube is simply a 2" PVC pipe installed by the builder that is run from the basement to the attic. If you are running a wire from the basement to a first floor wall, you can just drill up through the basement ceiling and run the wire. If you need to run a wire from the basement to a second floor wall, you can run the wire through the future tube into the attic and then back down though the second floor wall. Without the future tube it is very difficult to get a wire from the basement to the second floor of your home. There is a special guide for Wiring Existing Homes.

If the builder does let you do your own wiring, they will give you a short window in which you can do the work and possibly with very little notice. Make sure you have all the materials you need ready to go at a moments notice. If you are ordering from the internet, then be sure to plan in advance. Depending on how much help you have and how much wiring you want to do, it could take 2 full days to do the wiring. Obviously you will do your wiring some point after framing, roofing, and siding is done but before drywall. This is when the plumbing, ductwork, electrical and other wiring and insulation will be installed. It is best if you do your work last, either right before or after insulation. That way you know your work wont interfere with the other trades. For example: if you run a cable wire across some studs in a wall, and the HVAC crew needs to run a vertical duct between two of those studs, then you better have left enough slack in your wires so that they can move your wires to make room for their duct.

You may end up working on your wiring while other contractors are in your home. Be friendly and try to stay out of their way and let them do their job. They usually don't like the homeowner being around when they are doing their work. There are also safety/liability issues with you working around them. Don't give them a reason to call the builder and get you kicked out. Don't ask to borrow their tools and definitely don't use their tools without asking. This includes using their ladders. Also make sure that your work isn't interfering with them. Don't leave wires lying around on the ground. Tie down your work as you go. Don't leave cleanup for the end.

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Structured Wiring / Future Wiring a Smart Home - Wiring ...

Electrical|New Construction text: Tim Carter

Are you still a non-believer in technology? I doubt it since you are reading this article! But there are folks like that out there. In fact, I talked to one yesterday. He thinks the Internet is a hoax of sorts and that there is going to be huge consolidation of this media form. He compared it to the early days of the railroad industry here in the United States. His points were well made, I must admit.

Evidently, there were lots of little railroads and lots of investor speculation in railroads over 125 to 150 years ago. Well, there was a big shake out and lots of railroads got gobbled up, and he said that investors lost lots of money. Well, we surely have consolidation happening now, but I feel that we are just beginning to scratch the surface. Investors lose money everyday. You just need to do your homework so you are one of the winners, not the losers!

Just What is Possible?

Installing structured wiring allows you to do all sorts of things. I found a list of possibilities at a very cool website - imagine being able to do the following:

These are just a few things you can do when you have great wiring in your home. Imagine what we will be able to do ten years from now!

The key to automation is the wiring that connects sensors and operating devices to those things that control them. Groups have been working for years to develop a standard for wiring and it is now available. Because technology changes rapidly, I expect the standard to change as well.

Wiring Tips

Home automation wiring is low voltage. This means that the actual wire is smaller and this means it is more tender than the regular high voltage wire your electrician installs. Home automation wiring needs to be installed carefully. It also needs to be installed at the right time.

If you are building a new home, the plumbing, heating and cooling, and the high voltage wiring should be totally complete before the low voltage wiring is installed. The home automation technicians know the damage that a plumber's torch can do to their cables! What's more, you should not install low voltage automation cable through the same holes that high voltage wires pass through. It is always best to drill new holes as far away from the high voltage wires as is practical.

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House Wiring | Ask the Builder

Nate Swanner

In the connected home space, the efforts typically revolve around security. Sure, you dont want anyone getting into your home unauthorized, but sometimes the real trouble lurks from within. Water damage and mold are two of the more troubling concerns for homeowners, but WallyHome is here to help.

A simple hub plugs into your ethernet port, which in turn uses your home to monitor itself. Their propriety system, named SNUPI ((Sensor Network Utilizing Powerline Infrastructure) usesthe wiring that run through your home to detect moisture, temperature, and humidity, which WallyHomehopeswilldetect costly issues before they arise.

The hub also uses the electrical wiring as a power source, which, asWallyHomesays, means the batteries in their sensors last 10+ years. In addition to the hub, nodes are placed throughout your home in various spots of concern like sinks, refrigerators, and other water-consumptive appliance or areas of concern. Best of all, you get notifications via an accompanying app or web interface if anything goes wrong.

Aside from alerting you to a flooding tragedy in your home, this has the makings of an early mold detection system. If a home becomes damaged by mold, sothe only recourse is to tear walls and other structural items out. A simple hub and a few strategically placed nodes are likely a better option that dealing with structural and health damage.

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WallyHome uses the wiring in your home to detect mold, water damage

Security gate at Little Lever retirement home fixed after six months out of action

9:52am Thursday 8th May 2014 in News By Neil Robertson, reporter

RESIDENTS at a retirement home will sleep easy in their beds now the gate to their property has been fixed.

The electronic main gate into Lever Gardens, a single-storey development consisting of flats and bungalows in Dearden Street, Little Lever, had been broken for about six months.

Bolton at Home engineers visited the property to resurface the asphalt around the gate and install underground wiring, which detects vehicles entering and leaving the premises.

And now the main gate opens and closes, meaning visitors have to either buzz themselves in or use a key fob to enter the building.

Last month, Lever Gardens residents and local activist Eric Hyde handed in a petition to Bolton at Home asking for greater security, following claims strangers and salesmen had got into the property.

Bolton at Home has now repaired the gate.

Resident, 56-year-old William Leckie, whose insurance premium on his sports car and motorbike went up when the gate was broken, said: The insurance on my Mazda MX5 and BMW sports bike went up because Lever Gardens was no longer a locked compound.

Its great that this problem has been sorted and that we feel safer in our own homes.

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Security gate at Little Lever retirement home fixed after six months out of action

A few key fundamentals for would-be smart home first-timers.

ReadWriteHomeis an ongoing series exploring the implications of living in connected homes.

If you don't already live in a smart home, odds are good that you will before long.

When that day comes, your connected residence will be like a member of the familyor, more likely, a butler. Just like Carson on Downton Abbey, your home will know when youre home or away. It will respond to your commands, or kick into high gear at your mere presence. And it will manage your lights, locks, interior climate and more, just the way you want them, with little to no prompting from you.

According to Gartner, the number of connected devices installed will increase 30-foldby 2020, from 900 million in 2009 to 26 billion units by 2020. It's an eye-catching figure, made more so by the fact that it doesn't include our favorite connected gadgetssmartphones, tablets and computers. More than anything, this speaks to the momentum of the Internet of Things (IoT) and one of its primary sub-categories: the connected home.

With IoT, connected machines and devices talk to each other, allowing for heightened levels of control, monitoring and automation. This extends to environments both public (think city infrastructure, utilities and transportation) and private (like your house and the appliances in it). Its an exciting thought. But it can also be confusing and nervewrackingparticularly for folks delving into this topic for the first time.

So we've laid out some of the major considerations for the connected home below, to give you a leg up on this emerging trend before it lands on everyone's doorstep.

The terms connected home and smart home are basically new labels for an old concept. Home automation, control and security systems have been around for decades. What separates them from todays products is, among other things, price. In the past, only the wealthy could really afford to trick out their domiciles.

While there are still plenty of expensive systems available from architects and contractorsfor prices ranging froma few thousand dollars to millionsthey're no longer the only options.Advances in wireless technology and mobile devices, as well as falling component prices, have lead to more convenient and affordable connected products.Practically all of them offer smartphone control and,even better for renters, many dont require permanent fixtures or rewiring.

This intersection of innovation and economics has led to an explosion of new smart products. (Amazon's online store even carved out adedicated home automation section, as haveHome Depotandother retailers.) Recent estimates from Juniper Research predict the smart home market will double over the next few years, from $33 billion in 2013 to $71 billion by 2018.

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5 Things To Consider Before Wiring Up Your Smart Home

Photo by Jennifer Rios

Firefighters and and a fire investigator were at the scene of a blaze that destroyed a trailer home in Grape Creek on Saturday

Photo by Jennifer Rios

Grape Creek, Quail Valley and Carlsbad volunteer fire departments responded to a fire that destroyed a trailer house in Grape Creek on Saturday afternoon.

Photo by Jennifer Rios

Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Grape Creek, Carlsbad and Quail Valley volunteer fire departments respond to a fire in the 8200 block of Mimosa Lane in Grape Creek that destroyed a trailer home and sent two people to the hospital.

A fire destroyed a trailer home in Grape Creek on Saturday afternoon.

No one was home at the time of the fire, said Tom Green County Sheriffs Deputy Rachelle Lacy, but a neighbor and a responding firefighter were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke and heat issues.

The blaze was reported shortly after 3 p.m., and the house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived, Lacy said.

Grape Creek, Quail Valley and Carlsbad volunteer fire departments responded to the scene in the 8200 block of Mimosa Drive.

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2 sent to hospital as fire guts Grape Creek home

Kent PierceUpdated: Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 12:35 pmPublished: Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 9:49 am

EAST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) An early morning fire gutted a house at the corner of Minor Road and Beach Avenue in East Haven. No one was home because the house was still under construction.

Its always a sad sight of a beautiful home ravaged by fire. The one on the beach in East Haven caught fire early Wednesday morning.

Nobody was home and firefighters forced their way in.

They opened that door and it was charged with smoke right down to the bottom. Top to bottom. Pretty good fire load on the inside, said Chief Doug Jackson, East Haven Fire Dept.

What makes the sight particularly sad is, weve seen this house before. Or at least part of it.

Last October, on the one year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, News 8 was there as the first poles were put in the ground. We came here on that anniversary because the house that had been on that spot was washed away by Sandy.

Actually picked the house up, twisted it sideways, set it back down, knocking all the pilings over and essentially twisted it, said Patrick Rowland, in October, 2013.

Patrick Rowland is the owner. He had to demolish that first house and hes spent the past six months building the new one. All the while fighting with the state and FEMA over insurance and disaster relief money. He was looking to move in in about a month.

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Home rebuilt after Sandy catches fire

Jim and Nancy Unruh closed on a new house just before Christmas vacation.

Both teachers at Carthage Middle School, they spent much of their Christmas holidays removing carpet, tearing into walls and starting remodeling projects.

Last week, during spring break, they finished moving and had Easter dinner Saturday with their family in the new house.

The Unruhs raised their family in a large, two-story house on west Main Street in Carthage. They moved across town to a one story brick home on Madison. The home was solid, but had not been lived in for several years and needed to be updated.

Major changes were made with the kitchen and surrounding area, and with bathrooms.

I knew I wanted the open concept kitchen and family area, Nancy said. Walls that formed the kitchen, dining room and a sitting room were knocked down and the area is left open for TV, dining and cooking.

We always congregate in the kitchen. I like having a window in the kitchen, she said. Im really excited about the kitchen. I love to cook and entertain.

The open area allows for windows on both sides of the space, a large picture window by the dining area, and sliding doors to the patio on the opposite side.

Nancy kept the same cabinets in the kitchen, but repainted them white.

They were good cabinets, I just didnt like the color, Nancy said. She added a new base cabinet and a large floor to ceiling pantry cupboard that matched her updated cabinets. She chose stainless steel appliances and a gas stove.

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Putting their touch on a new home, with help from friends

Bill OConnor was the guy who installed his own car stereo in high school and the kid whom teachers asked to set up the sound system.

Today, he gets to tinker, patch, design and install gadgets for a living, but the technology is more high-end as his employees at Constellation Home Electronics design, install and manage smart-home technology, from a $7,000 TV and streaming router to a whole-house system that can surpass $100,000.

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Constellation Home Electronics specializes in the high-tech home

Your home, sweet home, might be trying to kill you. Here are four silent killers that could be lurking in your home.

Poison Gases

Its a problem that affects nearly 1 in 15 homes in the U.S. and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Potentially deadly radon is a colorless, orderless gas that seeps up from the soil through cracks in the foundation when naturally occurring uranium decays. Modern homes are well insulated from the elements, which allows the gas to build up to potentially toxic levels. A radon alarm, which costs as little as $15, should be installed in the home, particularly in basements where radon is more likely to pool. Elevated radon levels are a pretty easy fix. Contact a contractor to seal up cracks in the foundation and install a ventilation system to prevent the gas from building up.

Radon isnt the only potentially deadly gas you need to worry about. Carbon monoxide occurs when burning fossil fuels, which means a CO leak can be caused by a malfunctioning heating system, a poorly ventilated barbecue or a gas-powered generator. Carbon monoxide causes more than 400 deaths each year in the U.S., and is responsible for 20,000 emergency room visits. As with radon, a simple alarm can warn you when dangerous levels of carbon monoxide start to build up in the home, and many states have started requiring these alarms to be installed alongside smoke detectors. If you alarm sounds, dont panic. Open your windows to provide ventilation, leave the home and call 911.

Garden Plants

A garden can be an idyllic green space, but it can also contain hidden dangers, particularly for curious pets and children. Unbeknownst to many gardeners, many common garden plants can be extremely toxic and even downright deadly. Castor bean plants are a common favorite with gardeners, but the plants bean contain enough of the toxin ricin to kill a small child. Water hemlock one of the most deadly plants around is a very common weed, which can easily be mistaken for edible plants such as wild carrots or water cress. Curious cats love to attack plants, but a few bites of a common lily can be enough to kill your beloved pet. If you have pets or children, double-check before planting to make sure youre not growing anything thats potentially harmful.

Old Wiring

Old home have their charms but they also harbor many dangers behind their antique walls. Knob-and-tube wiring was a common electrical setup in the late 19th and early 20th century that featured rubber and cloth insulation around the wiring. Over the years, the insulation becomes dry and brittle, exposing the bare wires a problem that is commonly seen in crawl spaces, basements or other places where the wires are out in the open. If your home was built before the 1940s, you might consider getting it checked for this old style of wiring. While an upgrade will be expensive, its a lot better than losing your house to an electrical fire.

Open Water

Backyard pools are a wonderful way to spend a sun-baked summers day, but they are also a leading cause of death for small children. Parents with small children should install a child-proof fence and gate around the pool and children should never be allowed to use the pool unsupervised. Assuming that the shallow depths make them safe for unattended play, many parents overlook the danger posed by small wading pools. But any amount of water could prove deadly for children, particularly those under the age of five. If you have a portable pool, make sure you monitor the kids while it is in use and drain it when the kids are finished playing.

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4 deadly home dangers