Selection – Page 3 – A New House

Electrical Planning – General

Do some of your power sockets look like this photo?

Next time you visit a show house have a look at the power point provision……… You would think most builders are still living in the 1950’s.

Typically you get a couple of double sockets in each room. . . . Sometimes you even see single sockets.

Thats because hardly any of the display home fittings need to work!

They do spend a bit more time on the light fittings, typically with down-light’s everywhere. (Not my favorite form of lighting. I’ve had them once and I won’t be having them again.)

However the down-lights are unlikely to be in the builders standard provision so if you do want them they will add significantly to the base cost.

In our first house, 30 years ago, when we renovated we had at least six double sockets in each of the lounge, main bedroom and kitchen. It seemed a lot when we put them in but most of them were used.

For the last two houses we have practically doubled the power point provision to make it easier to find a vacant power socket when you need it. . . . and avoid having extension cords around the house.

You will find a number of posts on Electrical Planning which provide some thoughts for planning each of the main rooms in the house.

These will help you think about what electrical work you will require when building a new house, and help you prepare for the Selection Meeting.

Although you will have gathered I am keen on upgrading the electrical provision its worth remembering each additional double socket will cost around $75. We had an extra 22 at our last house so make sure you don’t bust your budget!

More Electrical Planning including 24 pages of Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Wood For Heating – Why A Wood Heater Is Better Than An Open Fire

Although wood heating is banned in many urban areas they are still allowed in most country properties

A lot of people think that an open fire gives a better ambiance than a wood heater . . . but I much prefer a woodheater

Here’s why:

A wood heater is much more efficient which means you will burn much less wood. As well as greenhouse gas savings that means less cost, or less effort gathering wood.
One of the problems of any heater that warms the room by burning is that it needs a source of fresh air to achieve combustion……..this means drafts. The efficiency of the wood heater means that less air is required, so less drafts. Remember the fresh air is cold air sucked into the house by the burning.
Control of a wood heater is very effective so you can quickly turn it up or down. This means in winter we usually kept the heater alight from June to the end of August which saves a lot of fire lighting.
A fully loaded wood stove if turned down can burn for over 8 hours, unlike an open fire which will need more fuel every couple of hours . Great if you are going to be out all day and want a warm home to come home to.
The efficiency and effectiveness of the combustion in a room heater means that removal of ash is much less frequent, typically every couple of weeks.
No smoke around the house……especially when trying to light the fire.
Much less ash dust floating around the house.

A well designed wood heater with a large window will also give you a good view of those flames anyway.

The following link is to a page on the efficiency of various wood heaters that are available in Australia: Home Heat

More Heating thoughts and 24 pages of Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Electrical Planning – Living Rooms / Rumpus Room

Living Room, Family Room, Rumpus Room………….some houses have one room for all functions.

Bigger houses can have three separate rooms, perhaps even a Parents Retreat!.

As far as electrical planning is concerned the issues are really the same.

Entertainment

Some of the things to allow power for are;

TV,
Sound system,
Foxtel (if you are connected),
PC (for streaming)
Gaming Console.
NBN Box
Wireless Modem

To minimise the cable tangle I prefer to use a power board to the shelves or cabinet rather than plug each device separately into the wall.

With some surround system sub-woofers and rear speakers get a wireless signal or transmit through the mains rather than running speaker cables. . . If that’s the case you will need extra power sockets at the back of the room.

Wall Hung TV

If you want a wall mounted TV it is going to be much neater if you have a power socket on the wall behind the TV.

Its most likely that things like your DVD player, Foxtel, Surround Sound, etc will be in a cabinet or shelves on the floor.

You should definitely think about either getting cables pre-installed behind the plaster or at least some conduits for future installation of the cables………..The best outlet height is going to be about 1200mm above the floor as the most comfortable viewing position is straight ahead when you are sitting down.

Other

In addition to the entertainment options you should allow for some spare power outlets for things like:

Table or floor lamps
Power to gas heater or a fan heater for days when you don’t want to run the full heating system
Mobile phone charger
Laptop charger(s)
Doing the ironing while watching TV
Point for the Vacuum Cleaner

I would never put less than four double power sockets in a living room with five or six being preferred.

For similar posts see Electrical

More Electrical Planning including 24 pages of Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Plumbing – Bathrooms and Toilets

Everyone has an opinion about Toilets and Bathrooms even if they aren’t too bothered about other rooms. (I used to be involved in Airport Design. At project meetings million dollar concrete decisions used to take less than 5 minutes but when it came to a few thousand dollars for the toilets it was at least 30 minutes per meeting as everyone wanted their say)

Having said that here’s my opinions:………

Overall

After the kitchens the bathrooms are usually the next most expensive rooms.

Its worth thinking carefully about the cost of fittings as you may find very similar fitting to those you ‘Love’ at half the price.

White fittings don’t date, and are easier to match if you want to choose units from different ranges.

A floor drain is a definite for me, convenient if you have young children who like to splash in the bath and a good safeguard if you get a leak.

Ensuite

Shower – I think the days of shower trays are long gone. Having a walk in shower means you can have a larger shower, much better than the minimum size.

Wash basins I have previously posted about One Basin or Two so the only other comment is “Think carefully about what basins and mixers you need, it can add a thousand dollars or more to the cost.”

Toilets Lot of choice but look at the prices before you pick. I have seen similar looking toilets with a $500 price difference

Bidet? Well I have never had one but if you like the idea why not. A possible cheaper alternative may be one of those Japanese devices that fit on the toilet.

Bathroom

The differences between this and the En-suite are:

Bath We have always had a bath as I occasionally enjoy having a soak, and they are good for bathing children. If you are planning on getting a spa bath you are probably going to need a larger hot water service!

Shower I’m not a big fan of over the bath showers, getting in and out can be difficult, particularly for elderly visitors, so I would always go for the separate shower.

Toilet I don’t mind having the toilet in the bathroom but you may have different ideas.Do you need a separate toilet?

Washbasin – To my mind there is not much point in having a separate toilet unless it has a washbasin. If you don’t you still need to use the bathroom to wash your hands. I have known large families particularly with lots of girls to have a full vanity unit in the separate toilet, or even in an alcove near the bathroom.

More plumbing information and 24 pages of Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Electrical Planning – Bedrooms 2, 3, 4

Secondary bedrooms are usually considered less important that the main bedrooms but that doesn’t mean that the electrical planning doesn’t need to be considered.

You need to think about the different possible occupiers of the room over a wide range of years.

It might start out as a guest bedroom, or nursery. . . but may finish up as the live at home bedroom of one of those SKIPPERS (Single Kids In Parents Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings)

Perhaps you don’t want to make it too comfortable for those young adults!

Our spare bedroom is set up as a sewing room, and has our printer.

Here are a few thoughts for planning:

Next to bed, power sockets for radio alarm, phone charger, electric blanket, bedside light, on both sides.
Desk location, power sockets for computer, desk light, printer.
Other locations, power for TV, DVD player, stereo, game console, and phone charger.
Don’t forget the hair dryer.
Other cabling may include a TV Aerial Socket and possibly a data connection.

As the use of the room changes sockets may be in the wrong positions so you can’t plan exactly.

My recommendation would be to go for a minimum of four double sockets. One close to each corner.

What does your teenager have that I’ve forgotten?

For similar posts see Electrical

More Electrical Planning including Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Electrical Planning – Kitchen

I was walking around a ‘Good Guys’ electrical store last week looking at the kitchen equipment.

In addition to the items we have got there must have been 20 or 30 items we haven’t got.

For example appliances for making: bread, pies, crepes, yoghurt, popcorn, donuts, hot dogs, etc, etc.

Well here are the Appliances you will most likely need power for:

Oven and Hob. Even if they are gas you will probably need power to run the ignition system, warning lights and timers. If you go for one of those electrical commercial ranges you may need a heavy duty supply.
Range hood. Some people question them but I wouldn’t be without one, with extraction to outside!
Microwaves. We have got one but I have heard of people having two, and can understand why.
Dishwasher
Fridge
Freezer
Kettle, unless you have one of those boiling water taps
Toaster

Beyond these items its up to you what you think you will need.

In our case its:

George Foreman Grill
Slow Cooker
Coffee maker
Milk frother
Stick mixer

Non cooking items include:

Lap top charger (See Mission Control)
Phone charger
Cordless phone charger

For the worktop items you will need plenty of sockets either just under or just over the benchtops.

For fixed appliances its best to have the power inside the cupboards.

In addition to the power lighting is fairly important. We have the following:

Centrally mounted ceiling fitting for general lighting
Wall lights either side of the hob
LED downlights over the bench

What are your ‘must have items’ that’s not on my list?

For similar posts see Electrical

More Electrical Planning including 24 pages of Check Lists in the‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Electrical Planning – Garage

In my current garage I had three double power points installed. . . . which I thought was plenty.

With the amount of power needs on my workbench, including battery chargers I had to fix this power board to the wall.

What We Had Installed

I asked for double outlets at:

The corner close to where my beer fridge is, about 1m from the floor level.
Behind the shelves where my power tools are stored about 1m from the floor as a recharging station.
A low mounted point on the wall where my workbench is located.

What I Would Do Differently

Rather than the low point located behind the workbench I would have put two double points, one at either end of the workbench. They would be set above the height of the bench, say about 1200 from the floor.
Have task lighting above the workbench.
A single point on the ceiling, which would have made wiring the garage door opener in a lot easier. (We had that installed a couple of years after the build.)
An extra double 1m from the floor on the opposite side of the garage to the workbench near the main door. To run the pressure washer when cleaning the car on the drive. It’s also where I store my compressor.

Other Thoughts

Some people might suggest having a 15 Amp point installed so that I could run a heavy-duty welder.
I have seen some garages where people have a complete kitchen in the garage for things like making big batches of tomato sauce. If you had thought of this perhaps you should be looking at the kitchen post
Why not run a television aerial to the garage so you can keep an eye on the cricket when working on a project.
Have a hallway light switch in the garage so that as you go through the connecting door you can switch the hall light on.

For similar posts see Electrical

More Electrical Planning including 24 pages of Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Electrical Planning – Home Theatre

Do you want the full Home Theater Experience?

If so perhaps the dedicated Home Theater Room is the thing for you.

The electrical planning for livings room post will cover many of the aspects of the Home Theater but there are some additional points to consider.

Projectors. If you want the biggest screen projectors are the way to go. These are best mounted as high as possible to minimise any issues of throwing shadows on the screen. Ceiling mounts are fairly popular, as long as your ceiling height is adequate. Otherwise high on the back wall should be OK. Either way you should allow for a power point, and data cable runs behind the plasterboard.
Powered Screens / Curtains If you go for these they will need handy power sockets.
Alternative Lighting You may want strong lighting for general use and even things like using some of the exercise consoles. For movies a more subdued lighting, perhaps with remote dimmers is the way to go.
Media PC The home theater room will be the best location for the Media PC. As well as its own power supply the Media PC will need an incoming data line. It will also be worth installed cabling from the Media PC to any other rooms where you may want to send the signals.
Fridge. If you are watching the footy live it might be good to have some cold beers handy! Perhaps this is the location of your Beer Fridge rather than the garage!

Disclaimer

I have never bothered with a home theater myself so this post is based on researching articles and talking to a few people I know.

If there is something you think I should include please comment and I will update the page.

For similar posts see Electrical

More Electrical Planning including 24 pages of Check Lists

in the ‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Plumbing – External

All new Australian houses come with one external tap next to the water meter……..but what other external plumbing might you need?

If you are on an estate with Recycled Water you will have two meters and two taps although they will probably be next to one another.

Here some thoughts about other external plumbing:

Garden Watering

A friend of mine said he needed a tap at each corner of the building and from my experience I think he was pretty right.

Our existing house has one tap at each side and at least one more would be useful.

Ideally these taps should be supplied from either your recycled water supply, or your tank water supply.

Al Fresco / Outdoor Kitchen / Barbeque Area

Whatever you call this area at least a cold water supply will be useful.

If you have a sink, and it is near the other hot water services a hot water tap may also be worthwhile. (If its some way from the house it will probably be a waste of time as it will take too long for the hot water to come through.)

If you have a gas barbeque and you have mains gas think about extending the gas supply,

Mains Gas costs less than half the price of bottled gas and doesn’t run out in the middle of a barby.

Back Door and/or Garage Wash Basin

I usually wash my hands in the laundry trough when I come in from the garden but some swear by keeping all garden and garage dirt out of the house.

Outside Shower

I have seen a couple of examples of this where the bathroom has an external door and an outside shower.

It looks really good for summer use. . . Just make sure you have good privacy screening!

Swimming Pool

Supply for topping up, preferably rainwater.
Shower, do you want hot or are you happy just with cold.

Rainwater

See the Rainwater section of the sustainability category for more information on this subject.

What’s your most important outside plumbing?

For similar posts see Plumbing

More plumbing information and 24 pages of Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

How Much Longer For Artificial Stone?

Over the last 20 years artificial stone benchtops have become more and more popular. . . . but there is a dark side to this material.

There has been a massive rise in cases of Silicosis (260 in the last 3 years), a disease which has been linked to exposure to the dust when manufacturing and cutting stone benchtops.

What Is Silicosis?

Silicosis is lung disease which can be fatel, caused by breathing in small pieces of silica.

Silica is a mineral found in natural materials, including sand, rock, and ore.

When these materials are cut, ground, or blasted, the dust contains varying amounts of silica.

Compared to natural stone, many artificial stones contain over twice the amount of silica.

Cutting and grinding artificial stone to create benchtops thus massivly increases the risk of exposure to silica dust.

Acute silicosis can lead to weight loss and fatigue with just a few weeks of exposure.

Is A Ban Likely?

Australia has strict regulations for activities that generate silica dust.

They require the use of extraction fans, water spray systems, and respirators. helped severely reduce the prevalence of silicosis.

This sort of equipment is not however common on construction sites where the stone is installed!

Without stricter enforcement of health and safety regulations, Australia will continue to see a rise in silicosis.

There already calls for the material to be banned.

As with the asbestos ban in the late 20th century, implementing a ban on engineered stone benchtops will help save Australian lives.

In the meantime increasing public awareness of the dangers of silica dust may reduce demand for engineered stone benchtops.

Conclusion

Silicosis ris a threat to thousands of workers throughout Australia.

Until a total ban occurs consumers and businesses can help reduce exposure by selecting other materials for their kitchens.