Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 21, 2011 4:51 pm Hi Everyone, Am pretty new to this forum - so glad I found it!!!! I am hoping someone can help me out with some information about smart wiring - but note - I need this in lamens terms - I bascially dont have much of a clue about this. I can't stress this enough !!!!!!! We are about to start building in the next month into an estate that will have Opticomm fibre, Our electricals the builder has on the plan are: 2 phone ports into study (i work from home - one for the phone line, one for modem) the usual TV points in bedroom, lounge and theatre, and also a phone port into theatre ( i was told these can also be used for internet) Our needs are pretty basic - we want to obviosly have internet in the study, and foxtel into the bedroom and theatre ( maybe lounge down the track) I dont think we will be ever automating the lighting, security etc.... So I need to understand a couple of things (these points will highlight that I really dont have a clue!): 1 - The ports that the builder has added - this does not mean that there is smart wiring??? 2 - Do you think we should be requesting smartwiring? 3 - What are the pros/cons? 4 - What type of cost is involved, and are the costs through the service provider any cheaper/more expensive? We are on a very tight budget. howe much would it cost rought after we built if we decided to be smart wired? 5 - Can you still use wireless if smart wiring? Is there a modem for internet? Also - we have signed the building contract 2 weeks ago... are we able to add to these contracts if we decided to request smart wiring??? Is it a difficult process? Any additional information would be really helpful..... I have tried the good old google search, contacted Opticomm ( just got some FAQ's - could get my questions answered) Just need some genuine advice or thoughts I what I should do... Thanks folks Re: Smart Wiring - HELP!!! 2Oct 21, 2011 8:29 pm brixnmorter Hi Everyone, We are about to start building in the next month into an estate that will have Opticomm fibre, Our electricals the builder has on the plan are: 2 phone ports into study (i work from home - one for the phone line, one for modem) the usual TV points in bedroom, lounge and theatre, and also a phone port into theatre ( i was told these can also be used for internet) Ok, so your getting some extra TV points and 3 phone ports. If they have advised you can use the phone ports for internet then they must be running networking cable, which can carry either a phone signal or one for a computer. brixnmorter Our needs are pretty basic - we want to obviosly have internet in the study, and foxtel into the bedroom and theatre ( maybe lounge down the track) I dont think we will be ever automating the lighting, security etc.... So I need to understand a couple of things (these points will highlight that I really dont have a clue!): 1 - The ports that the builder has added - this does not mean that there is smart wiring??? 2 - Do you think we should be requesting smartwiring? 3 - What are the pros/cons? 4 - What type of cost is involved, and are the costs through the service provider any cheaper/more expensive? We are on a very tight budget. howe much would it cost rought after we built if we decided to be smart wired? 5 - Can you still use wireless if smart wiring? Is there a modem for internet? Also - we have signed the building contract 2 weeks ago... are we able to add to these contracts if we decided to request smart wiring??? Is it a difficult process? Any additional information would be really helpful..... I have tried the good old google search, contacted Opticomm ( just got some FAQ's - could get my questions answered) You might want to check the home theatre and automation section. I think there was a mention of running extra cables for the higher definition version of foxtel. (1) Not really, I would call that cabling (2, 3) Do you want it? You need to think about what you want, and if it makes sense to do this, and if you can afford it. I'm not in the business so I can't give you a detailed explanation. Having data points around your house and a central point for the networking equipment (for example a data cabinet which houses the equipment in a central location) would mean that you could have points around the house where you can plug a computer into the network. You can also split the incoming phone line into multiple points. I'd recommend you talk to someone who does cabling to understand what you could do with it. Let's say you have 2 points in the study, 2 points in each bedroom. And a central data cabinet in the garage. From the central cabinet you can then patch in any point in the house into the computer network / allow that point to access the internet. And you could make any point in the house a phone point *or* a data cabled point (internet access). Here are the counter points which my fiends have come up with so far, and they are valid:
Which is why I have personally chosen to do some data cabling but not to go crazy with it...mainly due to the cost. Here are the pro's from my point of view:
By this point your probably even more confused. You also come across as an average user, I'm an IT consultant so I would be likely to do something like running various computers and probably a server at home I'd recommend you get cabling to a few points, and get TV points where possible. And then setup wireless in one or two places in the house. Just my personal opinion. Also consider if you want any audio or visual cabling done. I'm getting the main room to have in-wall speakers and the TV will connect to this home theatre system... Distributed audio / video can also be done. (4) There is no cost saving, or cost expense through your service provider for having your home smart wired (or not smart wired). It simply changes how/where you access the internet within your house. If your happy to have the phone connection to the study, and the wireless modem in there, you can then access the internet from most areas of the house. In that case you wouldn't need any smart wiring at all. If you want to have a computer in each bedroom you might want smart wiring. As wireless may or may not be strong by the time you get to the last bedroom (this all depends on the size of your house / walls in-between et cetera). One of the main pro's of smart wiring is that you have the connections there in case you want to use it in the future. From the research I've done, per data point is between $80 and $130 a point. Not counting the central data cabinet / patch panels. I'm estimating that I will spend around $1400 on the cabling in my house. I have at least 2 points a room and extra points in the main room / study. I've heard that running the cables get's a lot more expensive once the walls are up as its more difficult. What you might be able to do is get the cables run but don't complete the termination (the wall plates) until you have some money. Although I'm not sure how much this would cost. (5) Yes, you can still use wireless. Yes, you still need a way to access the internet. Smart wiring only controls how to distribute internet / network access within your house. Hopefully someone can give you a better explanation. Re: Smart Wiring - HELP!!! 3Oct 23, 2011 1:09 pm WOW - Thanks Anonyuser!!!! You have exceeded yourself in helping me here.....I really appreciate the time you took to respond. I have now requested smart wiring - as you never know ho we will need to use this in the future - fyi - the builder has quoted me $2300... I would rather pay this amount the start with then a higher price down the track Again thanks I do appreciate it ! Re: Smart Wiring - HELP!!! 4Oct 23, 2011 8:27 pm $2300 for cabling the house is pretty good My first quote came in at 10K including alarm and distributed audio in 1 room! It worked out to $200 or more per cable run, and some entry level home theatre speakers (5.1 system). I've managed to find a new person (or two) and its now down to around $1500 without the alarm or anything fancy, but its enough for me to be happy with Smart Wiring - HELP!!! 5Oct 24, 2011 7:53 am Hi With a fibre to the home (FttH)solution like Opticomm (and the NBN) you don't need a modem - the service provider puts a box on the side of the house or in the garage that terminates the fibre and provides an Ethernet Internet connection. You will still need a router if you want to have more than one computer or provide a wireless signal for things in our home (laptops, iPhones etc). You can get routers at the same sort of places where you would buy a modem (JB HiF, **** Smith, office works, your local computer shop etc) - just look for a box that doesn't have a modem in it - it will have a larger Ethernet socket rather than a phone line socket. Putting in he smart wiring is a good idea, especially with FttH - it is much harder to do it once the plasterboard is up. Also, with FttH your tv and Foxtel will be delivered by the Opticomm box, so you just need a single coax cable from there to anywhere you want TV and another if you also want Foxtel at that location. The two Foxtel cables are only necessary if you have a satellite dish for Foxtel. Paul Re: Smart Wiring - HELP!!! 6Oct 24, 2011 10:54 am Thanks Paul - I am slowly getting my head around this! I ran into trouble finding a lock that would fit my particular door, like your situation with your pivot door. I wanted a safe lock that couldn't be messed with easily. 4 25613 We already paid for somfy motors for the blinds. The quote above was purely for “pre-wiring” so the blinds company can install the motors and blinds. That’s why we… 5 7754 Hi guys, Painters or anyone who has experience applying Zinsser Bin (shellac based) help and advice is appreciated I have used two thick coats of Zinsser bin to block… 0 3722 |