Above 1200 Sq/FT The Suburban Working Garage in VA...now building the Highland House in the Teton Valley

[Nolift911]

More brick updates and apparent anarchy...going rogue on the Volvo community and "ruining" E-codes.

E-codes in the Volvo community are glass Volvo headlights that we did not get in the US. More affectionally known as "TV Screens" They just need a little help with all that silver trim inside the headlight.

The Volvo 240 community is very...Seattle. I'll leave that there to percolate. It's a tough group. Out of all of the car groups I have been involved with in my 40 years, the toughest.

I am NOT messing with the reflector and there is NO light that is projected on to the silver bits.

I did a test pass - they are really easy to take apart - (I posted this in the 240 forum and got the ban hammer, called names etc.)
Clips just pop off. "what are you doing *****...*******?" Apparently you don't mess with E-codes. Who knew.

Anyway you just pop off 6 of these black clips and they come apart.



Small gasket keeps it all pressed together.





This grey part is what gets painted - nothing on the reflective parts.



Comparison - left is winner.





No E-codes were harmed in this production...



Maybe because I am getting older but I find myself using more protection these days from harmful chemicals. Is there a cleaner more modern setup that doesn't **** to wear? This is like some 80's sci-fi movie...



More to come -

 

[Nolift911]

Yeah, I understand wanting keep things simple. The Bosch dishwasher we ended up with of course connects to WIFI. My wife setup the app on her phone and I asked why bother? She said so that she can hassle our kids to empty it when the cycle is done. Fair point I suppose. There's a nice Ferguson showroom here in Richmond - no discount for me though.

Regarding the mini-fridges, I get it. We have one in our basement kitchenette setup and there have been too many time when the door gets partially left open and I need to scrape the ice of the back of it. It is nice to load up for parties though.

Someone mentioned Lutron lighting here before. Not sure what your lighting "control" plans are or even window treatments, if any since you are kinda out there with not too many neighbors. You mentioned not wanting to have things that talk to each other or automatically open and close, but Lutron makes rock solid gear in that category. I used to work for them and can't recommend their systems enough. They have everything from DIY stuff that you can buy at Home Depot for lighting and window treatments that you can order and install on your own to really high end panel driven lighting and shading systems. If you want more info, shoot me a note.

The white brick looks great. Thanks for continuing to share your adventures.

Thanks for following!!

So my builder asked the same question - "what are your lighting control plans"? I don't know is the short answer. Blend in some nice features that are not too tech heavy so I don't need a manual to turn things on and off?

Honestly with so many choices for the house I am leaning to the easiest path. Both from simplicity and cost wise.

Some things I do know - dimmers on everything, timers on the fart fans...after that? I probably don't want to work things from my phone. My builder talked about limitless options and he just installed a lighting package on a house that was $25k For switches and outlets?

I am more of a "no plastic outlet covers and no plastic light cans" and leave it at that.

I would be open to hearing the "latest and greatest - must have's though. I talk with the electrician next week and I am sure we will go over things like this. I wanted to get input on low voltage stuff too like speakers, Ethernet and cameras.

For sound pretty much set on the Sonos system - easy, simple and relatively cheap. 3 zones - kitchen/great room, garage and bedroom. I do need to figure out surround sound for the main TV in the great room. Cameras, not sure if wired or wireless - just need 4 for each corner of the house. I guess in my mind I want to set my self up for success in the future as technology changes - so if there is a wire that is good, I can adapt to the latest and greatest vs. having to dig into drywall and run wires etc. if that is required.

So I am all out of Volvo updates and Defender updates - those will continue on in Jan of 2026.

I do have M3 updates - debating on whether to post them or not - @badonk knows this all too well...

The Disco is behaving - truck not the dog. Although I think it is due for an oil change, truck not the dog.

Range Rover needed a battery. That was an odyssey. The battery was getting weak and all kinds of gremlins start to show up with a weak battery. I decided to order the same one - from Land Rover, no idea on the brand but if I can get 5 years out of a battery, sign me up again.

Here is how it showed up:







Well, that is not going to work. This feels like it weighs about as much as a 50lb plate. I cannot imagine the amount of force it takes to crush a battery. It was packed ok - surprised nothing leaked out.

Anyway need to return. So here is a new process to me that some auto part places are using. I called and they directed me to a website to file a claim. Easy enough. I file the claim and they give me a "gift-card" for the amount of what I paid including shipping, except it was minus $5 You then go through and re-order your part - except it will not take your order because you are missing $5.

Call the parts place back - "yep, understood - we will credit you the $5 back on the card so try it now...yep it works.

What in the actual *uck is that all about?

All I can imagine is the shipping insurance company provides this service for free to the parts supplier so they don't have to mess with returns and shipping companies etc. and if there is damage it cost them $5?

Anyway they didn't want the old one back so I had to lug 2, 50lb batteries to the recycler.

Installation is kinda straightforward - battery lives here in the spare tire well. I did not take a picture of the 21 inch donut, but man those have grown since the days they were introduced. I thought I could get the battery out without taking out the other garbage...I was wrong.



So that block is the air compressor - it hissed at me the whole time



These batteries are massive -



In and done -



Switching gears - what do you guys think about these?

I will need a truck, and I think these are pretty cool...F-150 stripper, short bed 4X4 with a Coyote V8. Then you throw a supercharger on it and get 700hp, lower it in the summer and raise it in the winter with snow tires?
They will operate in 2WD - so drift much? Can tow - maybe a plow on the front?

I vacillate between this or a 70's F250 Highboy.





Thanks for following -

 

[gba2331]

would be open to hearing the "latest and greatest - must have's though. I talk with the electrician next week and I am sure we will go over things like this. I wanted to get input on low voltage stuff too like speakers, Ethernet and cameras.

Take pictures of all the walls before drywall so you will know where wires and plumbing are routed.

 

[Xti04]

Merry Christmas Jeff!

 

[Nolift911]

Turning attention to the garage for some maintenance. Compressor is about 20 years old...needed some love.

Always happens when you want to use it and just get something done -





Just need to re-wire





Tired hose -





Refreshed -



Then to replace this tired carpet...



Template -



Thanks for looking -

 

[Nolift911]

Take pictures of all the walls before drywall so you will know where wires and plumbing are routed.

Yes! That is the plan - also studs for mounting things in the future...

Merry Christmas Jeff!

Thank you!! Same to you and your family! So it is about that time to head west and check the latest progress on the house. One thing I wanted to do was make a more permanent solution to the Ring cameras I have on each side of the garage.

They have lived here for about 2 years:



Long bit - drill








Plumbers putty for the bugs...






I will conceal the indoor wires on a full garage re-paint...coming soon.

 

[Nolift911]

So part of heading west is LR4 prep - yep **** it out fill it up...



One thing that needed repair was the third brake light. On the LR4 this is kind of notorious as a failure point - the seal goes bad and it leaks.

Truth be told I actually replaced this 3rd light this past summer - or so I thought. Here is the breakdown:

This could be really easy or really hard -

My old one popped right off - but - it can go sideways, like this, that looks fun eh? I feel bad for this poor chap - whoever this is.



Old and new with what I thought was the right goop to goo it on with. It is quick set windshield adhesive that the pros use...these do have an expiration date - that will be key at a later date.



Remove the old - brittle never stuck goop and re-goo the goop...



This was a 6 ******** so no pics during - just after...



So while prepping for this winter trip I happen to grab ahold of the 3rd light...and this happened. Yep popped right off - 6 months later.



Anyway back on it goes - no pics but fool me once. I picked up a fresh, date correct tube and then ensured, overnight no shenanigans. This was about a week ago.



I did manage to get it detailed and applied a fresh coat of ceramic on for the trip...festive.





Coming in heavy with 80lbs of dog food...



More to come -

 

[Nolift911]

Trip west was pretty uneventful...Disco puppy did great for 2300 miles...



Hotels were his favorite -





Scooters coffee is another favorite once we hit Nebraska - and obviously pup cups...



Rinse and repeat 4 days -



PSA - if you are ever in Cheyenne - hit the Rail Spur. Birria Tacos and a Huckleberry whiskey sour...will set you right.





Have you heard about the snow drought in the west? Yeah, here it is...between Cheyenne and Jackson Hole...



We needed to be in Jackson Hole to pick up one of the kids at the airport at 5:30. So we get to Jackson around 1 PM - should we head over Teton Pass drop dogs, gear get groceries and then head back over the pass to pick up the kid?

The avalanche warnings said no (and good thing) so we just sat at the airport parking lot with 2 labs and Buffalo Trace for 4 hours. The kid can drive so that was our DD. I think the kids call this "hot boxing"...but Buffalo Trace style.



We hit the pass around 7ish PM - this happened at around 1 AM. This was about 35 feet of slide across both lanes of the pass...WYDOT said 100 ton boulder came down with.



More to come -

 

[Krfjkm]

We just finished a custom house —- check out Juke Audio — we love it!,

https://www.jukeaudio.com/?tw_sourc...MImM2P7KrakQMVblN_AB2K7jjbEAAYASAAEgKmL_D_BwE

 

[zanyad]

Merry Christmas!

 

[Nolift911]

What's the plan for trimming out the top of the windows? They look awfully close to the underside of the trusses.

Great question - I think those are the flat roof areas under the porches - most of those are like the cantilever with flat roof so i assume the flat Luna wood just goes up against flush? I am out here so can ask the builder -

We just finished a custom house —- check out Juke Audio — we love it!,

https://www.jukeaudio.com/?tw_sourc...MImM2P7KrakQMVblN_AB2K7jjbEAAYASAAEgKmL_D_BwE

Thanks - will check it out

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!

So - all caught up! Here in the Teton Valley - lots of pics - lots of questions...

Happy Holidays to the GJ hive mind -

Glad I detailed the car... but nice to have a garage that the boxes fit in full height with no squat...



Staying in the same place as last year - hopefully in our new place by this time next year!









Managed to get out on the slopes for a few days!








Snownado!



Happy Holidays everyone - looking forward to some downtime with the family!

 

[Nolift911]

I want to install a system like this for washing "stuff" - cars, bikes, sleds etc...



Question is where?

I thought here: but builder says exterior wall and not a good spot for a hose bib...for freezing. (he will do it but buyer beware even though it will be insulated) This is the first bay where the drain is...mud room to the left.



Other option but tight on space...don't mind the gnome measuring...in between mud room and office.



3rd option is here...so that is between the office and the "shed"



I guess I just need power and water...since hose reels can reach wherever. I definitely won't be washing anything unless in the first bay with the drain. Only other option is back wall where the sink will be -



Purple Romex - anyone know what that is for - first time I have seen...its all over.



We were discussing the "Rain Screen" a few posts back - here it is...



Builder says we wrap the house like a package underneath the Luna Wood...



Builder had the exterior siding guys install some pieces of the Luna Wood, both colors and some standing seam so we could see what it looked like:



Hard to see the grey underneath the covering for the door but the stuff on the corner will eventually look like what is underneath the door. So then answering the other question for the material that ends up against the windows.



Thanks for following -

 

[Bad Mojo]

I agree with your builder, but if you like option 1 the most, something that can be done is framing a second wall in directly in front of the exterior wall so you don't loose any of your insulation value, and have the plumbing installed there. The only downside is you loose a little sqft and all those walls won't be in the same plane anymore.

 

[wvurhino]

If you do it on the exterior wall, just make it super simple to winterize. Put a second hose bib at ground level so you just turn off the water supply and open the hose bib to drain. When you need to use it, close the hose bib and turn on the water supply. Winterize when done.

Also, have hot and cold water run to there. I just rinsed off my tile tools in my driveway a few minutes ago and it was luxurious in this 36 degree Virginia rain you are missing. I will always have hot and cold hose bibs in my garage. I went simple with a Y hose to connect. https://www.lowes.com/pd/EASTMAN-12...tlet-Rubber-Washing-Machine-Connector/3546270 but there are probably more advanced mixing valves out there.

 

[bunks-tj]

If you do it on the exterior wall, just make it super simple to winterize. Put a second hose bib at ground level so you just turn off the water supply and open the hose bib to drain. When you need to use it, close the hose bib and turn on the water supply. Winterize when done.

Also, have hot and cold water run to there. I just rinsed off my tile tools in my driveway a few minutes ago and it was luxurious in this 36 degree Virginia rain you are missing. I will always have hot and cold hose bibs in my garage. I went simple with a Y hose to connect. https://www.lowes.com/pd/EASTMAN-12...tlet-Rubber-Washing-Machine-Connector/3546270 but there are probably more advanced mixing valves out there.

warm water outside is truly a gift. The New Englander in me hates that no one in VA has an outdoor shower.

 

[badonk]

Purple romex is 12/3 for 20 amp. Probably all over your garage!

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Thanks for that - I need to look into the control side of things for all things electrical. I am meeting with the builder and electrician here shortly and wanted to discuss the options for controls etc. I completely agree with "hands on". For the recessed lights I ordered a couple to get the feel of what they look like etc. and how they operate. LED lighting is all over the spectrum these days - good news is cheap and lots of performance for the dollar.

I posted a separate thread about garage lights. Still on the fence there. Operating room bright that I can dim. Pretty simple.

Here is what I went with for most of the ceiling cans - nothing crazy. My builder has installed a ton of them so no issues. I prefer the "shallow" recessed and so does my better half. The "controller" goes up in the ceiling and is selectable for color temp. I will not do these in the garage. I will need some underlighting for the loft and hoping to push the "industrial" look under the loft area (more on that later, another debacle that will cost more $$)



Under the loft the look will go like this:



I like the look of these -



Couple more updates - as part of the dry in process, the garage doors had to be closed in, along with the 2 main doors front and rear to the foyer.

My new garage doors - Fancy



Entry way for front and rear doors:



Temporary man doors installed - rear.



Front door - so the interesting part about both doors is they will be pivot doors - 10X5 so that whole area that is plywood will be a pivot door. Kinda cool to put that in perspective with a regular door. The side light is 10 foot by 2 foot. Front and rear doors will be left hand swing



So here is the start of the loft area in the garage (my new nemesis) - conversation started like this..."what finish do you want on the loft stairs?" Finish? They are supposed to be metal. What is all the wood for? Supposed to be all steel beams, steel stairs, I-beam for engine hoist...my builder was on the phone 6 seconds later...wtf?



So they had to rip all that out and I now get to pay for more expensive steel that I thought I had paid for already. Anything heavy is expensive. Here is the look I had in my head for the loft:





So that was a fun conversation...

The project is really coming along now. Just looks amazing. Sorry you are having to deal with so many missed things in the build lately. At the same time, I am a bit relieved to hear this seems to just be the standard in construction, sadly. With two of the misunderstandings you already listed so far I imagine that 15-20% overage calculation that seems to be the norm in planning might be taking a large hit. The metal beam and loft though, is going to look fantastic.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Thanks for following!!

So my builder asked the same question - "what are your lighting control plans"? I don't know is the short answer. Blend in some nice features that are not too tech heavy so I don't need a manual to turn things on and off?

Honestly with so many choices for the house I am leaning to the easiest path. Both from simplicity and cost wise.

Some things I do know - dimmers on everything, timers on the fart fans...after that? I probably don't want to work things from my phone. My builder talked about limitless options and he just installed a lighting package on a house that was $25k For switches and outlets?

I am more of a "no plastic outlet covers and no plastic light cans" and leave it at that.

I would be open to hearing the "latest and greatest - must have's though. I talk with the electrician next week and I am sure we will go over things like this. I wanted to get input on low voltage stuff too like speakers, Ethernet and cameras.

For sound pretty much set on the Sonos system - easy, simple and relatively cheap. 3 zones - kitchen/great room, garage and bedroom. I do need to figure out surround sound for the main TV in the great room. Cameras, not sure if wired or wireless - just need 4 for each corner of the house. I guess in my mind I want to set my self up for success in the future as technology changes - so if there is a wire that is good, I can adapt to the latest and greatest vs. having to dig into drywall and run wires etc. if that is required.

No zone outside on your porches? I might just like music a ton, but I have zones on both of my porches outside as well as my zones inside the house. I love sitting outside with a beer/cocktail and some light music or while grilling/smoking.

I highly recommend running ethernet for all your camera needs for the property. For a new build like yours, I would recommend a network rack somewhere to terminate everything. I would have wired backhauls to each media cabinet location as well. Double pulls to each location so you have a spare wire or replacement already pulled in case of a short down the road. Wire is cheap while things are open but a pair to repull once it is all closed up. Another note, hopefully most builders are using cat5/6 wire these for door bells but if not have them do that. Always better to have POE for doorbell cams these days that wireless. I know things run great on wireless these days but hard wire for media devices is always great. Hopefully, doing something like Ubiquiti so your APs are ceiling or wall mounted in a place like that?

 

[Xti04]

I ran cat 6 and coax all over my house when I built it. It all terminates to a network switch in my built-ins. I have no idea how to properly build out a network but it runs pretty well. I ran cat 6 for all my cams too after the house was built and that was not near as easy. Do it now while its open and save yourself the inevitable cursing and frustration of doing it post move in. My biggest regret is not running speaker wire to my porches. I am trying to come up with a whole house music setup and our current setup is using all our echo devices to sync and play music everywhere. It works ok but I want dedicated speakers without Jeff Bezos listening in on my conversations.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

I ran cat 6 and coax all over my house when I built it. It all terminates to a network switch in my built-ins. I have no idea how to properly build out a network but it runs pretty well. I ran cat 6 for all my cams too after the house was built and that was not near as easy. Do it now while its open and save yourself the inevitable cursing and frustration of doing it post move in. My biggest regret is not running speaker wire to my porches. I am trying to come up with a whole house music setup and our current setup is using all our echo devices to sync and play music everywhere. It works ok but I want dedicated speakers without Jeff Bezos listening in on my conversations.

If you have never heard of Wiim check out their products. It is like Sonos but on a budget. It uses Google Cast tech to create speaker groups. You can get both Amps that are wifi connected as as well as just input devices for existing stereos. As long as you can find some attic space above your porches, you no longer need a central hub for your speaker wire runs using their stuff. You can have the amp scattered.

 

[kgkg1]

Congrats on your (soon to be) amazing place. Having just finished a house build this spring, I have a few thoughts to share echoing what has previously been mentioned.

A flat, membrane (TPO) roof was new to me and is still a bit weird. But they are pretty standard and not as scary as I used to think.

Wire as many electrical switches as you can and use simple ones. During construction I asked about Lutron Caseta switches and Picos (the wireless remote switch) figuring it would be cheaper than pulling wire and labor for a 3-way. Nope. Maybe it will be cheaper in your case. There were a few locations where I skipped the 3-way due to placement issues with one switch. After moving in, I replaced a bunch of standard switches--both regular and 3-way--with the Lutrons and mounted the Pico where it made sense. [I use Homeassistant to control the Lutron switches which is a bonus.]

Ethernet is like the electrical switches. Put in a lot. At least 1, preferrably 2 in bedrooms--<cough>someone<cough> might decide the desk belongs on the other side of the room from the ethernet port. At least 2 in media heavy locations. You'll want to have wired backhaul for any wireless access points. And you won't know how well the wireless signal will work in the house until everything is in place--steel beams, plumbing, HVAC, oh my. Use a small switch to connect multiple devices and save the second wire for when the first fails. Cat 6 is fine. You'll be able to get up to 5Gbps for reasonable runs (up to ~90') and 10Gbps is possible (but if you need 10Gbps, you'd probably already just run fiber). Cat7 is harder to terminate and used to cost more with little advantage for home use. Almost forgot the PoE cameras and PoE doorbell camera--wires for those too.

Drainage is key. Snow piles on the ground by the house are ok as long as the water goes away from the house after that. With the snow/rain coming off the large roof pitch on the garage, make sure it has somewhere to go. Ask about additional drainage to deal with that spot in particular. Don't recall if you have a foundation drain, but a french drain along that side and a swale is probably worthwhile.

Pictures of wires/framing/plumbing/HVAC are great. But get a Matterport scan done. Matterport gives a full 3D model you can spin, zoom, walk through, and measure distances. You've probably seen similar on real estate listings https://matterport.com/industries/real-estate but seeing in the walls is amazing. Not running a screw through a water supply line 2' 4" above the floor when putting in a closet shelf is well worth the cost.


Best of luck on the rest of the build.

Karl

 

[badonk]

Congrats on your (soon to be) amazing place. Having just finished a house build this spring, I have a few thoughts to share echoing what has previously been mentioned.

A flat, membrane (TPO) roof was new to me and is still a bit weird. But they are pretty standard and not as scary as I used to think.

Wire as many electrical switches as you can and use simple ones. During construction I asked about Lutron Caseta switches and Picos (the wireless remote switch) figuring it would be cheaper than pulling wire and labor for a 3-way. Nope. Maybe it will be cheaper in your case. There were a few locations where I skipped the 3-way due to placement issues with one switch. After moving in, I replaced a bunch of standard switches--both regular and 3-way--with the Lutrons and mounted the Pico where it made sense. [I use Homeassistant to control the Lutron switches which is a bonus.]

Ethernet is like the electrical switches. Put in a lot. At least 1, preferrably 2 in bedrooms--<cough>someone<cough> might decide the desk belongs on the other side of the room from the ethernet port. At least 2 in media heavy locations. You'll want to have wired backhaul for any wireless access points. And you won't know how well the wireless signal will work in the house until everything is in place--steel beams, plumbing, HVAC, oh my. Use a small switch to connect multiple devices and save the second wire for when the first fails. Cat 6 is fine. You'll be able to get up to 5Gbps for reasonable runs (up to ~90') and 10Gbps is possible (but if you need 10Gbps, you'd probably already just run fiber). Cat7 is harder to terminate and used to cost more with little advantage for home use. Almost forgot the PoE cameras and PoE doorbell camera--wires for those too.

Drainage is key. Snow piles on the ground by the house are ok as long as the water goes away from the house after that. With the snow/rain coming off the large roof pitch on the garage, make sure it has somewhere to go. Ask about additional drainage to deal with that spot in particular. Don't recall if you have a foundation drain, but a french drain along that side and a swale is probably worthwhile.

Pictures of wires/framing/plumbing/HVAC are great. But get a Matterport scan done. Matterport gives a full 3D model you can spin, zoom, walk through, and measure distances. You've probably seen similar on real estate listings https://matterport.com/industries/real-estate but seeing in the walls is amazing. Not running a screw through a water supply line 2' 4" above the floor when putting in a closet shelf is well worth the cost.


Best of luck on the rest of the build.

Karl

Great advice…couldn’t have said it better. I had never heard of matterport until my builder sent me a link. So cool. It is sort of like google streetview for your home but with the ability to take real time measurements off the virtualized view and do other cool stuff. You can see where everything went behind the drywall.

 

[Cdubu52]

Dang Jeff, I take one week off and miss 3 pages of updates! House is looking great. I will offer one thing that we did when building our house. In your bedroom, or all bedrooms for that matter, put a bank of switches for your lights, fan, whatever you have, directly beside your bed on both sides. Its so much nicer than just having that one switch panel at the door when you walk in. No more getting out of bed to turn on a light or turn the ceiling fan on or off.

Also, no one even commented on the F150 Work Truck. I have been looking at those since they were introduced a year or so ago. I cant pull the trigger right now, but it seems like a no brainer. 5.0 Coyote with a Whipple supercharger, 4wd, all backed by the factory warranty, that you can then upgrade however you want.

Happy New Year and keep those updates coming.

 

[Nolift911]

Thanks for all of the comments - apologies if I missed some.

I agree with your builder, but if you like option 1 the most, something that can be done is framing a second wall in directly in front of the exterior wall so you don't loose any of your insulation value, and have the plumbing installed there. The only downside is you loose a little sqft and all those walls won't be in the same plane anymore.

Not a fan of a second wall for that off plane - in a fully insulated external wall plumbing what kind of temps do I need to worry about freezing?

If you do it on the exterior wall, just make it super simple to winterize. Put a second hose bib at ground level so you just turn off the water supply and open the hose bib to drain. When you need to use it, close the hose bib and turn on the water supply. Winterize when done.

Also, have hot and cold water run to there. I just rinsed off my tile tools in my driveway a few minutes ago and it was luxurious in this 36 degree Virginia rain you are missing. I will always have hot and cold hose bibs in my garage. I went simple with a Y hose to connect. https://www.lowes.com/pd/EASTMAN-12...tlet-Rubber-Washing-Machine-Connector/3546270 but there are probably more advanced mixing valves out there.

There are external hose bibs - no hot water. Will have bibs in the garage with hot and cold. Not sure I would need hot on the external parts of the house anywhere?

warm water outside is truly a gift. The New Englander in me hates that no one in VA has an outdoor shower.

I think I have that covered from the garage...but an outside shower with temps -30...even with hot water would make an awesome YouTube video.

Purple romex is 12/3 for 20 amp. Probably all over your garage!

They have not wired up the garage yet - waiting on scaffolding. I asked the electrician directly - didn't get a great answer other than differentiating multi function locations - for his helpers, but yeah 20 amp. He basically said everything in the house is 20 amp circuits.

The project is really coming along now. Just looks amazing. Sorry you are having to deal with so many missed things in the build lately. At the same time, I am a bit relieved to hear this seems to just be the standard in construction, sadly. With two of the misunderstandings you already listed so far I imagine that 15-20% overage calculation that seems to be the norm in planning might be taking a large hit. The metal beam and loft though, is going to look fantastic.

Thanks - with my setbacks I keeping thinking about you and the gyrations you went through without a driveway for so long!

No zone outside on your porches? I might just like music a ton, but I have zones on both of my porches outside as well as my zones inside the house. I love sitting outside with a beer/cocktail and some light music or while grilling/smoking.

I highly recommend running ethernet for all your camera needs for the property. For a new build like yours, I would recommend a network rack somewhere to terminate everything. I would have wired backhauls to each media cabinet location as well. Double pulls to each location so you have a spare wire or replacement already pulled in case of a short down the road. Wire is cheap while things are open but a pair to repull once it is all closed up. Another note, hopefully most builders are using cat5/6 wire these for door bells but if not have them do that. Always better to have POE for doorbell cams these days that wireless. I know things run great on wireless these days but hard wire for media devices is always great. Hopefully, doing something like Ubiquiti so your APs are ceiling or wall mounted in a place like that?

So you are like level 10 with your understanding of low voltage...I am like 1. I know exactly what I want but don't need racks etc. Speakers, couple Ethernet pulls for Wifi and TV's. If you could swing out to Driggs and spec it up I would appreciate it.

My builder is not a low voltage guy nor really is my electrician - and out here in Driggs its not like those guys are laying around - closest is likely Jackson Hole and then $$. Electrician is like I can run wires - tell me what you want? I was looking into Sonos which looks great kinda. Not sure of all of the configurations that will work with what I want. Ceiling speakers need subs - period, I know that.

I do know that after wiring up dedicated outdoor Bose speakers at my current house - they never get used. The Bose Thud Bucket sounds as good if not maybe a little better since it has a sub and I can take it wherever, upstairs on the deck, downstairs or at the hot tub - I brought it out here on this trip. There is always music on everywhere in the house.

I have a dedicated surround sound setup and my current house with 10 channel amp, tuner all wired etc. With today's tech not sure I need that. Speakers and sub is about it. I stream everything so just Pandora or Sirius.

Here is my rudimentary needs: Orange stars cameras, red circles ceiling speakers, blue boxes subs, green triangle is where everything comes back to in the control room - centralized. So for Sonos speakers are easy, zones etc, but wireless sub? And for family room and bedroom I need a TV out cable or sound is delayed. Not sure wireless subs will work over say 15 feet from centralized Sonos amps?

Cameras pretty straightforward POE back to a DVR that can hold 30 days of video for all cameras - rinse repeat.

So that is about it not really complicated by todays standards. So I guess I just need to relay to the electrician run this wire here - terminate there and I then have options...

I ran cat 6 and coax all over my house when I built it. It all terminates to a network switch in my built-ins. I have no idea how to properly build out a network but it runs pretty well. I ran cat 6 for all my cams too after the house was built and that was not near as easy. Do it now while its open and save yourself the inevitable cursing and frustration of doing it post move in. My biggest regret is not running speaker wire to my porches. I am trying to come up with a whole house music setup and our current setup is using all our echo devices to sync and play music everywhere. It works ok but I want dedicated speakers without Jeff Bezos listening in on my conversations.

I didn't even know there was cat 6 - I did the whole wired speakers on porches and my current house and like a said don't really use them as much as the Thud Bucket.

If you have never heard of Wiim check out their products. It is like Sonos but on a budget. It uses Google Cast tech to create speaker groups. You can get both Amps that are wifi connected as as well as just input devices for existing stereos. As long as you can find some attic space above your porches, you no longer need a central hub for your speaker wire runs using their stuff. You can have the amp scattered.

Have not heard of Wiim - I know of Google Cast though - you lost me at speaker wire central hub...I am single threaded.

A flat, membrane (TPO) roof was new to me and is still a bit weird. But they are pretty standard and not as scary as I used to think.

Wire as many electrical switches as you can and use simple ones. During construction I asked about Lutron Caseta switches and Picos (the wireless remote switch) figuring it would be cheaper than pulling wire and labor for a 3-way. Nope. Maybe it will be cheaper in your case. There were a few locations where I skipped the 3-way due to placement issues with one switch. After moving in, I replaced a bunch of standard switches--both regular and 3-way--with the Lutrons and mounted the Pico where it made sense. [I use Homeassistant to control the Lutron switches which is a bonus.]

Ethernet is like the electrical switches. Put in a lot. At least 1, preferrably 2 in bedrooms--<cough>someone<cough> might decide the desk belongs on the other side of the room from the ethernet port. At least 2 in media heavy locations. You'll want to have wired backhaul for any wireless access points. And you won't know how well the wireless signal will work in the house until everything is in place--steel beams, plumbing, HVAC, oh my. Use a small switch to connect multiple devices and save the second wire for when the first fails. Cat 6 is fine. You'll be able to get up to 5Gbps for reasonable runs (up to ~90') and 10Gbps is possible (but if you need 10Gbps, you'd probably already just run fiber). Cat7 is harder to terminate and used to cost more with little advantage for home use. Almost forgot the PoE cameras and PoE doorbell camera--wires for those too.

Drainage is key. Snow piles on the ground by the house are ok as long as the water goes away from the house after that. With the snow/rain coming off the large roof pitch on the garage, make sure it has somewhere to go. Ask about additional drainage to deal with that spot in particular. Don't recall if you have a foundation drain, but a french drain along that side and a swale is probably worthwhile.

Pictures of wires/framing/plumbing/HVAC are great. But get a Matterport scan done. Matterport gives a full 3D model you can spin, zoom, walk through, and measure distances. You've probably seen similar on real estate listings https://matterport.com/industries/real-estate but seeing in the walls is amazing. Not running a screw through a water supply line 2' 4" above the floor when putting in a closet shelf is well worth the cost.


Best of luck on the rest of the build.

Karl

Thanks... so Matterport - how does the peasant homeowner afford to get this done? Camera setups look like $6k?
Back hauls?

I asked about smart switches Caseta - Picos - electrician was like "I can pull anything you want for a 3 way - way cheaper than that tech.

Great advice…couldn’t have said it better. I had never heard of matterport until my builder sent me a link. So cool. It is sort of like google streetview for your home but with the ability to take real time measurements off the virtualized view and do other cool stuff. You can see where everything went behind the drywall.

See above -

Dang Jeff, I take one week off and miss 3 pages of updates! House is looking great. I will offer one thing that we did when building our house. In your bedroom, or all bedrooms for that matter, put a bank of switches for your lights, fan, whatever you have, directly beside your bed on both sides. Its so much nicer than just having that one switch panel at the door when you walk in. No more getting out of bed to turn on a light or turn the ceiling fan on or off.

Also, no one even commented on the F150 Work Truck. I have been looking at those since they were introduced a year or so ago. I cant pull the trigger right now, but it seems like a no brainer. 5.0 Coyote with a Whipple supercharger, 4wd, all backed by the factory warranty, that you can then upgrade however you want.

Happy New Year and keep those updates coming.

Thanks - yeah so I take this "downtime" to catch up - we are actually leaving tomorrow Jan 1 for the drive back to VA. Back home will be a grind once we get there, need to make 2026 rain.

My head is dizzy with questions and options from the electrician. One thing I did learn is that two lifts in Teton County is a no go - well you can do it but then you are "Commercial" which as you can imagine opens up pandoras box of hurdles with inspections and code etc. so just between us chickens I have one lift .

Outlet placement - switch placement etc. One thing we did do is wire up dedicated reading lights on dimmers in a number of bedrooms so that helps with "beside your bed". Also put them on both reading nooks in the hallway.

So I saw this out here after hopping off the slopes in Jackson...I follow these guys on Facebook Kinser Chassis - not sure if they are on here, they drove this Silver Bullet from PA to Jackson. No funds for a truck now either but the F150 or this...? I know you are a Ford guy.



More to come -

 

[Bad Mojo]

@Nolift911 I get not wanting unequal walls or doing the more extreme thing of framing in front of all them. To the comment about it is being a full insulated wall. While that is true statement once you add the pipe in the middle of the framing you no longer having the benefit of a fully insulated wall because you only have half the amount of insulation between the pipe and the outside.

Without a wall section I can't speak to your insulation values in that wall, but from a best practice perspective I agree with your builder. Now with that said, your inspiration photo showed using externally mounted pipe between the pressure washer and the reel. What is your thought on running the same material down along the wall from the ceiling? I am assuming the attic space is warm enough and not posing the same questions like the exterior wall.

 

[fourmotioneer]

No idea how homes work, but if the house bib topic is more of a pipe freezing (as opposed to home insulation compromise) issue, are there any residential heat trace products for the piping?

I like your low tech approach on the entertainment topics. We use powerline for our network and WiFi to our two Apple TVs in a 5500 sqf home. Unless AV is a hobby
(it’s a huge hobby on GJ apparently) should be fine.

Curious what you’re doing for water softener etc. Our system is pretty loud and cycles the sump pump when it regenerates. Might want to either buy a quiet system if softening is required or insulate for sound. And, think about where you want to store salt

 

[badonk]

There are external hose bibs - no hot water. Will have bibs in the garage with hot and cold. Not sure I would need hot on the external parts of the house anywhere?

Thanks... so Matterport - how does the peasant homeowner afford to get this done? Camera setups look like $6k?
Back hauls?

For outside hot water hose bibs, I say better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Not a huge expense to add. I’m told it is nice to have hot water near the hot tub for quicker filling.

Not sure how I ended up with matterport. Either my builder had the gear already or they subd it out to someone. It seems like it is used in a bunch of different ways (realtors use for virtual walkthroughs and to build floor plans for listings). So it may be something that’s available out of Jackson.

Curious what you’re doing for water softener etc. Our system is pretty loud and cycles the sump pump when it regenerates. Might want to either buy a quiet system if softening is required or insulate for sound. And, think about where you want to store salt

Two things about water. 1 - get a water test so you know what you are working with. Just got mine back last week and now putting together a plan. 2 - I hate the salt based systems and there are apparently alternatives that use carbon filtration etc. I have no idea which is better or if these are even effective. One supplier suggested the EWS spectrum v2 for my house. The canister lasts about 10 years and then gets replaced. Based on my tests I’ll probably also add a UV filter but I’ll be avoiding anything that requires salt refills.

 

[kgkg1]

Thanks... so Matterport - how does the peasant homeowner afford to get this done? Camera setups look like $6k?
Back hauls?

I asked about smart switches Caseta - Picos - electrician was like "I can pull anything you want for a 3 way - way cheaper than that tech.

Sorry, looks like Matterport changed their website since I was seriously looking into it. They used to have direct links to people that were offering the scanning services. A google search for 'matterport scanning near me' or your specific location should bring up a number of hits for people who will come and do the scans. My builder was already connected with someone to do the scanning, but it can be done with an iPhone. Worst case, you could ask a local realtor who they use--same scan just different timing.

Back haul is just an ethernet cable run to where you think you'll need a wireless access point. There are wireless mesh systems which connect the access points wirelessly. Nobody wants that.

Easy enough to "upgrade" the light switches to something smarter at a later time. For me, the real benefit was the locations where placing one of the 3-way switches was problematic. I just had the electrician put in a single switch and planned to swap in a Caseta and Pico remote switch (which either can sit in an electrical box like any other switch or just stick on the finished wall where needed). The Picos can just sit on your night stand too. I could have had the electrician put in the Casetas, but I'm cheap.

As Bad Mojo and your builder say, I wouldn't put the water supply for the garage wash station in an exterior wall. But I grew up in Wisconsin where no plumbing ran in exterior walls. Hose bibs go through the exterior wall but get shut off and drained in the winter. For something you will use during the winter, I'd want to keep the supply lines somewhere warm--so in the wall by the mudroom/office.

Cheers.

 

[legenddc]

If I can be completely honest here, I'm a little jealous of how well others have been able to spend your money and I'd like to join in. Have you seen the power outlets that can be installed in drawers?

I'm putting one into the built-in cabinets I'm currently making so we can have a spot to charge our phones, headphones, etc. without taking up countertop or desktop space. They also seem useful to put in a bathroom cabinet to charge razors, toothbrushes or hair dryers.

Hope the drive back is uneventful!

 

[Clemson13]

No zone outside on your porches? I might just like music a ton, but I have zones on both of my porches outside as well as my zones inside the house. I love sitting outside with a beer/cocktail and some light music or while grilling/smoking.

I highly recommend running ethernet for all your camera needs for the property. For a new build like yours, I would recommend a network rack somewhere to terminate everything. I would have wired backhauls to each media cabinet location as well. Double pulls to each location so you have a spare wire or replacement already pulled in case of a short down the road. Wire is cheap while things are open but a pair to repull once it is all closed up. Another note, hopefully most builders are using cat5/6 wire these for door bells but if not have them do that. Always better to have POE for doorbell cams these days that wireless. I know things run great on wireless these days but hard wire for media devices is always great. Hopefully, doing something like Ubiquiti so your APs are ceiling or wall mounted in a place like that?

@Nolift911
Please, please, please listen to cccoltsicehockey in relation to the best approach for Wifi Access points, ethernet drops, & security cameras.
Find a place you can centralize your networking, have the ISP fiber/cable (or cable for your starlink) run to this location during construction, run multiple ethernet (Hardwired) drops from camera locations, access points, media center/tvs etc to the networking location. Do not skip the ethernet drop for your doorbell, you can run a traditional doorbell over it OR you can get an ethernet doorbell/camera (Today or down the road) that will be bulletproof reliable thanks to being hardwired. You don't have to utilize every Ethernet drop right away (or ever), but Cat 6 ethernet cable is CHEAP and easy to run & terminate NOW, when in doubt, run more. Trying to improve poor network infrastructure down the road? HUGE headache.


Its not that you need to be into networking as a hobby, this is just a fantastic way to install flexible, robust infrastructure for you home without much effort or cost as you are still in the construction phase. When you're enjoying your highly reliable network (that you forget about) or troubleshooting internet / camera / networking issues or want to add new devices you with be very thankful that you A: hardwired everything B: ran it all to a central networking location.
There is a reason that businesses operate in this manner.

I also second the Ubiquity gear. Get an NVR, a switch, & a firewall/router like the UDM pro & 3-4 Access points you will be set. The Ubiquity user interface is far and above the best out there for the NVR side & networking side.

Edit: went back to one of your floorplans from earlier, I bet wifi access points at these locations would cover your whole house, shop, and patio. Looks like you have a lot of walls with stone/concrete/ steel/ infrastructure / cabinets etc that will all kill wifi signal so I would likely do 4 AP in something like the below layout, your worst WIFI performance with that layout would likely be in the central mechanical room which seems reasonable. I have 4 APs covering my 2400sq ft house, patio, & 1800sqft of shop/garage

 

[Xti04]

If I can be completely honest here, I'm a little jealous of how well others have been able to spend your money and I'd like to join in. Have you seen the power outlets that can be installed in drawers?

I'm putting one into the built-in cabinets I'm currently making so we can have a spot to charge our phones, headphones, etc. without taking up countertop or desktop space. They also seem useful to put in a bathroom cabinet to charge razors, toothbrushes or hair dryers.

Hope the drive back is uneventful!

I installed a drawer power outlet for my wife last year in her nightstand. Finding one without a curly pigtail style of wiring was what made hers work. The pigtail dtyle would prevent the drawer from closing completely. Easy to install, might be a bit more complex installing into a cabinet drawer, but nothing that cant be planned for at this stage.

 

[ericm]

For our 2300 sq ft house I have just the main wifi router and one satellite. The other satellite is in the apartment above the detached garage. I'm using Orbi 770 gear which is good but not the top of the line. There's a wired backhaul to the satellite in the house but not the one in the apartment. On that one we see slightly lower performance on speedtest but it's maybe 10% less at most, and it's still way faster than we need.

 

[badonk]

Another thumbsup for Ubiquiti. That's what is going into my house. They have a 'design center' website that allows you to upload a schematic, draw in the walls/windows, place access points, and ultimately predict signal strength. This is showing 5Ghz and green is good. So much runs on 2.4Ghz these days but anything important should run on 5 or 6Ghz. Mine isn't fired up yet so I have yet to see if their design site predictions are any good. You can place their different cameras as well and see what sort of coverage you get.

I also had a Ubiquiti consultant review my design and make some suggestions. My original design had one less AP but in a new build, he suggested moving them a bit and adding a third on the main floor.

 

[jake28]

@Nolift911

- garage plumbing: I faced the same exterior wall issue. I just surface mounted my water lines. Copper pipe. No drama. Looks good.

- WiFi: it ranks on the bottom third of ways I like to spend my time. Painting walls and fixing water heaters sit higher on the list. So another hearty +1 for the Ubiquiti gear. A buddy’s father spent a weekend redoing my house with Ubiquiti APs and I’ve not touched them or thought about them in a year. There is a handy dandy app that I never use that tells me things are working. Best analogy I can offer: it’s the difference between modern fuel injection and vintage Porsche carbs. You can certainly dial in the carbs, but there is always the lingering question of what is going to get gummed up and where. The Ubiquiti is fuel injection. You can do custom maps and eke out that last 5%, or just run stock and drive your WiFi into the sunset.

Electrical: push your sparky for an additional perspective, or ask him whom he would go to for advice. “I just pull wire where you tell me to” does not sow the seeds of confidence. Or DM me and I’ll hook you up with a consult with my architect on retainer.

 

[fouckhest]

Those Recardos in the front of the brick!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, house is looking awesome!

 

[jake28]

Oops, double post. Apologies.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Thanks for all of the comments - apologies if I missed some.



Not a fan of a second wall for that off plane - in a fully insulated external wall plumbing what kind of temps do I need to worry about freezing?



There are external hose bibs - no hot water. Will have bibs in the garage with hot and cold. Not sure I would need hot on the external parts of the house anywhere?



I think I have that covered from the garage...but an outside shower with temps -30...even with hot water would make an awesome YouTube video.



They have not wired up the garage yet - waiting on scaffolding. I asked the electrician directly - didn't get a great answer other than differentiating multi function locations - for his helpers, but yeah 20 amp. He basically said everything in the house is 20 amp circuits.



Thanks - with my setbacks I keeping thinking about you and the gyrations you went through without a driveway for so long!



So you are like level 10 with your understanding of low voltage...I am like 1. I know exactly what I want but don't need racks etc. Speakers, couple Ethernet pulls for Wifi and TV's. If you could swing out to Driggs and spec it up I would appreciate it.

My builder is not a low voltage guy nor really is my electrician - and out here in Driggs its not like those guys are laying around - closest is likely Jackson Hole and then $$. Electrician is like I can run wires - tell me what you want? I was looking into Sonos which looks great kinda. Not sure of all of the configurations that will work with what I want. Ceiling speakers need subs - period, I know that.

I do know that after wiring up dedicated outdoor Bose speakers at my current house - they never get used. The Bose Thud Bucket sounds as good if not maybe a little better since it has a sub and I can take it wherever, upstairs on the deck, downstairs or at the hot tub - I brought it out here on this trip. There is always music on everywhere in the house.

I have a dedicated surround sound setup and my current house with 10 channel amp, tuner all wired etc. With today's tech not sure I need that. Speakers and sub is about it. I stream everything so just Pandora or Sirius.

Here is my rudimentary needs: Orange stars cameras, red circles ceiling speakers, blue boxes subs, green triangle is where everything comes back to in the control room - centralized. So for Sonos speakers are easy, zones etc, but wireless sub? And for family room and bedroom I need a TV out cable or sound is delayed. Not sure wireless subs will work over say 15 feet from centralized Sonos amps?

Cameras pretty straightforward POE back to a DVR that can hold 30 days of video for all cameras - rinse repeat.

So that is about it not really complicated by todays standards. So I guess I just need to relay to the electrician run this wire here - terminate there and I then have options...





I didn't even know there was cat 6 - I did the whole wired speakers on porches and my current house and like a said don't really use them as much as the Thud Bucket.



Have not heard of Wiim - I know of Google Cast though - you lost me at speaker wire central hub...I am single threaded.



Thanks... so Matterport - how does the peasant homeowner afford to get this done? Camera setups look like $6k?
Back hauls?

I asked about smart switches Caseta - Picos - electrician was like "I can pull anything you want for a 3 way - way cheaper than that tech.



See above -



Thanks - yeah so I take this "downtime" to catch up - we are actually leaving tomorrow Jan 1 for the drive back to VA. Back home will be a grind once we get there, need to make 2026 rain.

My head is dizzy with questions and options from the electrician. One thing I did learn is that two lifts in Teton County is a no go - well you can do it but then you are "Commercial" which as you can imagine opens up pandoras box of hurdles with inspections and code etc. so just between us chickens I have one lift .

Outlet placement - switch placement etc. One thing we did do is wire up dedicated reading lights on dimmers in a number of bedrooms so that helps with "beside your bed". Also put them on both reading nooks in the hallway.

So I saw this out here after hopping off the slopes in Jackson...I follow these guys on Facebook Kinser Chassis - not sure if they are on here, they drove this Silver Bullet from PA to Jackson. No funds for a truck now either but the F150 or this...? I know you are a Ford guy.



More to come -

I would be more than happy to fly out to Driggs and get a design done for you. Give me about a month to clear my schedule and let me know where to send my travel expenses.

You don't have to have an equipment rack but it definitely helps for organization or equipment. I believe there is even a third party that makes rack mount kits for the Sonos Amps you will use for your speaker zones. The main reason I did speakers everywhere is I quickly got sick of moving bluetooth speakers around. Maybe that is lazy but with doing so much automation in the rest of the house with the smart home it kind of went hand and hand in my mind. You are correct a lot of speakers lack a good full sound. I tried 3 differnt brands before I found one I was happy with. The Definitive Technology ones have an extra bass radiator you aim at the mounting surface to bounch off and act to increase it. For your other zones, if you have not picked in ceiling speakers I can't recommend these enough. They are huge but they have the most bass of any in ceiling speaker I have ever heard. They have jumped substantially in price since I bought them 18 months ago it seems.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_452R103/OSD-Black-Series-R103.html?tp=193

When I referred to a central hub, I just meant running all your speaker cables back to the same location as your network cables and camera cables instead of having the amp for them in each room the speakers are in.

Regarding subwoofers. I know most if not all of your walls are concrete or glass so probably not an option. However, if you have a wall that is going to be drywall or a wood accent wall the Sonos Amps actually do have a sub out so you could do a wired in wall subwoofer. In wall subs have come a long way and there are actually some really good ones available now. You can get rack mount amps that could go in a larger rack in the utility room where the camera and network cables terminate as well.

Happy to help answer any other questions or throw out solution ideas if needed.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

@Nolift911
Please, please, please listen to cccoltsicehockey in relation to the best approach for Wifi Access points, ethernet drops, & security cameras.
Find a place you can centralize your networking, have the ISP fiber/cable (or cable for your starlink) run to this location during construction, run multiple ethernet (Hardwired) drops from camera locations, access points, media center/tvs etc to the networking location. Do not skip the ethernet drop for your doorbell, you can run a traditional doorbell over it OR you can get an ethernet doorbell/camera (Today or down the road) that will be bulletproof reliable thanks to being hardwired. You don't have to utilize every Ethernet drop right away (or ever), but Cat 6 ethernet cable is CHEAP and easy to run & terminate NOW, when in doubt, run more. Trying to improve poor network infrastructure down the road? HUGE headache.


Its not that you need to be into networking as a hobby, this is just a fantastic way to install flexible, robust infrastructure for you home without much effort or cost as you are still in the construction phase. When you're enjoying your highly reliable network (that you forget about) or troubleshooting internet / camera / networking issues or want to add new devices you with be very thankful that you A: hardwired everything B: ran it all to a central networking location.
There is a reason that businesses operate in this manner.

I also second the Ubiquity gear. Get an NVR, a switch, & a firewall/router like the UDM pro & 3-4 Access points you will be set. The Ubiquity user interface is far and above the best out there for the NVR side & networking side.

Edit: went back to one of your floorplans from earlier, I bet wifi access points at these locations would cover your whole house, shop, and patio. Looks like you have a lot of walls with stone/concrete/ steel/ infrastructure / cabinets etc that will all kill wifi signal so I would likely do 4 AP in something like the below layout, your worst WIFI performance with that layout would likely be in the central mechanical room which seems reasonable. I have 4 APs covering my 2400sq ft house, patio, & 1800sqft of shop/garage

Another thumbsup for Ubiquiti. That's what is going into my house. They have a 'design center' website that allows you to upload a schematic, draw in the walls/windows, place access points, and ultimately predict signal strength. This is showing 5Ghz and green is good. So much runs on 2.4Ghz these days but anything important should run on 5 or 6Ghz. Mine isn't fired up yet so I have yet to see if their design site predictions are any good. You can place their different cameras as well and see what sort of coverage you get.

I also had a Ubiquiti consultant review my design and make some suggestions. My original design had one less AP but in a new build, he suggested moving them a bit and adding a third on the main floor.

@Nolift911

- garage plumbing: I faced the same exterior wall issue. I just surface mounted my water lines. Copper pipe. No drama. Looks good.

- WiFi: it ranks on the bottom third of ways I like to spend my time. Painting walls and fixing water heaters sit higher on the list. So another hearty +1 for the Ubiquiti gear. A buddy’s father spent a weekend redoing my house with Ubiquiti APs and I’ve not touched them or thought about them in a year. There is a handy dandy app that I never use that tells me things are working. Best analogy I can offer: it’s the difference between modern fuel injection and vintage Porsche carbs. You can certainly dial in the carbs, but there is always the lingering question of what is going to get gummed up and where. The Ubiquiti is fuel injection. You can do custom maps and eke out that last 5%, or just run stock and drive your WiFi into the sunset.

Electrical: push your sparky for an additional perspective, or ask him whom he would go to for advice. “I just pull wire where you tell me to” does not sow the seeds of confidence. Or DM me and I’ll hook you up with a consult with my architect on retainer.

I want to highlight the posts about Ubiquiti but focus on a single point made. You just get to forget about it. If for no other reason this is the biggest reason to use them. I had what I considered a fairly reliable network before it. I was using two high end pro summer routers one in AP mode to extend coverage. It was great and fast. But to keep it at its best I had a scheduled automation task to reboot things once a quarter.

Since going to Ubiquiti during COVID when I starting working from home. I literally only mess with my network if I feel like tinkering. Otherwise I can go forever without touching it if I want. It just works. Because of this I have installed it at both of my parents homes which has resulted in me having zero work for network related issue since.

I promise I do not work for Ubiquiti or get any kickbacks for what seems like a sales pitch. It is just a product that works the way you hope it does. Think of it as the Apple of the network world. The company actually was started by an ex Apple Engineer anyways.

 

[Nolift911]

@Nolift911 I get not wanting unequal walls or doing the more extreme thing of framing in front of all them. To the comment about it is being a full insulated wall. While that is true statement once you add the pipe in the middle of the framing you no longer having the benefit of a fully insulated wall because you only have half the amount of insulation between the pipe and the outside.

Without a wall section I can't speak to your insulation values in that wall, but from a best practice perspective I agree with your builder. Now with that said, your inspiration photo showed using externally mounted pipe between the pressure washer and the reel. What is your thought on running the same material down along the wall from the ceiling? I am assuming the attic space is warm enough and not posing the same questions like the exterior wall.

Thanks - Running from the ceiling is an option. As much as I am trying to make the garage space as "aesthetically" appealing as the rest of the house I will likely lose that battle on some fronts by definition.

No idea how homes work, but if the house bib topic is more of a pipe freezing (as opposed to home insulation compromise) issue, are there any residential heat trace products for the piping?

I like your low tech approach on the entertainment topics. We use powerline for our network and WiFi to our two Apple TVs in a 5500 sqf home. Unless AV is a hobby
(it’s a huge hobby on GJ apparently) should be fine.

Curious what you’re doing for water softener etc. Our system is pretty loud and cycles the sump pump when it regenerates. Might want to either buy a quiet system if softening is required or insulate for sound. And, think about where you want to store salt

They are going to be utilizing heat trace elements in certain areas of the roofs, rain chains etc. so theoretically you could use that here. Again with a warm water feed in that wall I still can't imagine the temps it would need to get to to freeze. The slab will always be at least 50ish more like 60ish when I am there...which I would assume would keep the wall warm by residual heat?

For outside hot water hose bibs, I say better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Not a huge expense to add. I’m told it is nice to have hot water near the hot tub for quicker filling.

Not sure how I ended up with matterport. Either my builder had the gear already or they subd it out to someone. It seems like it is used in a bunch of different ways (realtors use for virtual walkthroughs and to build floor plans for listings). So it may be something that’s available out of Jackson.



Two things about water. 1 - get a water test so you know what you are working with. Just got mine back last week and now putting together a plan. 2 - I hate the salt based systems and there are apparently alternatives that use carbon filtration etc. I have no idea which is better or if these are even effective. One supplier suggested the EWS spectrum v2 for my house. The canister lasts about 10 years and then gets replaced. Based on my tests I’ll probably also add a UV filter but I’ll be avoiding anything that requires salt refills.

Need to get water tested. For hot bibs I can see the use near the hot tub for refills - but other areas? Anything I will be doing/needing hot water for, cleaning etc. will be in the garage area front of house so not sure where else I would need hot bibs.

Not a fan of "soft" aka slimy water but need to figure out my Ph status...

Sorry, looks like Matterport changed their website since I was seriously looking into it. They used to have direct links to people that were offering the scanning services. A google search for 'matterport scanning near me' or your specific location should bring up a number of hits for people who will come and do the scans. My builder was already connected with someone to do the scanning, but it can be done with an iPhone. Worst case, you could ask a local realtor who they use--same scan just different timing.

Back haul is just an ethernet cable run to where you think you'll need a wireless access point. There are wireless mesh systems which connect the access points wirelessly. Nobody wants that.

Easy enough to "upgrade" the light switches to something smarter at a later time. For me, the real benefit was the locations where placing one of the 3-way switches was problematic. I just had the electrician put in a single switch and planned to swap in a Caseta and Pico remote switch (which either can sit in an electrical box like any other switch or just stick on the finished wall where needed). The Picos can just sit on your night stand too. I could have had the electrician put in the Casetas, but I'm cheap.

As Bad Mojo and your builder say, I wouldn't put the water supply for the garage wash station in an exterior wall. But I grew up in Wisconsin where no plumbing ran in exterior walls. Hose bibs go through the exterior wall but get shut off and drained in the winter. For something you will use during the winter, I'd want to keep the supply lines somewhere warm--so in the wall by the mudroom/office.

Cheers.

So there is hot/cold running in the slab to the back of the garage - only drawback is water will never be cold/cold will always be temp of slab...don't really see that being an issue - summer or winter.

If I can be completely honest here, I'm a little jealous of how well others have been able to spend your money and I'd like to join in. Have you seen the power outlets that can be installed in drawers?

I'm putting one into the built-in cabinets I'm currently making so we can have a spot to charge our phones, headphones, etc. without taking up countertop or desktop space. They also seem useful to put in a bathroom cabinet to charge razors, toothbrushes or hair dryers.

Hope the drive back is uneventful!

Yep - got those configured in for kitchen, master bath - cabinet drawings should be coming soon.

@Nolift911
Please, please, please listen to cccoltsicehockey in relation to the best approach for Wifi Access points, ethernet drops, & security cameras.
Find a place you can centralize your networking, have the ISP fiber/cable (or cable for your starlink) run to this location during construction, run multiple ethernet (Hardwired) drops from camera locations, access points, media center/tvs etc to the networking location. Do not skip the ethernet drop for your doorbell, you can run a traditional doorbell over it OR you can get an ethernet doorbell/camera (Today or down the road) that will be bulletproof reliable thanks to being hardwired. You don't have to utilize every Ethernet drop right away (or ever), but Cat 6 ethernet cable is CHEAP and easy to run & terminate NOW, when in doubt, run more. Trying to improve poor network infrastructure down the road? HUGE headache.


Its not that you need to be into networking as a hobby, this is just a fantastic way to install flexible, robust infrastructure for you home without much effort or cost as you are still in the construction phase. When you're enjoying your highly reliable network (that you forget about) or troubleshooting internet / camera / networking issues or want to add new devices you with be very thankful that you A: hardwired everything B: ran it all to a central networking location.
There is a reason that businesses operate in this manner.

I also second the Ubiquity gear. Get an NVR, a switch, & a firewall/router like the UDM pro & 3-4 Access points you will be set. The Ubiquity user interface is far and above the best out there for the NVR side & networking side.

Edit: went back to one of your floorplans from earlier, I bet wifi access points at these locations would cover your whole house, shop, and patio. Looks like you have a lot of walls with stone/concrete/ steel/ infrastructure / cabinets etc that will all kill wifi signal so I would likely do 4 AP in something like the below layout, your worst WIFI performance with that layout would likely be in the central mechanical room which seems reasonable. I have 4 APs covering my 2400sq ft house, patio, & 1800sqft of shop/garage

I hear you and thanks for the info - I have been all things Ubiquiti here over the last few days...lots of questions.

For our 2300 sq ft house I have just the main wifi router and one satellite. The other satellite is in the apartment above the detached garage. I'm using Orbi 770 gear which is good but not the top of the line. There's a wired backhaul to the satellite in the house but not the one in the apartment. On that one we see slightly lower performance on speedtest but it's maybe 10% less at most, and it's still way faster than we need.

I installed a drawer power outlet for my wife last year in her nightstand. Finding one without a curly pigtail style of wiring was what made hers work. The pigtail dtyle would prevent the drawer from closing completely. Easy to install, might be a bit more complex installing into a cabinet drawer, but nothing that cant be planned for at this stage.

Good idea.

Another thumbsup for Ubiquiti. That's what is going into my house. They have a 'design center' website that allows you to upload a schematic, draw in the walls/windows, place access points, and ultimately predict signal strength. This is showing 5Ghz and green is good. So much runs on 2.4Ghz these days but anything important should run on 5 or 6Ghz. Mine isn't fired up yet so I have yet to see if their design site predictions are any good. You can place their different cameras as well and see what sort of coverage you get.

I also had a Ubiquiti consultant review my design and make some suggestions. My original design had one less AP but in a new build, he suggested moving them a bit and adding a third on the main floor.

Yep jumping onboard but lots of questions - like physical alarm security and speakers - why don't they have all in one?

@Nolift911

- garage plumbing: I faced the same exterior wall issue. I just surface mounted my water lines. Copper pipe. No drama. Looks good.

- WiFi: it ranks on the bottom third of ways I like to spend my time. Painting walls and fixing water heaters sit higher on the list. So another hearty +1 for the Ubiquiti gear. A buddy’s father spent a weekend redoing my house with Ubiquiti APs and I’ve not touched them or thought about them in a year. There is a handy dandy app that I never use that tells me things are working. Best analogy I can offer: it’s the difference between modern fuel injection and vintage Porsche carbs. You can certainly dial in the carbs, but there is always the lingering question of what is going to get gummed up and where. The Ubiquiti is fuel injection. You can do custom maps and eke out that last 5%, or just run stock and drive your WiFi into the sunset.

Electrical: push your sparky for an additional perspective, or ask him whom he would go to for advice. “I just pull wire where you tell me to” does not sow the seeds of confidence. Or DM me and I’ll hook you up with a consult with my architect on retainer.

Yeah sparky is old school - no offense to him but I just need to have someone be like "have you thought of this and that" Drinking the Ubiquiti kool aid but again wish there was an all in one solution - simple.

Those Recardos in the front of the brick!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, house is looking awesome!

Thanks! Slow progress for sure -

Oops, double post. Apologies.

Missed it -

I would be more than happy to fly out to Driggs and get a design done for you. Give me about a month to clear my schedule and let me know where to send my travel expenses.

You don't have to have an equipment rack but it definitely helps for organization or equipment. I believe there is even a third party that makes rack mount kits for the Sonos Amps you will use for your speaker zones. The main reason I did speakers everywhere is I quickly got sick of moving bluetooth speakers around. Maybe that is lazy but with doing so much automation in the rest of the house with the smart home it kind of went hand and hand in my mind. You are correct a lot of speakers lack a good full sound. I tried 3 differnt brands before I found one I was happy with. The Definitive Technology ones have an extra bass radiator you aim at the mounting surface to bounch off and act to increase it. For your other zones, if you have not picked in ceiling speakers I can't recommend these enough. They are huge but they have the most bass of any in ceiling speaker I have ever heard. They have jumped substantially in price since I bought them 18 months ago it seems.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_452R103/OSD-Black-Series-R103.html?tp=193

When I referred to a central hub, I just meant running all your speaker cables back to the same location as your network cables and camera cables instead of having the amp for them in each room the speakers are in.

Regarding subwoofers. I know most if not all of your walls are concrete or glass so probably not an option. However, if you have a wall that is going to be drywall or a wood accent wall the Sonos Amps actually do have a sub out so you could do a wired in wall subwoofer. In wall subs have come a long way and there are actually some really good ones available now. You can get rack mount amps that could go in a larger rack in the utility room where the camera and network cables terminate as well.

Happy to help answer any other questions or throw out solution ideas if needed.

So the Ubiquiti stuff is pretty straightforward but - in terms of drops at my TV's, I wanted them all hardwired - not a fan of the wireless in the TV's (even the latest ones) Then there is the surround for the TV in the main family room - that is also connected to the SONOS system, which not sure how that works or what needs to be wired for a sub. I heard there can be a delay with that and TV?

I want to highlight the posts about Ubiquiti but focus on a single point made. You just get to forget about it. If for no other reason this is the biggest reason to use them. I had what I considered a fairly reliable network before it. I was using two high end pro summer routers one in AP mode to extend coverage. It was great and fast. But to keep it at its best I had a scheduled automation task to reboot things once a quarter.

Since going to Ubiquiti during COVID when I starting working from home. I literally only mess with my network if I feel like tinkering. Otherwise I can go forever without touching it if I want. It just works. Because of this I have installed it at both of my parents homes which has resulted in me having zero work for network related issue since.

I promise I do not work for Ubiquiti or get any kickbacks for what seems like a sales pitch. It is just a product that works the way you hope it does. Think of it as the Apple of the network world. The company actually was started by an ex Apple Engineer anyways.

So I am a Google guy - not an Apple guy. I need to get on the Ubiquiti site and design a system for myself.

 

[gilr]

While I haven't commented on your thread here before, the only comment I'd offer for now is to never rely on heat tapes to fully protect pipes from freezing in brutal winters such as you will experience in the Tetons area. The reason? Power failures! All it takes is a day without power and pipes in vulnerable walls will freeze. If you have planned a whole house home generator, then maybe, but if you aren't there when the failure occurs, then the pipes will still be vulnerable. I'd suggest turning off the water supply when not there to prevent massive flooding. A neighbor of mine here in Chesterfield, VA suffered over $200k in damage a few years back while they were on vacation in Hilton Head. A toilet supply pipe on the second floor froze and burst. The water ran for over a day before a neighbor and I discovered a 10 foot long icicle hanging from a window, water in the house was several inches deep. Took more than 6 months to repair the damage. ou only have to see something like this once to understand why your builder and others here recommend to never put pipes, even insulated ones in an exterior wall. And that is my .02.....