DJK New Construction

[DJK]

Here are some pictures as the Low Voltage (LV) wiring will probably start in about 4 weeks. It's 11,000 ft home with a courtyard in the middle, which makes it challenging. Since do this is SO overwhelming, I am doing step at a time.

So far:

Centralized wiring with Clipsal
11 miles of cable (hopefully, it will be enough )
Contacts, Motion sensors, IR terminating on 20 66 blocks in two 50" canister.
Camera Power, power shades, door stricks terminating into European terminal strips in a 50" canister.
Network, telephone terminating into 110 blocks in a 19" rack
CCTV cameras terminating into modulator
A/V RG6QS, RG59, cat 6 terminating into the rack (balums?)
Speaker wire terminating into the rack (audio distribution?)
Aprilaire thermostats
Will wire for a couple of touchscreens and UMPC

Wow, this all really make you feel mortal!

Probably will do CQC

Anyway, please enjoy the pictures

 

[electron]

holy moly, is your name Lex Luthor by any chance Nice setup! Can't wait to see the pictures of the wiring/cans.

 

[bfisher]

Very cool! I live outside Charlotte... assuming you are nearby, if you ever need an extra set of eyes, let me know, always fun to see what other people have done :lol:

 

[DJK]

Dan, thanks for the nice compliment. I would not have know where to begin without your "How to wire your home 101".

Bruce, thanks for the nice compliment. I'm near Pinehurst and may take you up on your offer some day after things settle down.

I've been really blessed. "Do what you love and the money will follow" is such a true statement.

I'll try to keep these photos updated as I begin, got lots to do before drywall!

 

[znelbok]

I see you have a stack of Belden cable. Is this what you are using for the C-Bus network.

Here in Aus, Clipsal make their own Cat5 for C-bus because the standard Cat5 sheath is not rated for 240VAC (all cables in an enclosure must be rated to the highest voltage present - 240V in our case ). I dont know what standard Cat5 it is rated for and I don't know what the code there calls for.

Just thought I would raise this point so you could ensure that the "right thing is being done"

Mick

 

[DJK]

Mick,

Yep, using pink Belden cable for cbus as well, since the Clipsal cable isn't available here in the US yet

With the purchase of the enclosure, Clipsal includes a 600V sheath that you stick the cat5 into so that it's shielded in the enclosure (120V). Hopefully, it will keep me from getting zapped :lol:

Good call, thanks for the confirmation!

 

[Spanky]

Clipsal has some REALLY NICE hardware and HA devices. The ELK M1 has a Clipsal interface currently available from Ness Security in Australia, but soon available from ELK in the US. www.ness.com.au

By the way, Nice House!

 

[DJK]

Spanky,

Thanks for the information and the compliment.

Only 2 hours away from you near Pinehurst, so stop by whenever you have a chance.

 

[DJK]

I worked on mounting the 66 blocks (9 of them) onto plywood for placing into the 50" canister.

Panduit conduit on the sides and over/under each block. This is for door/window contacts, motion sensors, etc.

Also, European barrier strips from Radio shack two per row x 14 rows for 18/4 power.

Please enjoy the pictures

 

[dkemme]

How did you choose Clipsal over other choices such as Centralite?

DJK (hope to be new construction sometime)

 

[FrankMc]

Hi DJK

Nice House ....Thats a lot of cable your putting in !!!!.......

Don,t think you will be disappointed with the Clipsal stuff ....Are you going to use their MRA switcher (Multi Room Audio) ???....Herers an Oz link to it

http://www.cbussales.com/index.php?cPath=149_43

Keep those pics coming ;-)

Frank

 

[DJK]

I didn't go with Centralite because I believe that their system is up to 48 loads. I have 150ish. The final three came down to Lutron, Clipsal and Lightolier. Since I wanted to do a DIY install, Clipsal seemed to be the best fit for me. I could find TONS of documentation on the web, and they were willing to work with me directly since they are working on pushing into the US.

I am not planning on integrating the Clipsal MRA since I would rather have centralized amplifiers, but this may change as I learn more in the future. Right now, due to the enormity of this project, I'm taking it a step at a time, with the main focus on running wire and running conduit to where I may need future expansion.

Somebody needs to figure out how to embed Cat5e into the middle of each stud, with connectors at the top and sill plates that snap into one giant network with automatic switching, and then we would all be set (oh, and it's got to be cheap )

 

[kgingerich]

I worked on mounting the 66 blocks (9 of them) onto plywood for placing into the 50" canister.

Panduit conduit on the sides and over/under each block. This is for door/window contacts, motion sensors, etc.

Also, European barrier strips from Radio shack two per row x 14 rows for 18/4 power.

Please enjoy the pictures

Interesting idea of using 66 blocks to terminate security sensors. What gauge wire are you using for your security sensors? Isn't the wire that typically goes into 66 blocks usually 24 gauge or so (telephone wire CAT3)? Would it still work correctly punching down thicker gauge wire into the block? Does it change the resistence on the wire or anything?

I'm only asking because I have 90+ runs of security sensors hanging from my basement ceiling right now and I'm trying to decide the best way of terminating them.

 

[DJK]

66 Blocks are designed for 22 to 26 AWG solid. I am using 22/4 for the contacts, motion sensors, etc. I haven't pulled wire yet, but will let you know how it works.

 

[dkemme]

What are you using for the future proof conduit?