Quadomated: The Building of a Smart Home for a Quadriplegic

[personalt]

Please consider Timberstrand headers rather than 2X10. Less shrinking equals less drywall cracks and winder problems.

No energy efficient house should be using fiberglass bats. To get the R rating the installation would have to be perfect - and NO batt installation is perfect. This is the area to really spend the extra money - at least to blown cellulose if not blown fiberglass.

Good luck.

My contractor has never used these engineered headers. Do you find they make a big difference? And what is the difference in price?

I've discussed either blown in fiberglass/cellulose and he seems open to either method. It does appear like he'd prefer sticking with standard 2x6 construction as opposed to going with the added effort for the double stud construction. Can't say as though I blame him, but I'm still wondering if it's worth the extra work/expense.

Lots to write about over the next few days.
-Mike

The engineered header is just a LVL (engineered beam) that is 3 1/2" wide.. normally a 3 1/2"x9 1/2" the equivalent of two 2"x10" plus a piece of plywood in the middle. With a ranch house this is less of an issue as you will not have another floor on top but I would still do this. In the scheme of things the extra the cost is next to nothing. LVLs are priced by the foot, you can call your lumber yard and see what they get for 3 1/2"x9 1/2" and compare that twice as many feet of 2"x10"

Here is GPs page
http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx?pid=1392

 

[George M]

Please consider Timberstrand headers rather than 2X10. Less shrinking equals less drywall cracks and winder problems.

No energy efficient house should be using fiberglass bats. To get the R rating the installation would have to be perfect - and NO batt installation is perfect. This is the area to really spend the extra money - at least to blown cellulose if not blown fiberglass.

Good luck.

My contractor has never used these engineered headers. Do you find they make a big difference? And what is the difference in price?

I've discussed either blown in fiberglass/cellulose and he seems open to either method. It does appear like he'd prefer sticking with standard 2x6 construction as opposed to going with the added effort for the double stud construction. Can't say as though I blame him, but I'm still wondering if it's worth the extra work/expense.

As personalt stated the extra cost is minimal - and well worth it. Also if you have any "Tall Walls" i.e. Family Room, and also kitchen walls with cabinets, look into LVL studs. Same material as the headers, but you will get perfectly straight walls to hang cabinets on.

2X6 is very adequate if you use the blown in insulation.

 

[Chassmain]

Hey Cocooners!

To keep from spamming the forum with my less automated related blog posts over the past several weeks I've gone a little quiet during the early stages of our home construction project. Yesterday things quickly took a turn towards automation and that is once again my focus for the next little while on my blog. Why the big change? After waiting several weeks (actually over a month) for the one and only automation contractor in town to come through with some help I got tired of waiting and took matters into my own hands with the help of the guys at Automated Outlet. Spent the morning yesterday talking with Paul at AO and made a huge order that should definitely get things moving in the right direction.

Instead of writing it all over again I'll just copy my blog post and hope many of you will get involved in the activity here and there.

Thanks for following my project at: Quadomated
The build log/think space/project showcase of a passive solar smart automated home designed by a ski lift controls engineer who after breaking his neck in a skiing accident became paralyzed throughout the majority of his body. This blog is all about the design/construction of a home to make life easy, not just because it's fun but absolutely necessary. Looking forward to all kinds of help from smart people interested in a cool project!

--- September 30, 2010 Quadomated Blog Post: Automation System Phase 2: Parts Ordered

Okay folks... it's now 7:46 PM. Let's see how much I can get written before I head into the next room to watch SURVIVOR.

Automation! This was a huge day for me! There's no way any of you could realize this, but over the last 6-8 weeks I put my automation design and order plans on hold because I was approached by a local individual who had heard about the blog, worked in the industry, and had a few friends that might be able to make something happen. Well I crossed my fingers that some help might pan out from this, but after waiting a few months and getting very nervous about the timing of everything (especially as I saw the walls go up) I decided to take matters into my own hands and made a huge automation order this morning.

This order would be called Automation System Order Phase 2. Phase 1 happened way back in May of this year when I purchased the main automation controller with an alphaOne grant. This was definitely the most researched item in the house, and after comparing the specifications and capabilities of two very comparable do it yourself home automation systems I decided on the HAI Omnipro II controller over the Elk M1 Gold. Both systems have their own very strong side of followers (the elk with possibly even a larger/more active online community) but in the end it was HAI's integration across a large assortment of third party systems and their very clean iPhone/Android applications that sold me on their system. So far from what I continue to research it looks like I won't be disappointed.

In the next few days with the help of my good buddy Craig I'll be setting up this controller on my work desk to start testing out each individual subsystem in a controlled environment. This along with the hastening construction was why it was time for me to act now for my next home automation phase. I waited an awfully long time, and what a huge relief it is to stop waiting for others and take matters into my own hands.

Onto Automation System Phase 2.

I spent a bunch of time on the phone with my good buddy Paul McIntire (have only talked to him on the phone, but man does he seem like one good dude) from Automated Outlet yesterday afternoon and this morning. What I decided to order was everything that the contractors needed right now to get into the bare walls, and a sample of each thing I'll be using in the future to coordinate with the electrician and set up in the test bay. What I ordered basically falls under 5 categories.

Automation System

• HAI Omni Console with Built in Speaker/Microphone: So that users can arm/disarm the security and control system. I've already got one of these for the front door, now I've got one for when people enter through the garage.
• HAI Omnipro II Expansion Enclosure: Will give me a second, remote enclosure to mount closer to all the inputs/outputs near the east side of the house. The primary controller is in the media room near the west side of the house. By using this expansion enclosure I will save significantly on the length of wire needed to hook up all the security zones, run the electric door strikes, automate garage door openers, etc..

Door Access

• HAI Access Control Reader: Will allow homeowners to enter the main entrance by swiping a key card or miniature key tag. This will be extremely useful to give home health care aides and other people that I'd like to monitor and control access to the house.
• 12VDC Electric Door Strikes: Three of these were ordered to allow the front, garage, and rear swinging door locks be controllable from the HAI automation system. This will allow me the capability to unlock the door and let people in while I'm still in bed or for users like my mom/dad to simply unlock the front door by pushing a button on their keychain just like you would to unlock the doors to your vehicle.

Enclosures

• Three 42" Leviton Series 420 Structured Media Cabinets: To be installed in the media room, these cabinets will contain the guts of my automation system. This is where I'll install the Omnipro II controller, the security inputs, SOMFY ILT system to control the solar shades, relays for the window operators, network/telephone patch panels and switches, coax distribution, etc.
• Fatcat Technologies Stealth Series 44U 19" Rack: This is where I'll locate all my audio/video equipment. All amplifiers, set-top boxes, blu-ray players, media extenders, my computers... basically everything electronic will be housed here. This will provide centralized audio/video distribution and keep all the warm/noisy components away from where I'm working/playing.

HVAC

• HAI Omnistat Thermostat: Purchased 2 more of these bringing me to a total of 3 thermostats that I can control with the automation system, my web browser, and portable device. This will allow me to have full temperature control of my area of the house, the main portion of the house, and the porch.
• Extended Range Indoor/Outdoor Temperature & Humidity Sensor: Will give me information about the outside temperature/humidity so that I can display this information on the TV, touchscreens, cell phones and use this within the automation system for predictive heat/cool energy control.

Lighting

• 1 each of the Dimming, Relay, and Auxillary Switches: Wanted a sample of each type of switch for a number of reasons. First so that I could check out the build quality and make sure they're something I like. If I do, second so that I can show these to the electrician and make sure he matches the color/style. And, third so that I can setup a few of these on my testbed to get a handle on programming them and make sure they work the way they ought to.

Looking for all your input on what you, the readers of this blog, would like to see as I delve into the more technical/automation side of this project. Today, I more or less skimmed across the top of the surface, and if that is what works best for the majority of my audience that's how I'll write it. If many of you are more interested in seeing me dig deeper listing specifications, manufacturers pictures, and really detailing my thinking behind each decision and why I've chosen and gone the route that I did, well I can do that too.

Let me know what you'd like to see!
-Mike

 

[rwarshawski]

My hat's off to you Mike!

I have 2 sites that I have some level of home automation, and have been thinking of a system for one of my partners whi is a C5 quad. You have really spurred me on to help him with this.

For what it's worth at this time, I use a HAL/Cinemar hybrid with touch screens on tablet PC's from Sahara. Just bought an iPad with RDP to control the computer directly, but the tablets work just fine. The voice control is very handy. I use cordless phones, but the guy who I gotthe system from uses in wall mikes that work very well.

About your house- I haven't examined your plans as yet, but there are a few things that otheres wrote that i support. Extra conduit is one. It'll cost a couple of extra bucks now, but man, can it save a lot in the future!

I use Lutron blinds. They are quioeter than the Somfi, and seem more controllable, at least with my system. I am getting the HA guy to write the script to open or close them as per the room temp. Seems to be an easy thing to do with HAL.

I have radiant heat in 4 in concrete slabs. For my shoer, I had them use a 2x4 frame prevent the cement from entering the floor area of the shower so there would be no curb to get over. The 4in height is more than enough to get the required grade for the drain even in a big shower.

I use a Russound distributed audio system that is controlled by the Cinemar sytem. Works great! They also make an intercom that is integrated witht the doorbells as well as the rest of the house so i can talk to whoever is at the door. I am trying to see if I can use the voice controll aspect of HAL through this as well.

I have an ELK M1 Gold suecurity system that I have only scratched the surfadce with. It is itself a pretty powerful HA sytem. I can use the motion detectors as occupancy sensors to adjust lighting, etc. The iPad has a nice app for it too.

My house is buitl of polyurethene panels as blown in polyurethane walls- nedd it up here! I am in Canmore, Alberta...

Sorry to hear of your skiing accident. I am an avid back-country guy- can send some pics if you want- but spend a lot of time at Sunshine Village with the family.
I'll keep track of your blog in the future!

bob

 

[Neurorad]

Mike, sorry I missed your post on 9/30. Sounds like things are going well, hope the installer comes through soon. Maybe you and your friend can do the vast majority of the install yourselves, but it will take a lot of time for all the wire terminations at the panel and at the sensors/keypads/strikes/speakers/etc.

Read those install docs ASAP, the more familiar you are with the system and devices, the faster the install. Have you received the dimmers/switches? What are your thoughts on them? Need to decide where you want smart switches/dimmers - I don't know if it will affect how the electrician runs the line voltage circuits. Neutral required in every box?

 

[Chassmain]

Hey Bob,

Great to know that my project has spurred some interest on your part! That's the whole point/intent of me creating the blog and posting here. Hopefully those places together will get people excited about the capabilities of automation not just because it's cool, but absolutely necessary for some.

The carpenters are actually up on the roof as we speak straightening out the roof lines, sheeting the surface, and getting everything ready for the roofers next week. Then they'll be installing the rigid exterior insulation, hanging the windows, covering everything up with building paper, and siding the house. Still have about 3 weeks to thoroughly read through the HAI install docs, figure out/order my wiring, and receive the remaining UPB switches from Automated Outlet.

For the conduit, I've got lots planned and see it as an absolute necessity because our house is built on a slab with cathedral ceilings in a few places. If I have any hope/chance of doing any modifications in the future it'll have to be in the conduit because there is no basement and limited attic space.

I've made my mind up on the Somfy roller shades. Caught a deal on eBay where I purchased over $2500 of their ILT shades for just a few hundred bucks. These look to be one of the best/easiest to integrate with the HAI system and should provide me with full location feedback with the built-in incremental encoder. Haven't got them up and running on my test system yet, but this will be a priority in the coming weeks.

My shower is also a curbless drain, although the concrete guys built the drain and slope towards it directly into the poured concrete. I was a little concerned about how this might work, but my contractor bought a special Schluter drain that should allow him to get everything right where he wants.

And the distributed audio… That is something that's on my wish list, but doubtful I'll be able to afford from the get go. I'm planning to pre-wire/install a bunch of in ceiling speakers and binding post terminals throughout the house and home run them back to my 19 inch rack. When finances allow I'll be putting some sort of system in here. Who knows, maybe I'll find another great deal on eBay.

As for pictures… Send me a few in a PM. I'd love to see you out there ripping it on the slopes in Alberta. I've never actually been to Canmore, both fell right love with British Columbia when I was installing ski lifts at Whistler and Silver Star.

Thanks for the message and following along.
-Mike

 

[Chassmain]

Mike, sorry I missed your post on 9/30. Sounds like things are going well, hope the installer comes through soon. Maybe you and your friend can do the vast majority of the install yourselves, but it will take a lot of time for all the wire terminations at the panel and at the sensors/keypads/strikes/speakers/etc.

Read those install docs ASAP, the more familiar you are with the system and devices, the faster the install. Have you received the dimmers/switches? What are your thoughts on them? Need to decide where you want smart switches/dimmers - I don't know if it will affect how the electrician runs the line voltage circuits. Neutral required in every box?

Hey Neurorad... does look like the installer is going to fall through, but I've already got my father and a few close friends primed for the job, and then an old network/telecom buddy to do the terminations. He used to do terminations for the Navy and later Fairchild semiconductor so I'm pretty sure he's up to the task and just excited for a fun/techie project to do. The electrician is also very open-minded and receptive towards helping out in any way that he can. That's really been one great thing about this whole project. Everyone is so eager and happy just to help out due to my challenging circumstances that some really amazing things are getting done just by asking nicely.

I perused the HAI install docs until the corners have become tattered, and am about to call the local electrical distribution company to order the wire, and Automated Outlet for the rest of the switches. I'm planning on using local relay/dimmer switches for the majority of the house, and three PCS six button keypads for the main grand room of the house. Should have my switches in hand and a wiring detail for the electrician before we get to this point, but it definitely is something I want and will have figured out before wire gets run.

Anyone have strong opinions on what keypads they like the most? I like how the PCS models will also let me wire/control a load.

Thanks a bunch,
Mike

 

[rwarshawski]

Hi Mike-

The multibutton switches can be a bit of a pain. Iprefer the toggles. You can outfit a switch with 1-4 toggles. Easier to operate. No ambiguity about them. I find I have to be a bit careful with the remaining button switches I have. With fat fingers you have to be more precise.

You might want to look at the voice control features of HAL. My wife uses it more than the touchscreens. She has asked for microphones, but we use cordless telephones right now. Our place is wired for mikes, but I haven't bitten the bullet on them...

Will send some pics later. Take a look at this in the meantime.

http://skibanff.com/conditions/webcams.php

bob