The Plans

Ethernet

Ethernet wiring for the house has got to be an essential of any modern home, right? Cat6e cabling from a central hub to the study, bedrooms and living spaces is a necessity even if there will be wireless access too.

The general idea is that the network capabilities of the house will be served by Virgin Media whose cable will enter the house in the front lounge. The modem and switches/routers will be housed in a "cabinet" beside the fireplace with cables being routed to:

• the study
• the four bedrooms
• the back sitting room

The number of cables, however, is still to be determined. A cable running to a wireless access point would seem like a good idea in the living areas but should a fixed wire be run to a location near the television as well? Probably. After all, there will likely be some kind of video streaming requirement and gaming console requirement.

Underfloor Heating Zones

Underfloor heating will remove the need for radiators around the house but there will be 8 zones so that we can sensibly heat only those areas that require it.

The 8 zones have been colour-coded in the image (right) and include:

• Hall and upstairs landing
• Lounge
• Living Room/Dining Room/Kitchen
• Study
• Guest Bedroom
• Master Bedroom
• Bedroom 1
• Bedroom 2

Freeview

Even though Virgin Media will deliver the bulk of our media services, we still want the option of Freeview viewing.

My guess is that an aerial on the roof can have a cable run to a distribution point in the roofspace from which cables will route to the bedrooms (all 4), living areas (2) and study.

The plan on the right shows the routing of the cable and the location of the wall mounted sockets.

Virgin Media - Television & Phone

And finally, Virgin Media set-top boxes will be required in the two living areas and the master bedroom. Or at least that would be the ideal scenario. In reality, there is no need for 3 boxes at all - 2 is more than enough.

So we need a means of routing the output from one of the boxes to the master bedroom and provide remote control capability upstairs.

As for the phone? Two outlets seems like more than enough to me bearing in mind:

• I never use a landline
• Only sales people phone our landline