Electrical

• Leviton While-House Surge Protector (e.g. smarthome.com #4860 or #4861).
• Leviton X10 Signal Amplified Coupler Repeater (e.g. smarthome.com #4820) to transmit and amplify X10 signals between two 110V phases.
• Leviton X10 Noise Block (e.g. smarthome.com #4835) at each fluorescent light to reduce line noise produced by its ballast.
• Power Shield Whole-House Noise Block (e.g. smarthome.com #4855) to block X10 signals from entering or leaving the house.
• Consider: backup generator?  E.g. Honda EB11000 (10.5 KW; can run on natural gas) -- Lynn and George have the EB6500SX (I think).
• Light switch boxes should be as deep as possible to allow for new hardware.
• Security System: Make use of passive IR detectors, plus detectors for open doors, windows, mailbox, and garage doors. All these sensors are also readable by home automation system.
• Current sensor (e.g. smarthome.com #7190) on washer and dryer (to detect when they start/stop)
• Outside AC power outlets on separate circuit with X-10 isolation (in addition to GFCI)?  (Note: even if the house uses Phast, I want to allow X-10 devices to operate as well, for cases where equivalent Phast components don't exist.)
• Power (220V?) to shore for future boat lift. etc.
• Power to boat house for lighting etc.
• Office needs AC plug strips, to accommodate a large number of devices.  (My current office has approx. 40 devices.)  Many outlets need enough space to accommodate "wall wart" AC adapters.

Automation

• See Low-Voltage Plan.

Outside

• Parking space for three cars in front of garage without blocking the road.  At least one space needs to be long enough for a Suburban.
• Hose outlet inside garage, with a place to roll up and store hose.  Same for deck, and outside lake entrance.
• Faucet near boat house to wash boat.

Boat House

• Current approx. dimensions:  Rails are 4' apart.  4'6" from center of rails to north wall, 3'6" from center of rails to south wall; concrete floor extends 6" past north wall, 12"' past south wall.  Height is 6'4" at south wall, 7'2" at north wall.  Dolly surface (boat bottom) is 1'6" above floor at point of contact with boat.  Inside length is currently approx. 18', but it might be possible to extend it at least a foot (since the concrete floor is longer).
• Example of boats I might like (see also 4boats.com):
  • Bayliner Capri 1750.  In fact, this boat is slightly too long (by 10" or so) and too wide (by an inch or so, I think) to fit in the boat house, but the current walls aren't in the optimal location and it may be possible to move them.  I'm not sure about the height of the boat.  (Note that this is the smallest boat made by Bayliner.)  Advantage of Bayliner: there's a local dealer who's been around a long time.  Disadvantage: Mikky says Bayliners are poor quality boats.
  • Sea Ray 185 Bow Rider.  Also 18'; also the smallest made by Sea Ray.
  • Rinker 182 Bow Rider.  18.5'; the smallest made by Rinker.
  • Regal 1700 LSR.  17'.  Looks cool.
  • Maxum 1800 SR.  19'3" rigged.  Looks a lot like the Bayliner.
  • Boston Whaler 16' Ventura.  A little smaller.  I don't like it as much.
  • Cobalt 190.  18'6"; their smallest.
  • Dyna-Trak 160 SS.
  • Caravelle 176 Bow Rider.
  • Campion Allante 505.  16'7".

Dock

• Dock builder: Sierra Construction Co., Marine Division, 16715 NE 79th St., Redmond WA 98052-4425.  Phone: 425-885-3797.  Web: http://www.sierraind.com/.  Contact: Butch Free.
• Project description (from Sierra): "Our proposal is for the construction of a new pier, 6 feet wide by 60 feet long, with an 8 foot by 20 foot ell.  This length of pier is adequate since the depth at the end will be approximately 14 feet deep."
• Dock Drawing.
• Change orders:
  • Repair of the existing rail & dolly system to accommodate a 2000-3000 lb. boat.
  • Fenders (bumpers every 4' to 6' to hold boat against), cleats (to tie boat to), and an aluminum ladder (uncolored alumninum), as listed under "Options" in the proposal.
  • Conduit installed for dock lights (but don't actually install the lights--we'll wait until the house is complete).
  • Possibly substitute ironwood or Trex in place of douglas fir--but I'm still
    investigating the pros and cons of these alternate materials. (Trex seemed fine, but apparently itgets very hot in the summer.)
  • Install fascia (2"x8" wo0d along the deck that gives extra surface for mooring boats, and it improves the aesthetics).

Miscellaneous

• Central vacuum.  Include automatic dustpans (e.g. Beam "VacPan") wherever there is a hardwood floor.
• No screens in view windows, but screens in other non-view windows for air flow.

Guest Room 2

• TBD

Guest Bath

• TBD

Guest Hall/Closet

• TBD

Garage

• TBD

Powder Room

• TBD

Kitchen

• See also: Appliances.
• Heated tile/stone floor.
• Trash compactor?
• 160° water dispenser in kitchen sink.
• Two-part sink: one for washing dishes, the other for a air-drying dishes.
• Tilt-out cabinets for recycling bins.
• Small "phone desk" has enough space for a phone, plus a flat-screen monitor and keyboard for quick Internet access etc. A compact PC is stored in an adjacent cabinet. Includes a "junk drawer" for pens & pencils, plus storage for phone books etc.

Dining Room

• TBD

Living Room

• Table beside TV chair (preferably on right side of chair) will have a touch screen, which needs wires running to computer (in A/V closet, probably). Requires in-floor conduit: see Low-Voltage Plan.
• TV should not face windows (reflections reduce image clarity).
• Gas fireplace controllable by X-10.
• Hidden in-wall speakers (including subwoofer somewhere?) high enough quality to be main speaker system. (Issue: does in-wall reduce quality?)

A/V Closet

• The A/V closet is hub for A/V distribution, patched to individual rooms. (E.g. exercise room will have access to same VCR, DVD, CD, etc. as from living room.)
• The A/V closet is also the "home run" room for network wiring.
• The TV sits in the A/V closet, in a hole between the A/V closet and the living room.
• Long term I hope that all A/V equipment except the TV can be hidden within the A/V closet -- all A/V functions will be controlled from a touch-screen. However, until then, some A/V equipment (VCR, CD player, etc.) needs to be accessible from living room. Possible solution: a cabinet (pass-through between living room and A/V room) with a series of horizontal 4-inch tall "slats", installed such that any number of slats can be removed or reinstalled so that the desired amount of A/V equipment can be exposed or hidden. A similar technique can be used to allow for different sizes of TV displays to be installed over time (including eventually flat-screen displays).

Roof Deck

• Railing should be as invisible as possible.
• Includes hose outlet (to simplify cleaning).

Exercise/Storage Room

• Shelf beside exercise machine holds remote controls, plus can include a touch-screen in the future. Also includes a plug for headphones.
• Shelf space in middle includes wire-bottom shelves for boxes etc.
• Space by wall adjacent to office contains servers etc. (outside office to reduce noise).

Office

• Built-in U-shaped desk area with under-desk keyboard drawer for main workstation area(s). 1.25" slot at rear edge of desk allows for cables to be dropped to cable tray that runs under desk. Power outlet strip under desk provides at least 30 outlets (spaced for adapters). Desk surface is 28"-30" from floor (any less causes knees to bang on keyboard drawers).
• Cabinet in southeast corner, under desk, for two main computers (close enough to avoid too-long video cables that sacrifice image quality). Floor of cabinet swivels to reach back of machines; wires feed up from the center of the cabinet (i.e. they don't swivel). Fans within cabinet cool the computers.
• Overhead mixture of cabinets and shelves.
• In addition to computer equipment, need space for electronics stuff: PCB drill press, tool cluster, soldering station, oscilloscope, etc. Also need space for occasionally-used equipment, e.g. small test MIDI keyboard.
• Floor is very low-pile carpet (to make it easy to roll a chair). Carpet should be anti-static.
• Electrical: see Electrical above.

Master Bedroom

• Walls and windows: special attention should be paid to sound-proofing. (It gets very noisy on the lake, e.g. 5 AM every summer morning.)
• Closet: includes built-in wall safe? Also includes satellite PC for master bedroom (outside master bedroom to reduce noise).
• Lane has suggested a separate headboard + closet unit that is constructed like furniture and which can be placed anywhere in the room.  In order to accommodate cables etc., and to provide a comfortable "leaning surface", I've proposed a slightly modified design.

Master Bathroom

• Heated tile/stone floor.
• Top 2' of outsider shower wall are glass blocks. Most/all of inside shower wall are glass blocks.

Level 1 Bathroom

• Used as music/game room bathroom. Also accessible from the patio, by coming in from the mud room.

Mechanical Room

• TBD

Music/Game Room

• Music area: space for drum set, keyboard, guitar stand, desk with computer and MIDI equipment. Lots of power outlets. Computer soundproofing cabinet?
• Pool area: 9-foot pool table; below-waist bench along south wall. "Bar" area includes small fridge, microwave, sink, and a few cabinets for glasses etc.
• Sitting area: common space between music area and pool area. Couches, coffee table, TV/VCR.