Re: plea from poor X10 user

[Nigel Orr <nigel.orr@xxxxxxx>]

At 15:49 26/07/99 +0100, you wrote:
>My biggest problem is getting the carpet back down neatly. The guy who
>fitted our new carpets had a clever stretcher tool to tension the
carpet
>then push the edge of the carpet over the gripper board and under the
>skirting.=20

The stretcher tool apparently evolved from a wooden block with the ends of
nails sticking out the bottom at an angle so they point towards the wall...
does that give you any ideas?  It grips through the carpet, over a
reasonable area, so it can be tugged around without damaging it.  I've not
had the need to make myself one yet, but it was mentioned on uk.d-i-y a
while back...

>Any recommendations on how best to acheive this effect without a
>stretcher tool (costing over =A3500 apparently)=20

I think I recall someone saying they were about =A3100 or less in B&Q,
but
that may have been a one-off offer.

>carving a run through the stairs which was just big enough for 2 CAT5
>cables. I was stumped as to how all the other pipe work and wiring
jumps
>floors... (this in a 1930s house).

My vertical access is not at the stairs- this seems to be a traditional
place, but it seems like a bad idea- there isn't usually a nice vertical
run from there.  I have a cupboard on each floor at one point which I can
run through.  My mains cables all run up the wall behind lath and plaster
walls, probably yours are the same.  Remember that not many cables actually
have to run vertically- maybe only 1 cable to the top of the house for the
upstairs lighting circuit, and 3 into the floor of the first floor- 2 for
the 1st floor ring and 1 for the downstairs lights.  So what you need for
HA/security etc is _much_ more demanding than mains electricity.

You could have a look at some websites for hints and tips, though they're
mostly USAian... www.basshome.com might be a place to start?  Remember that
running one way horizontally, in line with the joists, you only need a hole
at each end of the run, and to run the other way, you 'only' need to lift
one floorboard along its length to make suitable holes in the joists.  It
is much easier if you can do this while decorating, but it's certainly
possible to do a neat job anyway if you take your time about it.  It is
tempting to use the same holes as mains cables, but don't give in!  Try to
keep a couple of joist-widths away, especially for long runs.

I still can't believe how fast a good alarm company can wire a house, with
no wires visible.  It takes me a good while to work out good, easy, or
downright sneaky, cable routes, but they just 'know'...

Nigel
--=20
Nigel Orr                  Research Associate   O   ______=09
Underwater Acoustics Group,              o / o    \_/(
Dept of Electrical and Electronic Engineering     (_   <   _ (
University of Newcastle Upon Tyne             \______/ \(

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