Power and network socket philosophy 101 please

[puntloos]

So I'm currently in the process of allocating power and network sockets to my house design.

 

My problem: how do you create as beautiful a house as possible (by hiding unsightly sockets, cables, extension cords) but also predicting where the bed, desk, couches will go, and where they might go.

 

A few examples: 

- Power sockets would be nicest right under the worktop of a desk (and perhaps a solo one above the desk) but not on the floor

- Network sockets go behind TVs 

- 2 sockets and switches to left and right of the bed.

 

All so simple, right?

 

But.. (we all know what's coming..)

What if there's 2-3 possible places for a desk location? Power sockets at (say) 800 on a blank visible wall are pretty obnoxious

What if in the future world we don't do TVs but we do spaceprojectors

What if I might want a super king, not a king bed.

 

I'm trying to figure out how I balance between making the situation ultra-elegant, just as long as I predict everything perfectly.. and some compromise, or just some super generic design that mostly expects you to just work around any lack of sockets by running cables around the wall etc.

 

One trick I'm pondering - should I create a bunch of powered wall boxes but not actually put the sockets/switches in there and basically plaster over them until I need them?

[pilgrim]

I struggled with the same conundrum, especially with the majority of devices that I use now being battery powered. Paying a bit more attention to the sockets that I actually use day to day made me realise that I do not use most of the sockets in my current house!

I opted to put in a couple of sockets in each room in subtle locations and then left some channels to pull cable through in future if I need to.

[RichardL]

Embrace the infrastructure -   power is a useful thing - don't hide sockets they are what they are and really no different from a fireplace 'heat' or your telly/gamesystem 'entertainment' or light fittings etc.

 

Houses are for humans - put the things in them, and proudly present those, that make human habitation enjoyable.

 

[ProDave]

6 hours ago, puntloos said:

My problem: how do you create as beautiful a house as possible (by hiding unsightly sockets, cables, extension cords) but also predicting where the bed, desk, couches will go, and where they might go.

Simple.

 

You run the ring main cable, and a bunch of tv coax and network cables all the way around the room horizontally at 450mm above finished floor level.  You need to put 1 socket on each wall, at a place you either know is definitely where you want it, or will be hidden.  That creates a "safe zone" for the horizontal wires to run in on that wall.

 

Then, when you know where you actually want sockets, you cut holes in the plasterboard for the socket boxes and fish out the cable that is waiting for you.  You will need to leave some slack in the cable of course.