ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Extreemes......

Seeing the "Butler call bell" thread has reminded me that I came across one of these in an old Victorian house last year.

The wood & glass indicator board in the kitchen had about a dozen solenoids operating swinger arms. Only about two of them worked due to the old (probably 1920s) rubber/cloth/paper-insulated wiring which was perished, broken and shorted. The buyer (who was just renovating to sell it again) wanted the system kept in place and made fully functional.



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 08-15-2002).]

had a little job we finished up last month....I think it came to around $38,000 for the kitchen (residential)...this is just labor/lighting/panel (no appliances) ....
fellow had a real need for excess...walk in frig, walkin wine cellar, walkin beer vault, multiple beer taps, 3 sinks (1 on each side of the kitchen + island), think we had close to 30 circuits in there, two different French stoves (gas, but needing electronic ignition) - believe the general charged him over $250,000 for his part.

Sparky,

I haven't wired these homes but I had to inspect them. How about houses with elevators ( Not because of handicap either. ) I saw a home with 9 bathrooms, 9 fireplaces, summer and winter master bedroom. Each floor was 14,000 sq. ft. and there were 3 floors. The third floor had it's own back stairwell for the servants. The entrance hall was 110 feet long, with 12 foot high ceilings. This was an old mansion here in NJ and only 3 people lived in it. Another house I saw has an indoor waterfall that starts from the second floor, through the first floor, then downinto an indoor pool in the basement. ( This one is under construction and I didn't even do a rough inspection on it yet. Still another house had camera's all through the house, and the garage was carpeted, with oak ceilings/walls and a huge chandelier hanging from it. He parked his/her Porsche, Dodge Prowler (with matching trailer), Mercedes, and I think 1 or 2 motorcycles. Also this house has a dettached heated stall/barn for his 4 or 5 Clysdale horses. Need anymore?

Harold

P.S. Eversee an electric toilet? I inspected one. Needs GFCI protection for the power assist flush motor and the heated seat.

geeeez,
a waterfall?
only time i've seen them is when a plumber screws up....

We have something like that over in the U.K. -- It's called Buckingham Palace!

Holy Cow...

I thought I was doing the elite work!

Sparky,

Here are a few more. Another house that is under construction here in town that I am inspecting is about 14,000 sq ft and in the basement there is a movie theater (small one, it only seats about 20 people.) Wet bar, dance room, and 2 full size bowling alleys. This ia basement only. The first floor has a huge kitchen, living room, dining room, breakfast area, butler pantry, outdoor eating area with built in grill and wet bar and refrigerator. In a seperate out area is going to be a built in pool with cabana. By the way, this is the persons 4th house. He owns one in Miami Beach, the Hamptons in NY, and a small vacation house in Vail Colo.. This person works on Wall Street, I was told. Who knows, All I know is that it will take over 2 hours to do a final inspection.

Caper

How about an "Iguana room" with skylights and heatlamps? Indoor Goldfish pond with a bridge across it? a Wave-Pool? An Authentic English Pub?

Bill


[This message has been edited by Bill Addiss (edited 08-16-2002).]

hmmm,
an'i coulda been a butler.....

On the indoor theatre issue, just how many of these are you seeing or doing these days?

A couple of years ago the (American) electronics journals were talking about home theatre in a big way.