More lining

A little more lining off done today.

First the walk-in pantry. This will be accessed via a sliding cavity door (which I really do need to buy, as it's now holding me up from doing any more here) and will feature a benchtop at working height with accessible power points for appliances, and shelving on the walls above and below.

Can't have enough pantry space! :)

This next little cupboard is primarily the linen cupboard. It's only about 400mm deep so the space is perfect for that use, but I've also got a little twist planned - hence the cables!

As I've been lining the walls I've also been running CAT-6 networking cable, two per room. While everything is going wireless these days, you can't beat the speed and reliability of hard wired networking and since the cable is cheap and it's easy to drag through the bare walls, in it goes. I may never use much of it, but if it's not there then I can't use any of it if I need it :)

Since I've had the power on I've also had an Internet connection up 24x7 so I can monitor the batteries and solar panels remotely. As part of this equipment I've also got a little WiFi access point built in but I've found that the signal propagation around the building is woeful! I've got concrete floors, a 400mm-thick rammed earth wall, foil sisalation and a tin roof and ceilings, and all of these things are the natural enemy of radio. So most of the time I need to be within a few metres of the access point to get any signal at all. With this in mind, the space above the linen cupboard will be fitted out as a little networking cabinet.

All the CAT-6 runs will terminate here at a patch panel, and I'll also install the networking switch, 3G internet equipment and an access point in here as well. I'll make up a couple of doors in the plywood lining to keep it all hidden, so once it's finished you'd never know it was there.