plate said:
Ok, you've got me thinkin', do tell.
I didn't mean to be gone this long, but between being sick as a dog, my boss pestering me about my status reports and a friend deciding to go into labor (and I don't mean the blue collar kind
), oh, and my stupid kitchen computer deciding to break, I've been busy.
This is what I do whenever I'm allowed to get creative --
1). Rooms with multiple entrances that are more than 12 feet apart, definitely a 3- or 4-way at each entrance. Open floor plans -- where there are no walls between the "rooms" -- require a bit of extra thought. I try to imagine walking around the house and making sure I don't have to turn lights on in one "room" so I can turn off the lights in the other "room". I screwed that up on my house -- I have to turn on the "dining room" lights at night so I can walk to the front door and turn off the "living room" lights. Bad Julie, no biscuit.
2). Each end of a hallway, even if there are multiple "ends" -- think T's and L's and other such shapes, stairways included. Stairways are a likely place for a 4-way situation.
3). Dittos for 3-ways on split receptacles. The most common use for split receptacles is floor and table lamps. If there are 3-ways controlling the overhead lights, use 3-ways for the split receptacles as well. I hate stairways where the switches are at the landings only. The last house I wired with my father was like that and I thought it was stupid. Not that I'd ever tell him that (or make that mistake ever again).
4). All floods should be on 3-ways, with all flood lights brought into the master bedroom as well as wherever else they are. I think this is a really nice feature -- if I hear a noise outside at night, it's pretty close to daylight in my entire yard 5 seconds after I freak out. Since floods aren't visible from where the switch is, indicators are a must. If you're doing the alarm wiring as well, make sure there's a keypad above the switches in the master bedroom. An added bonus for those of us who really are paranoid -- if the light doesn't scare the noise away, there's always the "panic" button
. For some idiotic reason ($$$), a lot of homes are wired with one alarm keypad. I have 3 keypads because I'm (a) lazy, (b) paranoid and (c) single.
Not on the subject of 3-ways, but something I like to do if I have my way, is receptacles underneath switches in hallways. I think that's a nice place for nightlights. You might have to put an extra receptacle or two in the hallway this way, but I think it makes a house more livable.
