krris

hey folks, my wife and I will be building a house and I have put together a first pass at a design that I'd like to have implemented from Day1. 
eventually we would add more to it as in more C4 in wall tablets, more speaker zones, more A/V areas, more Lutron in-line dimmers etc, but initially this is what I thought we could start off with and would be in place for at least 6 months before we add to it. 
I've decided to put some equipment downstairs (network switches, Dahua NVR, MDF) because its close to the ISP ONT and some equipment upstairs (C4 controller, Triad Matrix/Amp) because its easier to run new speaker cables for more audio zones upstairs and tie it back to the matrix/amp. putting equipment in WIL is probably not possible due to WAF so I'll probably have a small rack in my office (study)  downstairs and one in the activity room upstairs. 
I do have  a lot of wiring limitations in the sense that my builder isn't allowing me to use my own electrician on site and they charge through the nose for running any wiring that i specifically ask them for. because of this, I'm only having them run the CAT6 data wiring and the speaker wiring for the speaker zones. also, being a double storey, i won't really be able to run any new wiring downstairs , upstairs is pretty easy though. i haven't shown it in my pics below but there is an extensive amount of data points that the builder will be running throughout the houe (especially downstairs) coming back to the MDF.
I put a secondary controller in the garage so that it can be wired to the garage controller since I won't be able to pull cables from the main controller to it after I build the house.
i'm looking for some feedback on my equipment locations, the type of equipment i've selected, what sort of EA controller I need (for the main and secondary one) to suit this design. 
is there any must haves that I might have missed that would be good to have from day1
 

 

 

 

 
 

Come in when the building crew leaves and install your own conduit runs.

I think a second controller for your garage may be overkill if all you're doing is using it for the garage door openers.
Instead, consider supplementing your RA2 Select (also consider RA3 for a new build) switches/dimmers with C4 keypads.  C4 keypads are *great* for triggering lighting scenes (even Lutron ones), controlling media, other fun and useful automations (like Hello/Goodbye/etc), etc.  They also are Zigbee repeaters which enhance your Zigbee mesh.  This is important since you are using Lutron for lighting.  Keypads really really enhance a C4 install and make it more usable.  You can also get wireless keypads that include a lighting load.
Once you have established a strong mesh, you may consider just using Z2IO's for your garage door controls.

Unless I'm missing something, you might have a zigbee mesh problem.  Your EA-5 is in a rack in one corner of the house, and there's a secondary controller in the garage.  Other than that, there's nothing to repeat the zigbee signal.  You are using Lutron for your lighting, so there's no light switches dotted around to do the job.  You might need a couple of EA-1's tucked away behind TV's to help out, or even a few strategically placed wireless keypads.

I mean 16 AWG cable with 4 conductors (for 2 speakers).  For in-ceiling speakers, I typically run 16/4 to a room, split out 2 conductors at the "first" speaker, loop the cable, and then continue the run on to the "second" speaker.

There is no reason to be putting anything less than 14 gage on a distribution amp. Really you shouldn’t need anything less than 16 unless you are doing a pretty long pull, 10” speakers or high power zone (200+wpc)

I typically run 14/4 for whole home audio. Agreed, 12 or 10 is not necessary nor will it fit easily in those connectors. 

You may have trouble with anything larger than 14awg.  I typically use 16/4 for WHA zones.

You can connect all four outputs of the EA5 (2 analog, 2 digital) to inputs on your Triad Matrix.  
You then connect each input from your Triad PAMP to corresponding outputs on the Triad Matrix.
This configuration allows you to have 4 unique music streams playing at once in any number of zones.
Make sense?

They look like you will only have one-way control.  In other words, the blind will not report its state (%open/closed) back to Control4.  That's OK, but a bit basic if you are going to all the trouble of a full pre-wire.

Our friends at Hopsoft created one.
https://www.hopsoft.com.au/climate-drivers
@Pavel Kvicera can answer any questions you may have about it.