We recently did our electrical walk through at the new house and wow, that was overwhelming. So many things to think about before you put up drywall and it is much harder to change. I reached out to my incredible online community and yall had lots of great tips and advice. I thought it would be helpful for anyone building a home so here you go!
After framing you will meet with your builder to do an electrical walkthrough before insulation and drywall is put up. At this meeting you will go over outlet locations, light switches, lighting, security, specialty outlets, etc. It is a great idea to think through this info BEFORE your meeting.
ELECTRICAL WALK THROUGH TIPS
**here are great places to keep in mind for plugs and wires! These were your suggestion along with some of my own and my builder’s ideas.
PLUGS:
- Plugs for TVs. Think about if they will be mounted on the wall
- landscape lighting
- plugs on roof for Christmas lights
- dedicated plug for workout equipment in exercise room. The equipment takes a lot of power so it can trip the breaker. Make sure you have one specific for your equipment
- Add switches by bedside table to turn off fans/lights so you don’t have to get out of bed. Or make sure your lights/fan have a remote
- plugs in cabinets to keep appliances plugged in. We are having an appliance garage so I need some in there for toaster, blender, etc
- Plug in cabinet for hidden microwave
- plugs in bathroom cabinets for hairdryer, curling iron, mens razor, electric toothbrush, etc
- plus in pantry or closet for Dust buster/portable vacuum.
- charging drawer station
- floor plus in family room & office
- exterior plugs on both sides of doors if you plan to do topiaries with Christmas lights by your door
- In office cabinet for hidden printer
- Plug in closets
- On top of fireplace mantle for Christmas lights
- on kitchen island
- always add extra outside on the patio and the garage
- add USB port plugs
- put outlets in baseboards
- In toilet rooms for plug ins
- In powder bath have one down low for a plug in lamp so you can hide the cord
- power strip under counters in kitchen so no outlets showing
- electric car outlet in garage
- special plugs for fridge, oven, ice maker
- if you want a towel warmer in master bath be sure to wire for it
- plugs for outdoor fountain.
WIRES:
- wire for outdoor heaters/fans
- retractable screens
- wiring for window shades. We are doing retractable ones in our bedrooms so we need wires there
- Think about home security. Do you want glass breaks, video cameras hard wired, etc
LIGHTING:
- Sconce locations: by fireplace, in bathrooms, above pictures, above bookshelves, near window bench, on kitchen wall or from the sides of the cabinets. We are doing them from the side of our kitchen cabinets so they have to actually wire in the cabinets
- Bathrooms: are you doing above mirror lighting? Sconces on either side of mirrors.
- Exterior lighting. Where do you want lights. This is very important. We added several loose wires so we can add lights later if we want to. Rather have the wires there now when it is easy to do. Do you want sconces on either side of front door, on columns, do you want a hanging pendant light, etc
- wire for automatic lights in pantry
- wire for night lights on stairs
- can lights vs chandeliers
- How many lights above kitchen island
- Are you doing special lighting down a hallway?
Ok, that is quite the list. THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your help! Building a home is fun, but so overwhelming. I am sure some things will be missed, but it is nice having a list of things to think about.
If you are building a home or remodeling, I hope this is helpful. Also be sure to check out this post below with lots of helpful info as well!
must haves when building a custom home
**We are building our home with Joe Vastano with Joseph Paul Homes. The Joseph Paul Homes website is under construction. You can see his work on his Instagram and Facebook **