Have you ever walked through someone's newly built home and thought, "Wow, I wish I would have thought of that!" If you've ever built a home and later regretted that you forgot many small, but significant details, then you're reading the right article. Below we've compiled a list of small but important additions to your home building project that can save you time, money, and frustration down the road.
There a so many ideas worth writing down that we decided to list them in separate articles. Today we're tackling all things electrical. Other building ideas will be added soon!
Essential Electrical Ideas
1. Run a 2" pvc pipe from baement straight up to attic, for any future wiring to second floor.
2. Include outlets in all closets, including the pantry, for cordless vacuums or other rechargeables. In a master closet, outlets could be used for ironing or to add a lamp or clock radio.
3. Install 4-plug (or moe) outlets on either side of the bed in the master bedroom. By the time you have a bedside lamp on each side of a bed, plus a plug-in clock or two, plus a plug-in base for your cordless phone, adjustable beds, and an electric blanket....it all adds up to lots of outlets.
4. Install an outlet or two in your attic storage space to run a fan, radio, or power tools if you ever have a need to do work in that space.
5. Install a light with a switch for your attic space. Have you ever had to find a leak in your attic crawl space in the middle of a stormy night while trying to carry a bucket and a flashlight while balancing between the rafters? Trust me, you'll be glad for a switched light!
6. Outlets outside your home near the soffits for holiday lighting. And be sure that the outlets are at a logical starting point for the lights. We knew of one couple who asked for this but didn't specify where and their builder put it right in the middle of the front soffit of the house. Consequently they never used it.
7. While you're adding outlets in your soffits, why not have a switch in the house to turn them on and off.
8. An outlet in the small room that houses the toilet is a plus for a nightlight or to plug in an electronic device for those who tend to spend a long time in this room.
9. Outlets placed inside a cabinet or drawer in your bathrooms for rechargeable razors, electric toothbrushes, blowdryers, curling irons, etc. This keeps your counters free of clutter and is much more sanitary in a bathroom setting.
10. Wire for a TV connection in your bathroom for getting ready in the morning or taking a long bath.
11. Pre-wire for a heated towel rack in your bathroom.
12. Include outlets in areas where you may want to decorate with lighting such as above an entertainment center, near a mantel, near a high window in a 2-story foyer or great room, along a staircase railing, or above kitchen cabinets.
13. Install 3-way switches in any room that you may enter from more than one direction.
14. Install dimmer switches in almost any room that you might want to dim the lights.
15. In an open concept great room, place outlets in the floor if your sofa will act as a room divider.
16. Install a motion sensor light in the pantry and closets or if you're good about keeping doors closed, install a switch in the hinge of the door that turns the lights on and off as you open a close the door.
17. Install a master-switch from master bedroom that controls all exterior lights (in case you hear something from bed).
18. Run a 220 volt outlet in your garage for large power tools or if you plan to ever have an electric car that needs charging.
19. Include a charging station in your mudroom or kitchen for all the electronics your family owns: phones, ipads, mp3 players, and gaming devices.
20. Install conduit under your sidewalks and/or your driveway for future electrical needs.
21. Include outlets outside your back patio door or on your porch/deck for music, lighting, heaters, misters, etc.
22. Pre-wire for speakers both indoors and outdoors.
23. Instead of placing kitchen outlets on the backsplash above your counters, mount them either below the rim of the counter or in the underside of the upper cabinets where your undercabinet lighting is.
24. Pre-wire for future security system.
25. Pre-wire for future solar installation on the roof.
26. Pre-wire for a generator to essential areas.
27. Place in-cabinet lighting on a timer.
28. Carefully go through your plan for placement of light switches to make sure it makes sense to you. Your electrician's ideas about where switches should go and yours can be very different. Imagine yourself walking throughout your home in the dark and where you would want those switches to be.
29. Plumb for central vac including vac pans in the bathrooms and kitchens.
30. Install times on your bathrooms fans so that they can run after you leave the room for a specified amount of time.
31. If you have someone who likes to spend a lot of time in the garage, install TV and internet cabling in the garage.
32. Install internet cabling near all TVs for internet capable TV's, DVD's, and gaming consoles.
33. Install an outlet and an ethernet connection (and a shelf) for a wireless router in a central location of your house (like the front entry closet) so that all areas of the house get a strong signal.
34. If you really want to save energy, install a master switch in each room that controls most of the outlets and lights. With one flick of a switch, you can turn everything off when you leave the room.
35. Install a light in each shower/bathtub stall. No one likes getting clean in the dark.
36. If you like to switch your furniture around often, be sure to install more than one cable connection so you can move your TV around.
37. Consider recessing your outlets so that you don't have plugs sticking out from the wall, especially in areas where you will be placing furniture in front of the outlet.
Do you have any awesome electrical ideas for building a home? We'd love to hear it!
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