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robinson622

Am I missing anything? meeting with electrician tomorrow

robinson622
13 years ago

I've compiled a list of ideas from this forum over the years for electrical wants/needs. Forgive me if some don't make sense, they were copied directly from previous posts. Add any ideas you may have & let me know if there are any in the list that you find really unnecessary. Sorry for the repeats, there are quite a few.

-Attic fan & whole house fan

-outdoor speakers

-outdoor uplight landscaping lights;

-outlets placed in the floor of my family room so I could have a light placed behind the sofa on my sofa table;

-all four corners of the home with motion sensor lighting; connected to both back doors and master bedroom as well as front door sconces

-TV/Cable/internet in my kitchen; under cabinet tv

-low voltage-xenon under cabinet lighting wired to switch on dimmer

-wire for outlets above cabinet for rope lighting connected to a switch in kitchen

-a lot of 4 light switches/switch plates for almost all my rooms so I could add something!

-carbon monoxide sensors

-surround sound in rec room & playroom

-Place outlets in my mantle

-Wired for Cat 7 whole house audio.

-We knew in advance where we were planning to hang the plasma televisions, so we wired the wall where they were hang so there wouldn't be any visible wires.

-Outside outlets

-outlets inside bathroom cabinets such that hair dryers can be plugged in and placed inside a drawer rather than being draped over the countertops.

-'boogie-man' lights switch and switch to room lights by the bed

-outlets on either side of the front door for Christmas decorations wired to interior switch

-outlets in ceiling of porch above pillars for decorations

-switch for gas fireplace starter

-Outlets under roof eaves/soffits for Christmas lights wired to one switch inside foyer closet

-Outlets under inside of windows for 'candle' lights

(and place them on switches as well).

-Where are you going to put your Christmas tree?

Place an outlet in that corner controlled by a switch!

-Place an outlet at front of the side base for a lighted garland up the staircase.

-Place outlets on every exterior wall for landscape lighting or yard work.

-Several outlets in walk-in pantry

-Outlets on both ends of island

-Place an outlet adjacent to telephone jacks for cordless telephone base.

-GFI outlet under the sink for the instant hot water dispenser and garbage disposal

-If you are putting in a security system or intercom

(or are just pre-wiring), be sure to provide

electrical service to these areas.

-Light switch in hall, etc. for attic

-For furniture placed in the middle of a room,

place outlets and fixtures directly above or below exact location.

-Place outlets in convenient locations at bathroom vanity  inside drawers for razor, electric toothbrush, hairdryer

-For a home office, fully consider computer, scanner, printer, answering machine, lamps, chargers, radios...need I say more?

-Do you need a plug-in for a laptop computer? Where?

-Where your TV is located, don't forget the DVD, VCR, CD...

-what else did I forget?...oh, yeah...satellite receiver? Dvd and all other peripherals in cabinet and wired to tv

-In a bedroom, don't underestimate the number of plug-ins at your bed stand: alarm clock, cordless phone, lamps. A quad outlet may be needed. Put outlets on opposite walls too in case room is changed around.

-Add outlets in exercise room  closet for treadmill & elliptical

-Wire for flat screen tv in exercise room

-Remember that your dishwasher also needs an undersink (usually) plug, so you might want a 4 receptacle outlet -- of course, GFCI.

-dimmers on every entry point to kitchen, living, rec, foyer and mud

-Quad outlets in study for printer/wireless router/etc. and kitchen

-Outside closet light switches.

-I think running 3/4" or 1" PVC conduit for comm wiring is probably the smartest thing to do. That way, you're pretty much ready for anything that the future throws at us.

-Floor outlets in middle of family room

-Dedicated circuit? Outlet in master closet for ironing and outlet for charging cell phones

-Step lights on front porch, up stairs and in area under stairs

-put a motion sensor on the wall next to the door to the deck so we can carry stuff out there from the kitchen and the lights will go on automatically.

-lights for our deck along the top rail

-rope lights under bathroom vanities

-lighting for backyard

-outlets for cable and electric behind the tv

-sconces next to entry to study and family room, sconces in hallways - upstairs and on sides of mirrors in bathroom

-quad outlets rated for 20A in front storage area for air compressor, etc.

-wire for lighting in storage area

-interior switch to exterior outlets

-light in area under stairs

-run 2 inch pvc pipe from attic to first floor/crawl space for future wiring purposes

-bedside lamps wired to switch

-outlet and gfci outlet for future bar area near kitchen

-make sure all outdoor lights arenÂt only on one switch so they can also be turned on individually instead of lighting up the entire outside when not necessary

-outlets in storage area set at 4ft height

-switch for lights above island on the island

My kids have closets with bifold doors...do I need a light in those closets?

Rope lights under vanity? How do you feel about them? Just for the kids' bathroom if at all?

I know I'll forget something, but I'm waaaaay better off than I would have been if I didn't have GW.

Thanks in advance!

Lori

Comments (11)

  • david_cary
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow - I understand trying to think of everything but have you thought about what all this will cost?

    Cat 7 whole house audio? The thought of using cat 7 (if it is even available) for audio is unusual. The amount of data and speed needed for a keypad is not that high and cat-5 is already 1000X overkill.

    I didn't see the dedicated refrigerator line in the garage (non GFCI protected) but I could have missed it.

    You didn't mention what signal (HDMI, component, etc) was going to the plasma TVs and will you need a box (satellite cable) and where is that going.

    I see that it was cut and pasted - that clarifies some things. If I was your electrician and you handed me this, I wouldn't be too happy. Some of the things are just code and some don't make sense.

    I can't stress how much sense undercabinet LEDs make. I've had xenon before - bulbs were hot and burned out. The energy use was 5x the LED. I leave the LED on all the time (not really but a lot). The cost was just a little higher but justified just by the forever bulbs.

    Regrets - more outdoor outlets, 2nd switch for the undercab lights since we use them so much, outlet in the pantry.

  • shoelvr
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    the christmas wiring part seems like overkill just for a month of decorations. clark griswold would be jealous.

  • mythreesonsnc
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm planning a post light on the far side of my driveway in the future. It has been suggested to me that we run wiring (conduit or something) underground in advance of that (during home construction) so that we won't have to mess up the driveway if and when that time arrives.

  • allison0704
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I got about 3/4 through and stopped.

    Run a pipe under the driveway and sidewalk (maybe in two places in large) for pulling wires later.

    Also pipe in foundation to pull additional wires through later.

    Any spotlights in trees coming up driveway?

    Why 4 switch plates everywhere/in each room? You'll have to run wiring from main box to them now, and how will you add wires later to whatever is you may need to add down the road? Not getting this one.

    I would not do motion sensor lights attached to back doors. There will be times you don't want them coming on. Switch next to door is good.

    Went back to finish reading: Rope lights under vanity? No way. No how. Too Vegas for me.

    We ran two sets of wires from great room TV location to DISH for possible future lightning blow out. That way, extra wires are ready/waiting. Suggested by our GC and the installer.

  • scrapbookheaven
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My contractor is putting in hard wired LED nightlights down the stairs and by all of the toilets. Love the idea!

  • sis3
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "a lot of 4 light switches/switch plates for almost all my rooms so I could add something!" _ I don't really understand this one. The wiring would already have to be inside the walls to the 'thing' you would be wanting to add. Just having a switch/switchplate with extra capacity would not enable you to do this. Am I misunderstanding here?

    mythreesonsnc - we buried a pvc pipe beneath our drive so that we would be able to wire anything we wanted to add in the future. We ran lengths of string through the pipe (to help us pull wire through in the future)and capped both ends.

  • robinson622
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for your replies! These aren't things "I" have to have... most of these came from a thread from about 3 years ago and I wanted to eliminate things that are unnecessary or overkill which I know is quite a few.

    Allison, I apologize for the length. I, many times, have opened loooong posts and quickly returned to the main page. Thanks for coming back. ;)

    David - I should have removed Cat 7 from the list. Electrician already told me he uses Cat 5. You're right they were copied, that's why they don't make sense.
    As far as expense, if I pre-wire for many of these will that cut down a lot on the price initially? I should have added that in my first post. This is a whole house remodel and addition, and unfortunately we won't have a garage anymore, just a storage area, so the outlet for the extra refrigerator will be in the laundry room.

    I'm deleting extras now. I thought the 4 light switches were a bit much myself. Thanks for your help.

  • booboo60
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think what people are trying to tell you is "pre-wiring" for lots of things don't make sense unless you have the light, fixture, etc. as you install because once your drywall is up that's it!! I like the idea of the conduit under the driveway for future light posts, etc.; that is a great idea!!

  • Adella Bedella
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like having a switch in my pantry door so the light comes on automatically when you open it.

    I have an outlet in my master closet so we can plug the iron in there.

  • robinson622
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Things went very well today!! I'm exhausted after spending 3 1/2 hours going through the house. He was very impressed with my knowledge and preparation. Thanks to years of research and advice on GW of course! ;) He nicknamed me "the prewire queen". I explained to him my plans to take pictures of all walls while open noting the height and location of everything (awesome trick I learned here). He thought it was a fantastic idea! Great guy, and he took time with me to talk things out. It's so nice to have this complete and to be able to cross it off the list of stuff that's been on my mind forever. Thanks again for your help.
    Lori

  • peytonroad
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I added electrical outlets inside the bathroom cabients... I want to then use electrical cords to connect to the hairdryers, etc. I then can keep them in the drawers and not have the hairdryer/curling iron up on the counter. LOVE IT!!!