Rules for electrical wiring in new house

[PaulD]

I have read multiple threads on multi-way switch & wiring problems and I am probably as confused as anyone over the multiple ways to deal with it. I am starting a new house shortly and the planning ahead for multi-way switch and wiring has me a bit intimidated as I try to get up to speed on wiring for my UPB applications.

To help me make sure I always know what I am dealing with in the future, I intend to give the electrician some rules to use in wiring the house. My goal is to keep everthing simple for future use even if it means using more wire. My intended rules are......
Rule 1 - 100% of electrical gang boxes of any type are the deep box style
Rule 2 - Load is always at the end of the line.
Rule 3 - No cute wiring tricks to save a few feet of wire.
Rule 4 - In multi switch situations, use hub & spoke concept with master switch or fixture module as the hub. That puts 100% of the connection points for the multiway in one location and allows multiple options for type of switch/button to control the load
Rule 6 - Test and verify multi switch setups before sheetrock
Rule 7 (for me) - Take pictures of all walls with wire installed prior to sheetrock

Does this sound right? Any rules I should add?

I know this will probably cost me a few extra dollars for wire but if it keeps everything simple for future use, it will be money well spent to keep me from going nuts later. Also, it would allow me to easily reconfigure the wiring for normal switches in the future if necessary for resale purposes to a buyer who has no interest in HA or allow me to take all my expensive switches with me for my next house.

 

[nightwalker]

For UPB you really don't have to do anything special, except the deep boxes are a very good idea no matter what protocal you use.

That being said the only thing that drives me crazy is those places in the house where you end up with a whole bank of switches. I've seen houses that had 6 or 7 switchs by the front door as well as in other places. To me it just looks fugly. The bigest thing i've done with electricians in my last couple of houses was to have them put the switches for those crowded places either in the basement or a closet and have them wire just hot netural and ground to the original location so i could fit a single keypad there instead of that fugly bank of switches. In some places i've used a single gang box and one 8 button keypad in other places i've used a two gang box and two keypads. It just tends to look less cluttered IMHO.

While you don't need 3 or more way switches with home automation they don't hurt either and the companion switches are fairly cheap and easy to wire in.

There is one advantage to keeping it as standard as you can as far as wiring. My present house has all the switches mounted in the basement with keypads being installed upstairs to control them. If i ever sell this place I'll have to include the HA system or the new owners will get lots of exercise running up and down the steps to turn lights on and off

 

[me2]

* Pay attention to "tight" connections. Not just sticking the wires in the wire nuts.

*Pigtail everything. Don't use the push in connectors on switches and recpt.s

*Fan boxes for all ceiling lights and run 14-3 to each one in case later you want a fanlite instead of the hanging light.

*Neutral in every box.

*Make sure the electricain remarks white wires that he uses as hot wires, not neutral.

*Before the walls are closed up walk thru with the electrician. Use a video camera with sound to have him explain how he did everything. Pay attention to GFI circuits sometimes they go places you would never guess.

 

[politics123]

* Pay attention to "tight" connections. Not just sticking the wires in the wire nuts.

*Pigtail everything. Don't use the push in connectors on switches and recpt.s

*Fan boxes for all ceiling lights and run 14-3 to each one in case later you want a fanlite instead of the hanging light.

*Neutral in every box.

*Make sure the electricain remarks white wires that he uses as hot wires, not neutral.

*Before the walls are closed up walk thru with the electrician. Use a video camera with sound to have him explain how he did everything. Pay attention to GFI circuits sometimes they go places you would never guess.

Why not just homerun everything? Anyway, if homerunning isn't an option/too expensive, add the following:

* Use deep boxes. You'll want the extra depth
* Use wirenuts (don't allow two wires to be connected to each other through a switch. They should connect the two wires to a wire nut and then run a third stub to the switch/outlet)


A few things in general that you might appreciate:
1) Have an outlet installed in walk-in closets.
2) Install an external outlet (even better, switched outlet) under your eaves
3) You may want more outlets than code requires, especially in entertainment and office environments. I believe the standard is one outlet every 8' linear, you should request every 4' in places where there are high-density electrical appliances (kitchen, office, family room, etc)