There is one irreversible moment in a custom home build: the day the drywall goes up. Everything decided before that day is inexpensive. Everything discovered after it is expensive, disruptive, or simply not possible. The low-voltage prewire is the cheapest insurance in the entire project. When the technology plan should be drawn Technology drawings belong with the architectural set, not after framing. The sequence we hold to: schematic coordination during design development, a technology plan issued with the construction set, a pre-rough-in walkthrough with the builder and electrician, rough-in, then a documented trim and commissioning phase. Joining a project after framing means working around decisions instead of making them. The whole-house baseline Two Cat6A home runs to every television location, wireless access point, camera, touchscreen, and desk. Conduit from the rack to the attic, to the crawlspace or basement, and to each television wall. Conduit is what makes the house serviceable in ten years. Fiber to any secondary rack and to every detached structure. Speaker wire to every ceiling and wall speaker location, terminated at labeled locations, plus subwoofer runs. Shade power — low-voltage motor runs to every treated opening, decided before the window schedule is final. Camera runs at eave height on all approaches, plus gate, driveway, and package delivery points. Door, gate, and intercom runs, coordinated with the security contractor. Room by room Great room: two Cat6A behind the display, in-wall power kit, conduit to the rack, ceiling speakers plus a subwoofer location, keypad locations at each entry. Kitchen: ceiling audio, an access point overhead, a keypad at the pantry, and a display run if a screen is planned in the hood or backsplash. Primary suite: blackout shade motor runs, bedside keypads, discreet ceiling audio, a display run, and a Cat6A at each nightstand. Theater: its own section of the drawing set — projector run with conduit, riser power, Atmos ceiling positions, screen power and trigger, acoustic isolation coordination with framing. Outdoors: conduit under all hardscape before it is poured. This is the single most common regret on completed projects. The rack location Specify it early: conditioned space, not a closet in the primary suite, not an attic, with dedicated circuits, ventilation, and enough depth for a proper rack with rear access. Retrofitting cooling into an undersized closet is a recurring and avoidable expense. What correction costs A missed Cat6A run at prewire is a small line item. The same run after drywall, paint, and millwork means fishing walls, patching, matching finishes, and a return visit from three trades. On several projects we have inherited, the cost of retrofitting what was omitted exceeded the entire original prewire allowance. Prewiring generously for capability you may never use is almost always cheaper than adding it later. Documentation Every run photographed before drywall, labeled at both ends, and delivered as an as-built package. Ten years from now, when a wall-mounted display becomes a projector, the documentation is what makes the change simple. Peters Audio Video coordinates low-voltage prewire with builders, architects, and interior designers across the Charlotte Metro Area. If your project is heading toward framing, that is the right moment to bring us in.
