Electrical Systems
These include electrical security systems, communication systems and any other special systems you may have planned.
At the very least you will need a 100 amp service coming into your home and 200 amp is desirable as technological advances continue to require more electricity. A local licensed electrician can quickly tell you what your approximate requirements will be. Be sure your contractor is licensed.
If possible, bringing electric cable onto the property via underground cable is preferable. Code requirements will provide adequate electricity for most homes but you will want to make sure you have enough outlets, switches and special wiring for appliances, some of which require dedicated circuits. Also make sure any outlets in bathrooms, garages, crawl spaces, unfinished basements or outdoors has ground fault interrupter protection (GFI). The same applies to outlets at kitchen countertops. All switches and fixtures within the same area or outdoors must be waterproof.
It is not a good idea to save a few dollars on your home by installing only the minimum number of required circuits or outlets. Leave some room for expansion in your system, (extra unused slots in the breaker panel). Size of wiring is governed by code so you just need to make sure your electrician is licensed.
A word of caution, in many areas of the country a flexible cable with 3 wires inside is acceptable instead of the traditional wiring run in metal conduit. This is very cost effective, but it can be easily punctured by a nail driven into the wall by other trades or by yourself hanging pictures! If this happens, you will have to remove the drywall to gain access to the cable and replace it. If properly installed however, (through the center of the studs away from the surface), this will probably not happen. You will have to determine if the savings are worth the risk. I would not take the risk.
I think it is a good idea to contract your electrician to install telephone jacks, or you can do it yourself if you are so inclined, but here again, it must be done in a timely manner or you may disrupt the construction schedule and delay your project.
Be sure your insulator sprays foam insulation around all electrical boxes located in exterior walls.
