Run network, speaker, shade and camera cable to every position you might ever use, plus empty conduit to the places you cannot predict. The week before drywall is the cheapest hour of the entire project. After the walls close, the same work means opening finished surfaces, patching, repainting, and accepting compromises where a cable simply cannot get there.

If you are rebuilding in Altadena or the Palisades, or breaking ground anywhere in Los Angeles, this is the checklist we walk through with every builder and architect.

Why does the week before drywall matter so much?

Because every decision after it is a negotiation with finished surfaces. While the studs are open, a cable run is minutes of labour and a few dollars of wire. Once plaster or drywall is up, the same run needs access, patching, texture matching and paint, and in some paths it simply cannot be done at all without cutting into something nobody wants cut.

The other reason is sequencing. Technology decisions belong at framing, not at finish, and the trades have to be told in an order that works. Our rebuild timeline sets out when each contractor should enter.

What network cabling should go in?

Cat6A to every television location, every office desk, every ceiling access point position, every exterior camera position, and the equipment closet.

Two runs per location, not one. The second cable costs almost nothing during rough in and saves an open wall repair later. It also gives you a spare when a run gets damaged by another trade, which happens more often than anyone admits.

Wired access points are the reason the ceiling positions matter. In a house over about 4,000 square feet, coverage problems are almost never solved by adding another mesh node, as we set out in our guide to WiFi dropping in a large house. Deciding those ceiling positions now costs nothing. Deciding them later costs a ceiling.

Where does the equipment closet belong?

Somewhere with power, ventilation and quiet, and within cable distance of everything it feeds. Not a shelf in the garage, and not a sealed cupboard under the stairs.

Heat is the constraint people underestimate. A rack full of amplifiers, switches and video distribution throws off real warmth, and a closet with no air path cooks its own contents. Our equipment rack guide covers heat removal, clean power, cable distance limits and noise, which together decide how the whole system performs.

What audio and video needs to be roughed in?

Speaker cable to every room where music might ever matter: kitchen, primary suite, office, patio, pool area. It is far easier to leave a cable unused behind a blank plate than to add one later.

In ceiling speaker positions get decided now, while the joists are visible and the lighting layout is still on paper. Speakers and downlights compete for the same ceiling, and that argument is much cheaper to have before either is installed.

If a dedicated theatre or media lounge is planned, rough in conduit for projector, screen and acoustic treatment even if the room will be finished in a later phase.

What do shades and lighting need?

Motorized shades need power or low voltage wiring at the head of every window. This is the single most common thing owners regret skipping, because a shade pocket without a cable in it is a permanent no. Our guide on whether motorized shades are worth it covers where they earn their place.

Panelized lighting systems such as Lutron need home runs back to a central panel, and those have to be planned alongside the electrician rather than after. If the lighting design is not final, run the home runs anyway. Spare capacity at a panel is cheap; a missing home run is not.

What about cameras, intercom and access control?

Doorbell, gate intercom, camera positions and door sensors all want wire, even if you intend to start with a smaller system. Power over Ethernet gives a camera reliable power and data on one cable, and it does not depend on a battery anyone has to remember.

Run to more positions than you plan to use. Terminating a spare later costs an hour; adding a run to an exterior wall costs a great deal more.

How much spare conduit is enough?

More than feels reasonable. Empty conduit from the equipment closet to the attic, to the crawl space, to the detached garage and to the future EV charger or accessory dwelling unit is insurance against every technology that does not exist yet.

Conduit is the only line item on this list that protects you from being wrong about the future, and it is the cheapest one.

What should the network plan look like on day one?

Plan for segmentation from the start, not as a retrofit. Cameras, locks, controllers and guest devices do not all belong on the same flat network, and separating them is far simpler when the addressing scheme is designed once rather than untangled later. Our guide on whether smart home devices should be on their own network covers what segmentation protects and what it breaks if done badly.

Frequently asked questions

When exactly is the deadline for this work?

Rough in, which is after framing and before insulation and drywall. Once the walls are closed, the cheap window is gone.

What if the budget will not cover the full system yet?

Run the cable anyway and buy the equipment later. Cable and conduit are the cheap part, and they are the part that cannot be added cheaply afterwards. Hardware can be phased over years.

Can this be added to a house that is already finished?

Partly. Attic and crawl space access decides how much. Some of it retrofits cleanly with wireless, some genuinely needs cable pulled.

Who coordinates this with the general contractor?

We do, directly. Drawings, rough in walkthrough, trim out and final calibration, on the builder's schedule rather than alongside it.

Does any of this need permits?

Permit requirements follow the electrical scope, not the automation. Your general contractor and the local building department will confirm what applies to your job.

Planning a build or a rebuild?

Ermine provides pre wire plans and works directly with your general contractor on drawings, rough in, trim out and final calibration. Start with our infrastructure practice or talk to us at erminehub.com/contact.