If you're building a house or planning a major renovation in Cheshire, the Wirral or North Wales, the decisions that determine how well the home works for the next twenty years are made in the few weeks before first fix. This guide covers what to cable, what to leave room for, and when to bring in a smart home installer — written for homeowners, and useful to hand to your architect and builder.
Almost every regret we hear from owners of new houses comes down to one thing: the cabling and the spaces were decided by whoever was on site that week, not designed. Speakers where the joists allowed, a router in a cupboard under the stairs, a TV wall with a single socket, blinds that need a visible cable. None of it is expensive to get right during the build and all of it is expensive afterwards.
The good news is that you don't need to choose a single product before the house is built. The infrastructure — cable, back boxes, conduit, a plant room — is decided at first fix. The equipment is chosen months later, and a well-cabled house can start with a modest system and grow for years without any building work.
Two data cables to every TV position, desk and main living space; one to each ceiling WiFi access-point position; one to the gate, the front door, every camera and the plant room's equipment. All home-run to one patch panel. Cable is cheap; it is the routes that matter.
A ventilated cupboard or plant-room wall where the network, control processor, audio amplifiers and video distribution live — near the incoming broadband, on its own power circuit, away from bedrooms. The single most common thing missing from a new build.
Circuits designed for scenes, not just on/off: separate downlights, pendants, LED strip and wall lights so each can be set independently. Deep back boxes with a neutral at every switch position keep every option open — wired Lutron, Rako or Control4, or wireless later.
Speaker cable from the plant room to each audio zone — kitchen, living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, terrace — with ceiling speaker positions agreed against the joist layout and the lighting plan, so they don't fight with the downlights.
Every TV position with data, power and a route back to the plant room, recessed so nothing is on show. If a media wall is planned, the cavity, ventilation and cable routes are designed before the studwork goes up.
A power or control feed to every window head that may have motorised blinds, and a recessed pocket or headbox designed with the architect. See our shading page.
Camera positions with data cables, a video intercom at the gate and door, door and gate automation cabling, and alarm zones — all on the same network so they appear on the same screens.
Conduits from the plant room to the loft, to the exterior walls, to the garden and the boundary. Whatever arrives in ten years — fibre, a new camera, a garden room — has a route.
If a dedicated room is planned, its construction — acoustic isolation, riser, screen wall, projector position, ventilation and lighting — is designed now, not fitted out later. See home cinema.
A renovation is often the best moment of all. In the rooms being opened up we wire exactly as we would in a new build; in the rooms that aren't being touched we use wireless lighting control and battery shading, so the finished house is on one system with no visible compromise. Kitchen extensions, loft conversions and garden rooms are the usual triggers, and they are a good point to sort the network and the plant room for the whole house at the same time.
We work alongside the professional team rather than around it. The electrician installs from our cable schedule and drawings; the architect and interior designer get keypad, speaker, lighting and blind positions on their plans; the builder gets pocket dimensions, plant-room requirements and a first-fix inspection. Many architects, builders and developers across Cheshire and North Wales work with us project after project because it removes a category of snags from the build.
Chester and all of Cheshire — Tarporley, Nantwich, Knutsford, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge, Prestbury — the Wirral, Trafford and South Manchester (Hale, Bowdon), and North Wales including Llandudno, Conwy, Abersoch and Anglesey — from individual self-builds and second homes to developer schemes. See also smart homes in North Wales.
At the design stage, before the electrical drawings are finalised and well before first fix. That is when cable routes, plant-room space, keypad positions, ceiling speaker and lighting positions and blind pockets can be drawn in at almost no cost. Involving an installer after plastering means compromises or chasing walls that are already finished.
As a minimum: two Cat6 or Cat6A data cables to every TV position, desk and living space; a data cable to each ceiling access-point position and to the gate, front door and every camera; speaker cable from the plant room to each audio zone; a lighting control cable or wireless-ready deep back boxes with a neutral at every switch position; a power and control feed to every window that may have motorised blinds; and empty conduits from the plant room to the loft, the exterior and the boundary for whatever comes next. Everything runs back to one plant room or rack location.
No. The infrastructure is decided at first fix; the equipment is chosen much later, often near completion. A well-cabled house can take a modest system now and grow into a full one over years without any building work.
Yes. Renovations and extensions are ideal, because walls and ceilings are open in the rooms being worked on. We wire those rooms fully and use wireless lighting control and battery shading in the rooms that are not being touched, so the whole house ends up on one system.
We produce a cable schedule, plant-room layout and marked-up drawings the electrician installs from, attend first-fix and second-fix inspections, and coordinate with the architect and interior designer on keypad, speaker, lighting and blind positions. Many Cheshire practices and builders work with us regularly.
Chester and the whole of Cheshire, the Wirral, Trafford and South Manchester, and North Wales including Anglesey and the Llŷn Peninsula — from individual self-builds to developer schemes.