A cable outlet in the bathroom for long soaks in the bubbling tub!!!

I'd absolutely have more exterior outlets. I have one next to the back door and another under the westside eave (for Christmas lights mostly) but getting juice around to the east side of the house is a real bear. And even getting juice for the weed whacker and leaf blower is a bit of a chore.

I would also run electrical wire & mount lighting fixtures in every closet. It burns me up to not be able to see what's in the back corners & upper shelves of my closets without a flashlight.

IMO, you should add twice as many power outlets in the garage as you think you'll need. And don't neglect lighting needs out there either!

Were I to have the chance to redo my home data wiring, I'd run at least 1 CAT-5 network drop into every room in the house (also probably 2 in the kitchen and 3 in living areas where you're likely to have entertainment equipment). I'd have these runs terminating back at a patch panel in the garage, which would become sortuva network hub closet kinda setup to house the Linksys router & cable modem (& UPS to power both).

And if we're dreaming big, it might even be worth mounting a few network jacks in exterior locations where you might someday want a camera or some other security device. Point is, network drops are cheap & easy to do pre-sheetrock and a PITA after.

Phyllis, given that I'm not likely to ever get the chance to set foot in that tub (much less setting anything else in there), that would be rather far down on my list. But don't tell TOPWOICA. ;-)

Rob, all good points, although I'm already looking at wireless security cameras. In fact, I'm wondering if Cat-5 won't become a dinosaur within the next few years, in the home anyway.

how sad is it that i got really excited about rob's networking suggestions? i openly and freely admit my nerd-dom.

however, and this is more of a dream than a realistic suggestion, several ethernet ports around the house, coupled with an electrical outlet, either on the same jack or right next to it, leaves you a great way to tie several AirPort Express units together, giving you the option of running different speakers, printers, or other USB items on the same network all while keeping their controls separate. (ie. one in the living room provides wireless music - and video if you end up with an apple tv - to your home stereo; one in the bedroom provides wireless music to your bookshelf speakers; one on the back porch gives you wireless music to your backyard. run them individually or at the same time!) this is definitely something i would do if i could re-wire the house.

i would also put GFI outlets at the beginning of each circuit, whether it's near water or not. this comes from experience: i'd rather blow out a $30 outlet than the expensive stuff that is plugged in later on down the line should you have a surge.

another handy tip i learned after the house got struck by lightning: keep track of the flow of your phone lines (ie. which is the 1st phone jack, the 2nd, etc.). my phone line got stuck open in the storm and i had to try each one before i found the "flow" of which phone jack leads to the next. the trial and error was quite a pain, and had i known the flow beforehand, i would have saved about 6 hours.

Let there be light! I once bought a house because all the closets had lights in them, with the on/off switch-plate inside the closet AND pressure sensitive plates so the lights popped on when the doors were opened. Put elec. outlets in all the closets, and in all halls. Put them in the dumbest place you can think of.

Is it too late to suggest putting an outside water faucet right there on the porch, so you don't have to root around behind a bush to turn it off? Also one in the garage---you'll thank me later.

And how about a ceiling fan in the bathroom. I know you'll have a/c but a fan running on low is so nice on a hot day when you have to use a put on pantyhose, make-up, and use a curling iron ;)

Floor outlets...floor outlets...floor outlets.

PS - I'm glad you explained why the post disappeared.

I thought I had dreamt that post.

Then I thought about going for counseling. I mean, why would I be dreaming about where you were putting your new house?

Then...I just got busy and forgot about it.

Wireless is convenient, Eric, but wired is fast!

BTW, Home Depot (and probably Lowes) has network hub panels that are geared for home-use that can give your home LAN cabling some real flexibility and a distinctly more-professional look. I would locate all of this near the electrical breaker box.

'Twere it me I would use Cat 6 through the whole house as dual purpose phone/network wiring. If you're smart about it, you can even remove the need for a patch panel - but that takes extra effort. So the "lazy" way is just to wire it all to a patch panel where you can go to swap any jack from phone to network and back again depending on what you need it for at the time. Obviously some will stay constant - but we love having the flexibility of this in our basement and wish we had it through the whole house.

Are you wiring speakers (either whole house audio and/or just in the rooms where music might be desired?) We love having the speaker jacks right in the wall (and I love not having to see wires dangling.)

As for outlets, etc. I would make sure you have enough (read: extra) outlets in the kitchen. I'm forever having to unplug and swap things out and it's irritating.

Now...if you're not going to let follow the house process...are you ever going to finish telling us about the Brazin' Bike Hack? :)

Rob's right. Don't count on wireless networking while it's so easy to add wired. You *will* have dead spots in wireless reception, and however much encryption you have, it's not as good as wires, security wise.

I was gonna mention the hose bib, too. Funny how a question about electricity becomes all-encompassing, eh? Will you have a birdbath? Where's your hose gonna be?

Last I checked, Code requires a two-gang outlet no more than six feet from any spot on a wall in a living space. I suggest four-gangs on both walls in a corner.

An unfinished basement is not a living space, so it only requires one outlet per area, which probably means one per basement. Don't let that happen. Tell 'em to treat it like a living space.

Make sure that whatever electric you get is sensibly divided circuit-wise. In my house, the outlets at the panel, at the front door and garage are all on the same circuit, but nowhere near each other. Also, the whole back of the upstairs is on one circuit - lights *and* outlets, across three rooms. Makes it harder than it needs to be to work on the lights (or install fans), because when the power's off to the lights, it's off to the outlets and you have to drag out an extension cord (or a 7-year-old w/ flashlight, if you've got those) to see what you're doing.

When we built our house I added at lease two phone, cable, and CAT6 outlets in each room, including garage. Ran everything to a wiring cabinet in the master closet. You might not need all those connections but it was a lot cheaper to run it then than to go back today. I had a few of my work buddies come over and we ran wire to all the connections within 3 hours one evening. I also added electrical outlets under the eves for Christmas lights and have a timer in the hall closet.
One more thing I really enjoy, a raised dishwasher, saves my back load/unloading the dishes.

Master Closet - closets are so big now with shelves and drawers; that may be where you charge your phone or blackberry, or you may want an ironing board or steamer in the closet.

I wouldn't hesitate to run cat-5, for video feeds, a wired connection is a lot more consistent than depending solely on wireless...

that said, a friend of mine ran wires in his new house, and he's forever finding dead connections and reversed wiring. So be careful on that.

From my own Lessons Learned:
1. Outlets in the utility shelves for cell phone chargers.
A. Take plenty of pictures during construction so you can find the wiring/terminals/plumbing behind the sheetrock. One of my phone boxes was covered.
I. Photograph or otherwise locate any buried sprinkler system controls before the sod is layed.
x. Add insulation to the interior walls as necessary around any bedroom near the HVAC. Or anywhere else noise between rooms might be an issue.
and,
Assume all the TVs in the house will eventually be networked - preferably wired.

Wow! You guys are overwhelming with your feedback. It's going to take a while to digest it, but I do appreciate your comments, as well as the email and even phone calls with your ideas and suggestions.

I'll admit that I'm growing increasingly enamored with the idea of running Cat5 or 6, if for no other reason than it's so much trouble to do it after the fact. But I'll also admit that I'm a total n00b when it comes to wired networking; I'm basically starting from square one in trying to configure a wiring layout for the house. Anyone have any good online resources for learning that sort of thing? Any suggestions for local resources in case I decide I don't have the time or expertise to do it myself (Rob, I'll check out Home Depot's selection of panels; didn't even know they carried 'em)? Jon W., how far would I get with a couple of pizzas and six-pack of Diet Coke? ;-)

Good comments about the other things, too, like extra outlets in the master closet, and a ceiling fan in the master bath (although, Deborah, I usually go somewhere else to put on my panty hose ;-).

Oh, coupla other things:

Beth, this whole thread started because I am, indeed, running speaker wire to various rooms for in-ceiling speakers and in-wall volume controls (on the front and back patios). I started thinking that as long as I was doing this, why not see what else I could accomplish.

And thanks for bringing up that bike project thing and reminding me of yet another commitment I've failed to keep. ;-)

Kyle, I know you (and your parents) have had some serious electrical issues, but I'm not sure GFI outlets are really the answer to some of them. They're really designed as safety measures, and not necessarily to protect equipment or circuitry (as I understand them). I've got most of my more expensive or essential electronics on surge protectors or UPS. We've never experienced the kinds of semi-catastrophic electrical problems you guys have recently encountered.

Re: floor outlets. Personally, I think they're a good idea, but MLB doesn't like them (says they limit flexibility on rearranging furniture), so I got outvoted. It's a dead issue.

And, finally, Brian – we will have a basement, but it will be filled with dirt until we decide we need it. Should significantly reduced operating expenses. ;-)

I'd mostly echo Rob O., regarding the wiring. We had our central box moved from a closet at the rear of the house to the "Texas closet" in the center, specifically to ensure the best Wi-Fi signal throughout. CAT-5 to only our two offices.

But while you're in the planning stages, pay to attention to how many outdoor taps you have and where they're located. It was only after our house was built and we'd moved in that I realized we have one tap in the rear and one on the side, next to our large expanse of front driveway. I have to run a long chunk of garden hose from one of those two when I want to, say, spray the front lawn for weeds.

Could you hotwire a car for me? hahahaha...(don't get yourself in trouble).

Well, yes...actually, I can. Or, at least, I have. I once lost my car keys while windsurfing at a lake, and hotwired my own car in order to get home.

That was before most cars had the more sophisticated security features we now have; I doubt that I could pull it off today.

I can't believe no one has suggested more outlets in the master bath. The standard one outlet per vanity is just way inadequate for the modern woman.

Well, I'm not sure one outlet is sufficient for anyone nowadays, regardless of gender. In our case, putting some outlets in the master closet will greatly reduce the clutter at our vanity outlets. My wife keeps a cell phone and an Blackberry plugged in at her dressing table, and those will move into the closet in the new setup.

The comment about taking photos of your wiring & plumbing while the walls are still bare and the ground is still dug up is an excellent one! Several times, I've wished I had taken pics of our sprinkler layout when the trenches were still uncovered.

Also, consider an electrical outlet inside your bathroom vanity or medicine cabinet if you're going to have one. Your rechargable razor(s) & toothbrushes will love you for that!

And I'll second the vote for at least one more external water outlet. This added flexibility can make car-washing, pet-grooming, plant-watering, or any of a dozen other activities much easier.