Pay Attention To The Electrical & Wiring Details During Upgrades

When planning or renovating a dream home, we usually pay lots of attention to the cosmetics such as the paint colors, carpeting and flooring styles and types of cabinetry we want installed. This is all good because personal taste is important. But while we sit with out heads in the decorating clouds, we should be mindful of some of the perhaps overlooked but important items such as electrical outlets. Make sure you have enough, and that they are conveniently placed.

Some of the areas that are commonly overlooked in the design process include the master bedroom. It is important to have one outlet on each side of the bed. Sometimes owners end up with one outlet to share, or worse, none at all. Same goes for the master bathroom. There should be “his and hers” outlets, each with plenty of counter space to handle the appliance cords. Not a good idea to have these dangling in the sink. In the kitchen, make sure your kitchen island, if you have one, is wired. If this is your main food prep station, it would be handy to plug in a food processor, toaster or coffee pot within easy reach.

Other home items that sometimes get overlooked are the number of heat registers installed. There should be at least one in every room, preferably more if it is a large space. Vaulted ceilings should have ceiling fans, and if that fan is in the master bedroom, a remote control is a nice touch. As far as wiring the home for entertainment value, putting cat-5 cable in only a couple of rooms should do it. Wiring the whole house isn’t needed because of the advent of wireless Internet.