So you’ve just bought your first house, or maybe you’re building. Everything’s exciting – choosing paint colours, figuring out where the couch goes, all that. Then six months later you ring us wanting security cameras and decent internet coverage throughout the house.
Which is fine, we do retrofits all the time. But man, it would’ve been so much easier if we’d had this conversation before the walls went up.
Most people don’t think about it. Why would you? You’re dealing with council approvals, choosing benchtops, arguing with the missus about whether the kitchen island is too big. Low voltage wiring isn’t exactly on your radar.
But here’s the thing – once those walls are closed up, getting cables where they need to go becomes a bit of a puzzle. We can do it, absolutely. Fish wires through cavities, use existing conduit runs, sometimes go external if we have to. It’s just more involved than having proper pathways planned from the start.
We see it heaps in the new estates around Brisbane. Yarrabilba, Ripley, all those growing areas. Beautiful houses, but when people want cameras covering the front door and back yard, or they want to hardwire their wifi access points, we’re working backwards from finished construction.
The builders aren’t doing anything wrong – they’re covering the basics that need to be there. Power, lights, NBN connection point. But there’s a gap between that and what people actually end up wanting once they’re living in the place.
Some builders are starting to get this. To avoid conflicts of interest when we discuss examples, we often look at projects from outside our area. Take a sydney premium home builder who actually talks to their clients about future tech needs during planning. Makes the whole process smoother.
The ideal scenario is having these conversations during the frame stage. Extra conduit runs, dedicated circuits for security systems, ethernet drops in bedrooms. Doesn’t add much to the build cost but saves headaches later.
Just something to think about if you’re building. Future you will thank present you for planning ahead.
