Electrical Planning for Pre-Start

Pre-start is the appointment most new home builders look forward to the most. You finally get to choose the finishes, the tiles, the benchtops — the things that make your house feel like your home.

But buried in that excitement is a category of decisions that most people gloss over completely: electrical and cabling. And it's the one area where I see clients leave the most money, and the most convenience, on the table.

Here's the thing; your builder's pre-start consultant will run you through the standard inclusions and tick the boxes. What they won't always do is stop and say, "Have you thought about exactly how you plan to LIVE in your new home?"

That's my job.

Power Points: The Decision That Sounds Boring Until You're Crawling Behind the Couch

Every new build comes with a set number of GPOs (general power outlets — your standard power points) included in the base price. Most clients assume that's enough.

Unfortunatley though, most clients are wrong.

The cost to add a GPO at pre-start is a fraction of what it costs post-construction. And the cost of not adding them? Extension cords. Power boards. That one double adaptor you've been meaning to replace for three years. OR you could spend $500+ to add additional points after your build.

Here's what I encourage every client to think through before their appointment:

Where do you actually use your phone? Not just the bedroom — think about the hallway table, the kitchen bench, the couch. Is there a power point within reach? If not, add one.

Are you mounting your TV to the wall? If the GPO stays at floor height, you'll have a cord dangling down the wall. Raise the power point to sit behind the TV during pre-start and you won't see it again.

Bedside GPOs in every room. Not just the master. Anyone who's had a guest bedroom with one awkward power point in the corner knows exactly why this matters.

The fridge placement trick. If you have overhead cabinets above your fridge recess, ask to move the fridge GPO higher — up behind the overheads. The fridge cord sits out of sight, and the fridge itself can push back further into the recess. Just check your fridge cord length first before committing.

These adjustments are small at pre-start. After the walls are up, they're a tradesperson call-out and a bill you didn't need.

Conduits: The Single Best Investment You Can Make

This is the one I feel most strongly about, and the one that gets skipped most often because it doesn't feel urgent in the moment.

A conduit is a channel installed inside your walls (and sometimes ceilings) during construction. It doesn't have wiring in it — it's just a pathway. But that pathway means that when you decide in three years that you want pendant lighting over the dining table, or a wall-mounted speaker system in the living room, or a hidden cable run for your mounted TV, someone can actually thread the cable through without pulling your walls apart.

Running cables through a single cavity wall post-construction isn't always impossible — but it's significantly more complex, more expensive, and more disruptive than it needs to be. A conduit during pre-start costs a relatively small amount. The flexibility it gives you is worth far more.

Where to think about conduit:

• Behind and above where your TV will be mounted (even if you're not sure yet — plan for it)

• Above dining and kitchen areas where you might want pendants later

• Any wall where you're considering in-wall speakers or a sound system

• Outdoor entertaining areas if you're thinking about outdoor audio or TV

• To your existing light switches so you have the option of installing ceiling fans or tapping into "smart home" technology at a later date.

You don't have to know exactly what you want. That's the whole point. Conduit means you keep the option open.

The Pre-Start Mindset Shift

Here's what I tell every client before their appointment: stop thinking about what you need right now, and start thinking about what you'll wish you'd done in five years.

Electrical is cheap at pre-start and expensive after the fact. It's also completely invisible once the walls are up — which means if you didn't plan for it, it simply doesn't exist.

Your builder's pre-start consultant is there to guide you through a process. They're not there to design a home that fits your life in 2030. That's the gap Taylor & Co Home Design exists to fill.

Want to Walk Into Pre-Start Prepared?

If you're in the process of building in Perth or anywhere across Western Australia, Taylor & Co Home Design offers independent pre-start consulting — no builder commissions, no upselling, just honest advice from someone who's been through this process and knows exactly where the decisions matter.

Get in touch at hello@taylorandcohomedesign.com.au or visit taylorandcohomedesign.com.au to learn more about our packages.