Electrical Must-Haves for a New Build
We are in the thick of our new build. If you are new here, let me catch you up to speed. We sold our old house to build on our land in September 2019. And we moved to a rental for what we thought would be less than a year. Well.. you know what happened in 2020. The world shut down. So… we put a halt on building because we didn’t know what the heck was going to happen. Fast forward to the year mark in the rental. We wanted out of the rental so bad and wanted to be here on our land. The next best thing to do was to build a barn, aka The Woods and Ivy Cottage, and live in it until it was the right time to build our house. The 40 x 48 barn will be Deb’s workshop, a place for storage, and a canning kitchen once we move to the house. Fast forward another year, and here we are building our forever home.
I give updates on social media on the progress every day. And, I will also be updating here shortly. Anyway, the electrical walk-thru will be coming up very soon. So Deb and I want to be prepared for anything extra that we want. I asked over on Instagram for electrical must-haves in a new-build, and I thought I would share here. (Pin this post to save for later.)
Electrical Must-Haves for a New Build
You all came up with some BRILLIANT ideas. We have the first one here in the cottage and it is a game changer. You will never have your electric toothbrush on the counter to charge again. And, it will never be out of a charge. And, we are definitely doing the second one listed below. I am going to have as many electrical outlets in the pantry that the electrician can do.
- Electrical outlets inside bathroom vanities to charge toothbrushes
- Several electrical outlets in the small kitchen appliance pantry
- Dimmer switches on every ceiling light
- Outlets with USB ports
- Light switch by night stand to turn off overhead lights
- Outlet on kitchen island
- Outlets in closets for vacuums, etc
- Outlets above kitchen cabinets with switch
- Outlets by gutters on each side of the house for Christmas lights
- Inside switch for above Christmas lights
- Outlets on every side of the exterior of the house
- Outlets in the floor for lamps
- Outlets by the stair railing for Christmas lights
- Outlets by each mantel
- Outlets under porch roof for lights
- Outlets under each window for Christmas candles
- Outlets directly behind each bedroom side table
- Hidden charging station in a kitchen drawer
- Several outlets on porches
- Outlets on all stairway landings
- Outlet close to toilet for small night lights or bidet
- Outlets on both sides of the front door
- Outlet in linen closet for robot vacuum
- Special Outlet in garage for future electric vehicle
The number one answer was MORE OUTLETS. Just when you think you have enough, add more. Because you never have enough. That is our theory, too!
I hope this list helps any of you who are building or remodeling. Let me know in the comments if there are electrical must-haves that aren’t listed here.
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Sensor lighting, in bathroom and pantry
And any walk in closets! Have that in our Master!
That is a great idea.
I wish I had asked for a four-plug outlet where our nightstands are. We have a lamp, an electric alarm clock, charger for phone/kindle/computer and often need to plug in a heating pad. So we currently have an extension cord to manage all of that or get a power strip (which I keep forgetting to do!) I forgot to suggest the floor outlets yesterday!!! We have an open floor plan, and they are a must, because we don’t like to use overhead lighting to read by. We have two, both are double outlets, as all our seating “floats” away from any walls.
Yep! The power strip gets so annoying. Almost everything needs plugged in nowadays!
Under cabinet lighting with a switch!
Good one!!
These are all great tips! BTW the font looks great, easy to read.
Yes, so glad we made that change.
Linen closet lighting, not just outlets. . A pantry that has a door with an automatic on/off light, just like a refrigerator. Sensor lighting on the stairs. It helps at night.
With the USB outlets be extra cautious with what design you get because if you get the one with the USB between the outlets it’s useless if you have apple 🍎 products and have the big blocks to charge with.
I have a light switch by my bed to turn the porch lights off and on.
Put outlets on the top of your mantles. That makes plugs easier to hide. If the outlets are on the sides they might not be covered depending on your decor.
I have never lived any place in which there were enough electrical outlets. I’ve even wished for outlets in the floors for floor lamps and was impressed the one time I was in France that the bedside sconces were wired in, which eliminated the need for outlets, at least for the lamps, and also eliminated ugly cords that are never totally hidden even with cord covers. Your planning is going to make everything so handy! I’m just as excited as you are, I think, to see your finished house.
Is your new build going extremely fast? It seems to be from what I can see here in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy watching the progress, you both must be over the moon with excitement! Best of luck.
Sensor lighting in the garage. I love opening the back door to go out and the light comes on in the garage automatically!
Hallway outlets!!
I love this post. It’s so helpful. Page looks great too.
Garden area outlets,also along any fencing, my husband is an electrician and he wondered how much snow you get. If lots he suggested electrical ice/snow melting for your roof and driveways
Garden area outlets,also along any fencing, my husband is an electrician and he wondered how much snow you get. If lots he suggested electrical ice/snow melting for your roof and driveways
Also built in ironing board with outlet
Outside outlets if you plan to do any landscape lights.
Do you need a whole house generator?
A switch for outside Christmas lights in master closet so they can be the last thing that goes off before bed. Automatic light in pantry so it comes on when the door is opened. (Hands are often full!)
We have an automatic fan in our half bath so if guests you know 💩 they don’t have to worry about the smell. We also have lots of two, three and even four way switches for our overhead lights. Very convenient especially if you have multiple doorways into a room. Our 4 way in our breakfast room is a lifesaver. One switch as we come in from the mudroom, one switch by the patio slider, one switch by the porch slider and one switch by the doorway into the kitchen. Anywhere I come into that room I can click a light off or on.
POP UP ELECTRICAL OUTLETS Great if you don’t like clutter on your kitchen counter.
This outlet with several plug-ins, pops up from under the counter and can be pushed down again when not in use. When placed with cabinets under the counter, it is totally hidden from sight when not in use.
****INVISIBLE OUTLETS Electrical outlets recessed about half an inch into the wall, allow you to push the electrical appliance right up against the wall. This in turn not only gives you more counter space but the unsightly plugs and cords remain hidden.
Hi Deb and Danelle- Ask your electrician to install an under the vanity, instant hot water tank. In the winter months, this is especially nice to have….No waiting for the water to get warm. We too, live in Ohio, so this is a great thing to put on your checklist!
Generator is a must!
We did almost all of those.
In the garage we also did extra plugs for fridge and freezer. Also had a water line added for the second fridge.
Tv outlets in each room and on the patio so they all can be mounted on the wall with no wires.
Another one would be a plug out back for a hot tub and if you use tools in the garage a 220 plug for bigger power saws.
We also plumbed and did electric for a second set of washer and dryer.
Interlock type switch that is built into door jam on hinge side so when you open door light comes on, & when closed light goes off. Use this in kitchen pantry, under stair storage area, or similar type situation. Our kitchen walk in pantry has no typical switch but this type switch. You can use motion sensor type lights for after house is built to retrofit the same type working method
Outlets in kitchen island are actually code to be there, if not there then city inspector missed it, or island put in after house was built. Not sure I understand logic in “Outlet in linen closet for robot vacuum”. Door to linen closet would always have to be left open unless this is some sort of situation where there is no door. They run at random times throughout the day.
In master bath I installed an outlet behind lower drawer so blow dryer can be stored in drawer and always plugged in. This is a larger type drawer also. Open drawer, use blow dryer for hair, place back in drawer and close. No blow dryer hanging around, and don’t have to plug in and out to use. Wife loves it and bathroom is cleaner and neater done this way.
I have the soffit outlets for the outside Christmas lights with switch in garage as mentioned. Of course now I’m using them for Ring security cameras. I will have to buy remote controlled plugs to turn off the Christmas lights now. House built in 2003 and technology for security cameras was not as good or available then. So I would mention that soffit outlets every where you can that are non switched either next to switched Christmas outlets and/or anywhere you think you might want to ever install a camera. I buy the refurbished cameras from Ring. Just as good and you save money.
The robot vacuums are great but instead of the you are the robot vacuum you know what I mean. I have a central vacuum system and it has been the best investment ever. Eliminates sometimes the need for outlets in closets and such. Big plus much stronger suction and the sound is all in the garage. Ours is over 20 years old and still running strong. I know this isn’t exactly an outlet topic, but good to know on new build.
Some great ideas. We are going to start a new build soon and this info was extremely helpful. Great comments too, by others-thank you. I also like dimmable lighting for the counter tops and will consider “plugmold/ wiremold strips” under wall cabinets for the kitchen instead of visible outlets on the backsplash.
Great progress on the build! The outlet suggestions are super helpful. How are you balancing aesthetics with the practicality of having so many outlets in your design?