If you are building a new home in Sydney, this is the most important technology decision you will make during construction. Getting the pre-wiring right during the build phase — before walls are plastered and ceilings are closed — is the single most cost-effective investment in your smart home. This guide covers exactly what to run, where to run it, and how to ensure your home is ready for whatever technology you choose to install now or in the future.
Why Pre-Wiring Matters So Much
The cost difference between pre-wiring during construction and retrofitting after completion is dramatic. Running cables through open stud walls during the frame stage is simple, fast and inexpensive. Running the same cables through finished plasterboard walls requires cutting, patching and repainting — multiplying the cost by a factor of three to five. A comprehensive pre-wire package in a typical Sydney home might cost $6,000 to $15,000 during construction. Retrofitting the same cabling after completion can easily cost $25,000 to $60,000.
Beyond cost, retrofitting creates aesthetic compromises — visible conduit, patched walls, surface-run cables. Pre-wiring delivers a clean finish that is only possible when cables are run before the walls go up.
The Complete Pre-Wiring Checklist
Data Cabling (Cat6A) — Run Cat6A (not Cat5e, not Cat6) to every room in the house. At a minimum, provide two Cat6A runs to every TV point, desk location and fixed device location. Run four Cat6A to the main living area TV, the home office and any dedicated AV room. All runs home-run back to the equipment cabinet (not daisy-chained). Do not use Cat5e for new installations — Cat6A future-proofs the installation for 10Gbps speeds and is now standard in quality installations.
Wi-Fi Access Point Locations — For whole-home enterprise Wi-Fi, plan for ceiling-mounted access points (Ubiquiti UniFi, Cisco Meraki, Ruckus) rather than relying on a single router. Run Cat6A to the ceiling in each major zone of the home: living areas, all bedrooms, outdoor entertaining areas, garage. One AP per 100sqm of floor area is a reasonable planning guide for a well-designed Wi-Fi system.
Speaker Cabling — Run 14AWG (or 16AWG as a minimum) oxygen-free copper speaker cable to every in-ceiling speaker location. In a typical Sydney home, this means all living areas, kitchen, dining room, master bedroom, alfresco, pool area and outdoor entertaining spaces. Plan speaker positions based on the ceiling grid and furniture layout — pairs of in-ceiling speakers typically work best at 2-2.5m from a wall and 2-3m apart. Home-run all speaker cables back to the amplifier location in the equipment cabinet.
TV Point Cabling — At each TV location, run: 2x Cat6A (for streaming devices, smart TV, gaming console networking), 1x HDMI 2.1 (high speed, 48Gbps rated), and 1x conduit (25mm minimum) for future cable access. If using a central video distribution system (HDBaseT or AV-over-IP), replace the HDMI run with additional Cat6A runs as per the video distribution design. Also run a 4-core control cable to each TV location for IR (infra-red) control of the display.
Motorised Blind Wiring — At every window where motorised blinds are intended (and future-proof by running to more windows than you currently plan), recess a single GPO (general power outlet) in the blind reveal or ceiling adjacent to the window. Use a shallow recessed GPO or install into the window frame recess so it is concealed behind the blind when open. For wired blind control systems, also run a 4-core control cable from each blind motor location back to the home automation cabinet.
Keypad and Control Cabling — Run a 4-core or 6-core low-voltage control cable from each keypad location back to the home automation cabinet. Keypad locations should be at every entry point, at bedside locations (master bedroom at minimum), in the living area and at any room entry where a light switch would normally be located. Even if you are installing wireless keypads (Lutron RadioRA), run the control cable anyway — it enables wired keypads in the future and adds no significant cost during construction.
Security Camera Conduit and Cabling — Run 20mm conduit (or Cat6A cable) to each planned camera location. Camera positions should cover: front door, side gates, rear of property, garage entry, driveway approach and any other vulnerable entry points. Also run a power cable to each camera location — IP cameras are typically powered by PoE (Power over Ethernet) from the network switch, so a Cat6A run per camera is usually sufficient if using PoE cameras.
Intercom Cabling — For a video door intercom, run a Cat6A (or specific intercom cable as per the manufacturer’s specification) from each entry station location (front door, side gate, garage pedestrian door) to the home automation cabinet. Also run Cat6A to each internal monitor location.
Equipment Cabinet (Rack) Location — The equipment cabinet is the heart of the smart home system. It houses the network switch, home automation processor, amplifiers, patch panels, UPS (battery backup) and any other rack-mounted equipment. The cabinet location should be: central to the home if possible, in a cool and ventilated space (not in a tight cupboard), large enough to accommodate growth (2m tall 19″ rack is typical for a full installation), accessible for servicing without disruption to the household, and provided with dedicated 240V power circuits (minimum 4 power points, ideally on a dedicated circuit).
How to Work With Your Builder on Pre-Wiring
The pre-wiring specification needs to be incorporated into the building documentation before the electrical rough-in begins. The sequence should be: engage a home automation consultant at design stage, receive a detailed pre-wiring specification document, issue that specification to your builder and electrician, confirm the specification is incorporated into the electrical plans, walk the site with the electrician during rough-in to confirm all cables are being run as specified, and inspect before plasterboard is installed to confirm completion.
Many builders treat home automation pre-wiring as an afterthought — a quick add-on by the electrician in the last few days before plaster. This approach results in shortcuts, missing cables and a pre-wire that limits rather than enables your smart home. Treating the pre-wiring specification as a formal document — issued as part of the building contract — ensures it receives the attention it deserves.
The pre-wiring stage is also the right time to decide on your home automation platform. The choice of platform may affect the specific cabling requirements — for example, KNX requires a dedicated bus cable, wired Lutron Homeworks requires specific control cabling, and some AV distribution systems have proprietary cabling requirements. Making the platform decision before the walls go up avoids these issues entirely.
For more on choosing a platform, read our Home Automation guide and our Smart Lighting guide. Our Smart Homes guide covers the full design process from initial planning through to commissioning.