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Use CAT6 or even 6A. CAT8 is the latest standard, but it’s probably too expensive?

Also consider running fiber optic between floors as a backhaul since 10G fiber switches are cheaper than cooper ones.

Cameras are fine on 5E, but may as well CAT6.

Run multiple random ceiling drops for APs and other home automation devices / sensors.

Conduits with at least two pull wires all home run to a central, well ventilated and well powered battery backed up closet or equipment room.

If I had it to do over again, I’d get a nice equipment room at the end of those conduits. That’s my biggest gripe now. I have everything a rack that lives in the top of a small closet. No room to work on it if something gets an upgrade, and no room for non racked items. I had to run a line to another part of the house for that, and it’s a hassle.

Get a nice 19" rack system to bolt everything down that’s rack mounted. Double points if it’s on a swivel (so you can work on the back side) or has a swing door. You can get rack mount UPS, but they’re pricier that what you get for a stand alone UPS. I’d also put a mounting wall (usually a peg board) and some shelving in there, too.

Whatever you put in there will be obsolete before you finish hooking it up, so make room for upgrades.

As for what to do now, I like the idea of double ethernet + doable coax to location. Also, I like having built into the wall speakers, so I agree with your idea there, too. If you’re going to do a mesh system, then consider getting another line to terminate in each corner of the house, in the ceiling. You can POE a mesh unit on the ceilings, getting you some really good coverage.

I would also run a pvc pipe conduit from attic to basement.

Run conduit. That way it standards change you can run new cabling through it with minimal effort. That’s the most valuable thing you can do.

Why CAT5e? Go CAT6. You don’t need CAT6 now, but you may in the future. The cost difference is not that bad.

You also may want outlets on the eaves of the roof for Christmas lights.

While you’ll have speaker wire, might as well run wire for an Dobly Atmos setup. You might now use it, but you may in the future. Make sure to run good quality and proper gauge wire a well. Might as well run the wire for a dual subwoofer setup. Again, you’ll probably won’t use it, but maybe in the future.

Make sure to have an outlet where the CAT5 panel runs into a well. I had to hire an electrician to install one. That said, my house did not come with a panel and did all the work afterwards.

I would run Cat6A not cat 5E. At least 5 runs to each room. I would run the largest reasonable gauge cable and have each rooms receiver in a closet along with the networking gear. I’d future proof running 2 fiber runs to each room.

Not necessarily related to home automation but outlets behind every toilet if you ever plan on installing bidets

Don’t forget the garage or attic.

I’m about to start building and I listed out all 128 runs of cable – highlights:

• I’m not doing speaker runs. Maybe I’ll regret this, but voice assistants and whole-home audio just isn’t my family’s jam.
• Every place I put an outlet, pull two runs
• Just about every wall has a jack, minimum two per room
• Dual runs for security cameras to at least all four corners of the house; I also have several interior cameras as well
• Smurf tube
• Sensors for windows & doors, even interior doors
• Runs for access points
• Runs for hardwired sensors
• Runs to utilities (water shut off, power monitoring, water heater, even behind the washing machine)
• Runs for water leak detection
• A lot of the locations I’m pull cat to are NOT for ethernet, not at the outset anyway. My philosophy is that maybe someday down the line there would be some novel reason to have an ESP32 at the end of the run for a door sensor – until that time, though, wire is wire and I can just use the ethernet cord for a dumb reed switch loop, no big deal.

And here it is in a visual drops location format

Smurftube in each corner and center of the ceiling of each room. As well as next to at least one outlet box on each wall.

Cat6E on the roof peaks and edges of the roof for cameras.

Neutral wires in all the light switch boxes.

Power delivery USB C that supports 100w minimum to every room. PoE cable to every room. Switches with energy monitoring.

Conduit to every room if desired, and honestly, I would pull fiber if I did it again.

Don’t skimp on ethernet. Even if not needed for data transmission, it can also be used to power low voltage devices via POE. (Example, wall mounted LCD panels for smart house).

Are there any solutions that are more like running a bus around every room, as opposed to wiring a ton of circuits? I certainly would love to have all the wiring people are suggesting. But at some point it seems like guessing what you’ll need and installing 2x and then covering it with drywall is backwards.

Removable wainscotting? NNN-conductor bands that run a loop around the floor and ceiling of every room? How can I make my walls into breadboards while also looking acceptable and meeting code?