There's one week in a new build when low-voltage wiring is easy: after framing, before insulation and drywall. Every cable you run that week is quick and clean. Every cable you wish you'd run after that means opening finished walls, fishing through insulation, or settling for wireless where you wanted a wire.
If you're building in Big Sky or the surrounding mountains, here's what we recommend getting in the walls while you can.
Start with the rack location
Every cable in the house runs back to one spot, so pick it first. A mechanical room or a dedicated closet works well. It needs power, some ventilation, and enough room to work. It should be somewhere a technician can reach without walking through the primary suite. It also needs a clear path to where the internet comes in, whether that's a fiber or cable line, or a Starlink dish on the roof.
Wire the access points, not just the outlets
The biggest WiFi mistake in large mountain homes is relying on a router in a closet and a few mesh units. Stone, timber, and multiple levels eat wireless signal. The fix is ceiling-mounted access points, each with its own cable back to the rack.
Plan a cable to each access point location on every floor
Add runs for decks, patios, the hot tub, and the garage if you want coverage outside
Use Cat6 at minimum, and consider Cat6A to access points so the house is ready for faster WiFi standards
We go deeper on this in our post on why big houses need more than mesh WiFi.
TVs, offices, and anything that stays put
WiFi is for phones and laptops. Anything that doesn't move should be wired:
Every TV location, plus the spot where the streaming box or AV gear will live
Home offices, with a couple of runs at the desk
Gaming setups, printers, and smart home hubs
A wired TV streams better and frees up WiFi for everything else.
Cameras, doorbells, and gates
If there's any chance you'll want cameras, run the cable now. Exterior camera locations are the hardest thing to add later, especially on log, stone, or high eaves. A single cable powers and connects each camera. Do the same for a video doorbell, the driveway gate, and any outbuildings.
Audio
If you want speakers in the ceiling, on the deck, or in the great room, speaker wire goes in during the pre-wire too, along with a cable to wherever the amplifiers will sit. Even if you don't buy the speakers yet, running wire to marked locations keeps the option open. More on our audio installation page.
Starlink and the internet line
Plenty of Big Sky properties rely on Starlink, alone or alongside a wired provider. Plan the dish location with a clear view of the northern sky, and run a cable path from the roof or mount to the rack before the roof and walls close. For homes with a wired provider, confirm where the line enters the house and make sure it reaches the rack. Our guide to internet in Big Sky covers the options by area.
Conduit is cheap insurance
Where you can, add empty conduit: from the rack to the attic or crawlspace, to the TV wall, and out to the dish or an outbuilding. Technology will change over the life of the house. A pull string in an empty pipe means you can add a cable in an hour instead of opening a wall.
Get on the builder's schedule early
Mountain construction runs on tight windows, and the low-voltage pre-wire has to land between framing and insulation. Call us when framing starts, not when drywall is scheduled. We'll walk the house with you or your builder, mark every location, and coordinate with the electrician so pathways don't collide.
Building or remodeling in Big Sky? Send us your plans and we'll put together a pre-wire plan for the whole property. For ongoing care once you move in, see estate network management.
