Drywall is a deadline. Here's what we need from your drawings before it goes up.

The most common thing we're asked to fix after the fact is a television mounted from an elevation drawing that didn't show the furniture.

It's never a big failure. It's a screen four inches too high, a keypad that landed on the wrong side of a doorway, a shade that had to be surface-mounted because the header wasn't deep enough, an access point stuck in a cabinet because nobody put one on the ceiling plan. Each one is small. Together they're the difference between technology that disappears into a house and technology that's stuck to it.

All of them get decided in the same short window: framing up, wire in, nothing covered yet. After that window closes, every decision gets more expensive, more visible, or both.

This is the list we wish every design team had in hand at rough-in. It's written for interior designers, and it's just as useful to architects and builders. You don't need to become a network engineer. You need to know which of these decisions land on your drawings, and how early we need them.

When we need each decision

Nothing here is exotic. It just has to happen in order.

Design milestone	What we need settled
Design development	Rack location, lighting control platform, rough system scope by room
Before the reflected ceiling plan is finalized	Speaker and access point locations, keypad locations and datum
Before glazing is ordered	Shade family, pocket dimensions, header depth, motor side
Before the fixture schedule is released	Driver and control method for every dimmed fixture, driver access
Before the door and hardware package is released	Door contacts, locks, video door station location
Before framing inspection	Every device location final, blocking and boxes located
Before insulation	The pre-drywall walk, photographs, labels

The rest of this post is what sits behind each of those lines.

Drywall isn't a preference. It's a deadline.

Low-voltage work in Oregon is legally "limited energy" electrical work, and the state treats it like electrical work. Oregon's Building Codes Division lists "install or alter low-voltage systems like security alarms, stereo systems, or computer systems" under the work that requires a permit. That permit gets inspected.

Then there's the rule that sets the calendar. Under OAR 918-271-0010, whoever pulled the electrical permit has to request an inspection within three working days of completing any installation "intended to be covered or concealed." Under OAR 918-271-0020, work that involves a cover inspection can't be covered until clearance is given. The only relief is a written request the jurisdiction failed to answer inside its own deadline.

Read that with a drywall crew in mind. The wire isn't finished when it's pulled. It's finished when somebody has looked at it.

The residential code says the same thing about everything else. ORSC R109.1: work "shall remain accessible and exposed for inspection purposes until approved." R109.1.5.2 puts the insulation inspection "after all insulation and required vapor retarders are in place, but before any lath or gypsum board interior wall covering is applied."

In practice that usually sorts out as rough-in, framing, low-voltage cover inspection, insulation, board. Your building official sets the exact order. What doesn't change is that every decision below has to be made before that chain starts moving.

Displays

Lands on: floor plan, elevations, millwork drawings.

A display location needs four things before the wall closes: blocking sized for the mount that's actually going on it, a recessed power and data box inside the mount's footprint, at least two data cables, and — in any room where the display matters — an empty conduit running back toward the equipment closet with a pull string in it.

That conduit is the cheapest insurance in the house. Connector standards change every few years. A buried HDMI cable is a bet that they won't. A 1¼-inch sleeve means the next cable gets pulled instead of the wall getting opened, and it's the one item on this list that's nearly free now and genuinely painful later.

Height comes from the furniture plan and the seated sightline, not from a wall elevation. Send us the furniture plan and we'll stop guessing.

Recessed televisions, art-mode displays and concealed panels all need the elevation reviewed before stone, veneer or paneling is ordered, because recess depth and mount hardware change the assembly behind them. We've written separately about designing around hidden televisions and concealed speakers if that's where the room is going.

Speakers

Lands on: reflected ceiling plan.

The architectural speakers we install are passive. They have no electronics in them at all. The amplifier lives in the equipment closet, sometimes a long way off. Sonos released Amp Multi to installers in August 2026, which drives up to twenty-four Sonos Architectural speakers from one box, and none of that is visible in the finished room. All of it depends on wire pulled months earlier.

Distance matters more than people expect. Sonos publishes a plain table: 16-gauge wire under 80 feet, 14-gauge from 80 to 200 feet, 12-gauge from there to 300, and they don't recommend runs past 300 feet at all. On a long single-level floor plan with the closet at one end, a great room run clears 80 feet easily. You don't have to size the wire. You do have to tell us where the closet is and where the speakers go, early enough that we can.

Two coordination points for the design team. Speaker locations belong on the reflected ceiling plan alongside the downlights, diffusers, sprinklers and sensors, decided by the people who care how the ceiling reads. And if the ceiling is tongue-and-groove, timber or anything else that isn't coming back down, speaker and access point locations have to be final before it goes up. Nobody fishes a wire through a T&G ceiling later.

Lighting control

Lands on: electrical plan, elevations, fixture schedule.

The lighting platform has to be chosen before rough-in, because it changes the wiring and not just the faceplate.

A keypad-based Lutron system replaces a bank of five switches with one clean plate, which is usually the outcome a designer is after. We've written about why keypads beat switch banks on a wall people actually look at. That only works if the electrician knows which loads are controlled from where before pulling the home runs back to the panel. Decide it late and you've paid for wire nobody uses, or you're back in the wall.

What we need from the design side: keypad locations, one consistent mounting height across the whole house, roughly how many buttons each plate needs, the finish family, and a control plan for every dimmed fixture.

That last one matters most. "Dimmable LED" tells us nothing about how a fixture is actually controlled. Decorative fixtures, linear lighting and tape runs each have a driver, and that driver has to live somewhere a person can reach later without cutting into finished plaster.

One technical note that turns into a design note: Lutron requires its wireless processors to be mounted five feet away from Wi-Fi access points, routers and other 2.4 GHz equipment.

So the equipment closet layout and the ceiling access point plan are one conversation, not two.

If the project is still deciding between a full lighting system and something lighter, our take on where that line sits is worth reading before the fixture schedule goes out.

Shades

Lands on: window schedule, sections, interior elevations.

This is the one with the least margin, and the one architects ask us about most. We wrote the detailed version on header depth and dedicated power for exactly that reason.

The short version for a design set: finished window dimensions rather than rough opening, the shade family and approximate roll diameter, single or dual, blackout side channels or not, which side the motor is on, and the pocket closure detail. Wired Lutron shades run on one low-voltage four-conductor cable carrying both power and communication, so the ask at rough-in is modest. One cable to each pocket. It just has to be there, on the correct side, before the header is framed.

Central Oregon adds a wrinkle. The view glass on a Cascade-facing great room is usually tall, wide and facing south or west. Bigger glass means bigger fabric, bigger rollers and deeper pockets, plus a real conversation about solar heat before the glazing package is ordered. Big windows are why people build here. That's exactly why the shade detail can't be an afterthought.

And for the record: when walls aren't opening, battery-powered shades are a legitimate answer. We recommend them on remodels regularly. On a new build, wired is the cleaner result.

Wi-Fi

Lands on: reflected ceiling plan.

Three things we'll steer you away from, and why.

Putting the access point inside a cabinet. A low-profile ceiling access point reads about like a smoke detector. Inside a cabinet, the signal fights the door before it ever reaches the room.

Putting every access point in the hallway so nobody sees them. Coverage follows the rooms people use, not the corridors between them.

Adding mesh nodes later instead of wire now. New construction is the one chance to hardwire, and eero's own documentation is direct about it: "If your home is already wired with Ethernet, you'll want to use these connections. They maximize your internet speeds and reduce wireless interference."

So access points want ceiling locations in or near the rooms they serve, on the reflected ceiling plan with everything else, each with its own cable back to the network.

On cable, one line for the designer: tell us the wall and ceiling assemblies early, because they change what we run. Stone, log, timber, insulated concrete and steel-heavy construction all behave differently, and the hard-to-reach runs are the ones we'd rather over-build now than open later.

Security

Lands on: door and hardware schedule, exterior elevations, roof details.

Concealed door and window contacts are easy while frames are still being set and nearly impossible to hide afterward. That work belongs with the door and hardware package.

Cameras are the local one. Deschutes County and the City of Sisters adopted the wildfire hardening provisions of Oregon's residential code, Section R327, for new dwellings and accessory structures beginning April 1, 2026. The City of Bend adopted the same section effective May 15, 2026, for new residential building permit applications submitted on or after that date. Those provisions cover exterior assemblies including eaves and soffits, and they restrict ventilation openings on the underside of eaves.

The practical effect for a design team: on a new home in an adopting jurisdiction, the eave and soffit are a rated assembly, and cutting into one late in the job to land a camera is how you end up with a correction instead of a camera. Put exterior camera locations on the plan, coordinate the penetration and its detail with the builder before the soffit closes, and ask the jurisdiction whether R327 applies citywide or to a mapped area at that address.

Municipalities get to choose.

Two more while you're there. A video door station works better placed against the door, sidelite and trim on paper than discovered at trim-out. And a camera tucked under a deep eave sees better through a Bend February than one hung out in the weather. Surveillance and security both go in cleaner when they're drawn rather than placed.

The equipment closet

Lands on: floor plan, electrical plan, mechanical.

All of this equipment has to live somewhere. That somewhere needs floor space, ventilation, dedicated power, and room to stand in front of it.

It should not be the garage. NOAA's 1991–2020 normal put Bend's July high near 84 degrees, with about 168 nights a year at or below freezing. An unconditioned garage or attic swings across that whole range, and switches, amplifiers and power supplies are the wrong things to ask to live there.

Give us a conditioned closet with a door, and make sure the internet service actually lands in it. That's also where Starlink planning starts, which matters more here than in most markets.

The standard kit ships with a 49-foot (15 m) cable; a 45-meter cable, roughly 150 feet, is sold separately. The dish needs clear sky, the cable has to reach the closet, and Starlink's own routing kit is built around a ¾-inch hole through the wall and a tube of silicone. That's a fine outcome on an existing house and a poor one on a new build. Sleeve a conduit to the roof before siding and nobody has to drill a finished wall later.

What else is different about a Central Oregon build

Acreage, outbuildings and gates. A shop, a guest house or a gate 400 feet down a driveway needs its own pathway, and the time to put conduit in a trench is while the excavator is still on site.

Second homes. A house in Sunriver or Black Butte Ranch that sits empty most of the year has a different brief than a primary residence: remote visibility, water shutoff, climate, and a network somebody can reach when nobody's there. That brief changes the rough-in, so it belongs in the design conversation and not the handover.

Design review. If the project sits in Sunriver, Black Butte Ranch, Brasada Ranch or any community with an architectural review committee, exterior cameras, door stations, antennas and dishes are exterior changes. Worth reading the covenants before anyone picks a mounting location.

Snow and ice. Anything at an eave line lives with snow load, ice and meltwater. It's a detailing conversation, and it's much easier before the eave exists.

Who decides what, and by when

Roles shift by contract. On a well-run job it usually sorts out like this.

Decision	Who leads	Who needs input	Due by
Furniture plan and sightlines	Designer	Integrator	Design development
TV height and elevation	Designer	Integrator, builder	Before framing
Ceiling coordination (speakers, access points, lighting)	Designer	Integrator, lighting designer	Before the RCP is final
Keypad locations, count and finish	Designer	Integrator, electrician	Before rough-in
Shade pocket and fascia detail	Architect	Designer, integrator	Before glazing is ordered
Shade power and control	Integrator	Electrician, builder	Before framing
Access point locations	Integrator	Designer	Before the RCP is final
Camera locations and soffit detail	Integrator	Architect, builder	Before soffits close
Low-voltage cable schedule	Integrator	Builder, electrician	Before rough-in
Blocking for displays and speakers	Builder	Integrator	Before framing inspection
Line-voltage circuits	Electrician	Integrator	Before rough-in
Equipment closet location, power, ventilation	Builder	Integrator, electrician	Design development
Pre-drywall walk	Builder	Everyone	Before insulation

The line that matters most: we can't protect a design we haven't seen. Send the furniture plan, the reflected ceiling plan, the millwork drawings and the finish schedule. Every location question gets easier when we're all looking at the same sheets.

The pre-drywall walk

Fifteen questions. If the answer to all of them is yes, the walls can close.

• Is every TV, speaker, keypad, touchscreen, access point, camera, door station, sensor and thermostat on the current drawings?

• Has the technology plan been laid over the reflected ceiling plan?

• Do the wall controls share one mounting height?

• Does the TV height match a furniture plan?

• Is there blocking for every display, projector and heavy speaker?

• Is there a spare conduit with a pull string at the displays that matter?

• Do the shade pockets match the shade family that was selected?

• Is there power and control at every shade head, on the correct side?

• Does every dimmed fixture have a known driver and a reachable driver location?

• Are access points on the ceiling plan, each with a cable back to the closet?

• Are camera locations coordinated with the soffit and eave details?

• Are door and window contacts coordinated with the door package?

• Is the equipment closet in conditioned space, with power, ventilation and the internet service landing in it?

• Is every cable labeled to match the drawings?

• Has somebody photographed every wall and ceiling before insulation?

  
  

That last one gets skipped constantly and gets regretted for the life of the house. Photograph the framing. With a tape measure in the shot.

Two questions worth asking on any project

Ours or anyone's.

Who is pulling the limited energy permit? Low-voltage gets permitted and inspected in Oregon, and somebody has to own that.

What license is it pulled under? Oregon licenses a Class A limited energy technician to install all limited energy systems, including what the statute calls protective signaling: fire alarm, nurse call, burglar alarm, security and voice evacuation. A Class B technician can do everything except protective signaling: data, intercom, HVAC controls and the like. Either way the technician has to be licensed as, or working for, a licensed electrical or limited energy contractor.

There's a narrow carve-out in state law (ORS 479.940) that exempts a licensed residential contractor from the licensing requirement for a short list of Class 2 and Class 3 items in a one- or two-family dwelling: homeowner-owned cable and telephone prewire, garage door openers, vacuum systems, audio and stereo, HVAC, landscape sprinkler controls, landscape lighting and doorbells. It doesn't cover security, cameras, access control or interior lighting control. And it waives the license, never the permit. The statute says so directly.

Both are easy to check. Contractors at the CCB license search, and the electrical and limited energy licenses a permit is actually pulled under at the Building Codes Division license search. We'd rather you verify than take our word for it.

Where we'd tell you to skip it

We're not in the business of selling wire nobody needs.

Don't prewire a theater the client hasn't committed to. Prewire the room so it stays possible — speaker runs, a conduit, power — and stop there.

Don't put an access point in every room. A house needs the number its floor plan needs, and a good plan usually has fewer than people expect.

Don't buy electronics early. Models change, and a processor bought at framing is a year old at move-in. Buy the pathways now and the boxes later. If the budget has to come down, take it out of equipment before you take it out of conduit.

And on a remodel where the walls aren't opening, we'll tell you that too. Wire-free shades, battery sensors and well-placed wireless are real answers. We'd rather use them because they're right than because nobody asked the question in time.

Electronics can change later. Infrastructure can't — not without opening something somebody just finished paying to have painted.

The same decisions, six months later.

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Designing or building in Central Oregon? Send us the drawings before rough-in and we'll mark up what has to be decided, and by when. No obligation, and no equipment conversation until the plan makes sense. Start a conversation, see how we work with design and build partners, or come press the buttons yourself at our Technology Design Center in Bend.

Builders: here's how we schedule low-voltage and pre-wire around your rough-in.

SecuraCore — Technology made simple. More Central Oregon smart home advice on our blog.

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General guidance for design coordination, not code interpretation, engineering or legal advice. Dimensions and cable recommendations here are residential starting points; final requirements follow the selected equipment, the project engineer, the licensed electrician and your building official. Oregon code and licensing references are current as of September 2026. Note that the 2026 Oregon Electrical Specialty Code takes effect October 1, 2026, and code editions change. Wildfire hardening adoption dates are as published by Deschutes County, the City of Sisters and the City of Bend, and apply as those jurisdictions define them. Confirm permit, inspection and licensing requirements for your project with your building official.