All HVAC, electrical, plumbing, signal and controls, security, and anything and everything else which goes in the wall before being covered up with gypsum board.

"Our builder is not good at preparing me"

Technically that is the job of the GC, to make sure the homeowner has made all the choices as mentioned by Virgil.

Yes, I understand that, but as I said, my husband is the GC. I am having to work under a lot of pressure with not much knowledge because to save money my husband is the GC. He's doing a pretty good job, but I can tell that some parts I need help and that's where I have been asking you guys questions.

The medicine cabinets and ironing board have instructions for what size framed opening should be in the wall, and the openings need to be there before drywall. You will also have to know the specific height you want for each opening.

I also recommend that you do a physical and mental walk-through to look at locations of all electrical switches, receptacles, lights and other devices to ensure they are where you want them.

For example, walk into the bedroom and imagine flipping on the light switch - and do you also want a 2nd switch for a ceiling fan? Imagine where the bed would be - is there a place to plug in lights and phone chargers on the nightstands? Think of where you would plug in a vacuum to clean the room, and where you might plug in lamps or run cable or internet. Look at the location of the HVAC vents and how they might drive furniture placement. Go through this same process with each room. Its a lot easier to move all those things before the sheetrock goes up.

Bruce

"...Yes, I understand that, but as I said, my husband is the GC..."

So...doesn't your husband know the answer to your question? Are you saying neither you nor your husband know what goes in the walls before gypsum board?

Are you working from detailed drawings and specifications? Are you and your husband walking through each room together and talking about what goes where?

Not understanding your question.

Yes, my husband knows what needs to go in before the drywall, and the Builder is guiding him, but there have been things they didn't think to discuss with me and then it got done and I was not happy with the result.
An example of this is that when our Builder started building the plan the architect had drawn, he suggested a couple changes and they sounded good to us, and I didn't know what I didn't know, so I didn't ask many questions (definitely trusted him way too much), and we ended up with a very small great room and it was too late to make major changes. That's when I decided to question everything along the way.
So halfway through the process of building, I have decided to raise questions earlier, thus my question to you. I have very limited knowledge and my husband has quite a bit more than me, (although he did not foresee the small size of our great room) and
but he's not a woman who cares about details like I do. Yes, we have walked through the house and talked a lot, but there are things he didn't think of and neither did I. So I'm trying to cover all bases so that nothing gets forgotten. at this point I may be asking way too many questions, but I'd rather have it this way then too regret like some of the decisions we already made.

Plumbing and water rough-ins (not in concrete)

Electrical, switch locations, lights, outlets, fireplace controls, future lights in garage/attic

Low voltage - surround sound, security/cameras, networking cables

Insulation, pipe insulation, sound deadening

Hopefully your roof is shingled, windows are in, fully insulated, and furnace is ready to heat by now

Sounds as if you and hubby need to sit down and have a SERIOUS conversation about all this!

Good point about sound insulation in bathrooms, between floors, and bedrooms.

Just so you know, I am confused because you have a builder and a GC. Most of the time those words are used interchangeably - ie you don't have both.

There is the obvious code required stuff.

Then there is the unusual things you mentioned - medicine cabs and ironing boards.

Then there is low voltage - including central vac.

Lastly - blocking for towel bars and the like.

Cutting out drywall later is not the end of the world....

Virgil, yes! I only wish I knew about this forum before we started building. I was new to Houzz, and did not even know there was an advice section until we had started. This would have really helped. But if it helps those reading this now, then great! I'm telling everybody about this forum now.
I have been able to make some changes from the advice on here to help us do better with the last half of building. This is such a valuable resource. I didn't know what I didn't know, and because of this, I trusted that the Builder was as knowledgeable as the architect. Now I'm trusting God that enough had been done right that it will have a beautiful outcome.

If you are going to do any blocking for heavy items that you are going to hang this would be the time to do it. Think mirrors, tvs, heavy pictures, closet shelves, pantry shelves.

Lighting. You need a lighting layout plan.

Wiring for cans requires figuring how much light you need where and how you're going to get it. This should be with leds. You can do new construction housings or remodel. And consider air tight insulation contact requirements.

Ditto with Carolyn on the blocking in the walls...blocking for towel bars, toilet paper holders...anything that gets a lot of use and tugging.

I understand this is not what you’re asking, but one thing I would suggest before installing sheetrock is to clean and vacuum out all the dust and debris between your studs. I have done this in several builds and it makes a HUGE difference in the amount of daily dust that accumulates once you move in. All that dust in the walls is pulled and sucked towards your HVAC system. Some of it is filtered through the filter in your returns, but much of it settles all over your home. Have you ever noticed that in many homes with carpeting there is gray discoloration all along the baseboards where the carpet meets the baseboards? If you could see all the dust and debris that was right behind the base of the wall there you would understand why the discoloration.

Electrical anything, plumbing anything incl water to fridges and outdoor faucets, gas/propane anything, venting such as kitchen and bath fans, air conditioning vents, blocking for anything such as towel bars, toilet paper holders, curtain rods, grab bars, mirrors. Anything inset into the wall cavity should be framed out to the required dimensions like medicine cabinets and iron board for easy installation later.

Consider now if you want both gas and electric run to where the cooktop/stove/dryer is going. After will be much harder. Any gas/propane to an outdoor grill that will come down through the walls.

If you want an in wall pest control system, central vaccum such as hide-a-hose. Fire/smoke alarms that are wired. Essentially anything that will be run in your walls and ceilings you need to consider the location for now.

Get blocking wherever you will be later placing items that need solid attachment. An obvious example would be for grab bars. We also did that for towel bars, toilet paper holders, shelves, etc. A small block of wood where you will be attaching curtain or drapery rods is nice, too. We have an adult disabled child who isn't always gentle and has inadvertently pulled some of the items listed above off the wall, so we were extra diligent.

We also took pictures of all the blocking, holding a tape measure from a fixed point to the blocking so we were sure to remember.

Any wiring for speakers, audio, internet, cables, etc. Ditto on blocking for towel bars, grab bars, curtain rods, floating cabinets/shelves, wall mounted TV's. Make sure all insulation is good with no gaps.

Take pictures with measurements for anything that you might need to remember exactly where it is.

Oh yes.....great suggestion by gthigpen....take photos of all your walls right after the plumbing and wiring is in (but before insulation). I did that and can’t tell you how many times I’ve referred back to those pics to make sure I or someone else wasn’t drilling into plumbing or wiring that was already in the walls. Even my electricians who knew I had taken photos asked to see some of them when they had to come back after drywall to fix a few things.

Everything you could possibly put in the walls needs to be there before drywall.

If you don't have an electrical plan, I would go around with a sharpie and mark on each stud where you want your switches and electrical outlets and at what height if they are out of the norm. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but don't leave this to the electrician to determine the place of things. They will not put ANY thought into this and you will have plugs and switches in weird places.

I would also figure out the height of all your cabinetry and install 2 x 6 blocking between the studs. That way when you install your cabinets you don't have to hunt for the studs. It goes much quicker and easier.

All plumbing should be stubbed out, insulation installed, HVAC ducting, plumbing venting, electrical, blocking for cabinets/built-ins, gas lines, and any alarm (smoke, CO, burglar) wiring or low-voltage wiring.

I would sweep out all of the dirt, sawdust, and debris left in the walls because bugs love that stuff and sawdust burns really quickly in case of a fire.

Lastly, I don't know what your inspection requirements are, but most jurisdictions require a 4-way inspection before drywall goes up.

to further @Virgil's point.....

When interviewing builders and getting bids, we had one that would frequently call my wife and I with a question about the plans or something he wanted to differently. We kept referring him to the architect. He would then try to set up meetings with just my wife and I. again, we'd include the architect. It was clear to us that he just wasn't comfortable. working with an architect as our advocate. Thus, he didn't get the job. We didn't want this kind of headache. Thankfully our architect had discussed with us that this sometimes happens.

Not a pro, but I've been through a couple remodels, including a whole house recently.


If dry wall is going in next week, you should have your electrical and plumbing very close to finished by now. Go through each room, making sure you see junction boxes for electrical outlets/switches/ceiling lights. Can light housings should be in place. Go through each room that should have water to make sure all faucets and drains are in place. (Not the finish fixtures, just the in-wall plumbing.) Check that where plumbing or electrical goes through studs, that metal plates protect. Your building inspector probably will require this.) Clean as much as possible. Mark near top and bottom of any grab bar, etc bracing, then measure up from subfloor and write the measurement beside the mark, and take a photo. (Your build will thank you later.) Insulation needs to be done.


Finally, cross your fingers and take a look at your building permit to see what other things the inspector will need to check off. Any framing, plumbing, electrical, insulation inspections need to be done before dry wall. Find out who is in charge of scheduling and facilitating inspections: builder or GC/darling husband. Good for you for learning and keeping on top of things. Good luck with your project.

And of course you can't drywall until after your rough, electrical and plumbing inspections get passed.

Xtra conduits/chases for future wiring needs. From the mechanical room to the attic and any other pull points.

All selections. Adjustments only after drywall. That will provide the list.

All really great advice here. Re photos. You will end up with hundreds of them! And you will not know what you are looking at when you get around to viewing them.

Print out room labels. Master, kitchen, bedroom 2, etc. take a photo of the room label before you photog each room. My DH even made labels for garage east wall, etc. Go around the house in an organized manner. Make a plan - work clockwise in each room or use some other logical idea. Be consistent. You want photos of full walls and ceilings for framing reference. it’s amazing how we can go back and in a matter of minutes locate a photo to determine where that electrical wire or gas line runs in relation to the framing. These photos will be invaluable for years to come.