I'm buying a new home in south Orange County, CA and trying to decide which upgrades to have the builder do now and which to do on my own later. I'm not necessarily looking for the best economic value, but I also don't want to get completely hosed. For example, if I will save $100 doing it on my own, I'd rather just have the builder do it and not have to worry about it. If I'll save $800, I'll do it myself.

The builder will charge $785 for 5.1 in ceiling pre-wire in the great room, or $2,000 to have the speakers installed with a volume control panel installed on the wall (so $1,215 extra to install the speakers in addition to pre-wire). For additional rooms, it costs $500 for 2 in ceiling speaker pre-wire, or $785 to have both speakers installed (so $285 extra to have speakers installed in addition to pre-wire).

We want to install 5.1 surround in the great room, and two in-ceiling speakers each in the outdoor "California room" and the master bedroom.

I can calculate for the most part the value add b/w paying for just pre-wire vs. full installation. The speakers they use for the additional rooms retail at $150 each, so pretty much a no-brainer to have builder complete the two additional rooms if I pre-wire. It's about $940 retail for the set of 5.1 speakers, so could save $275 to do it myself (probably would prefer to just pay the $275 to have it done). The way I look at it, if I'm going to pay the builder to pre-wire, I might as well pay it to complete the full installation.

So the question becomes, am I better off having both the pre-wiring and purchase and installation of the speakers done on my own (i.e., hiring a third party to install) after closing? After the house is completed, painted, etc., is it super expensive to run speaker wire for 5.1 surround, to an outdoor patio, and to a second floor master bedroom, and to have all speakers installed? Any help is much appreciated!