pinktoes i read your other post on the lighting forum about not wanting to get up on ladders - which I can understand (i just got done putting in 4 recessed trim kits that were 14 feet up - yikes!) I would suggest putting in more switched outlets than what would normally be installed - so that you can put in table lamps or reading lamps that can be controlled by one switch when you enter or leave the room. Not only is it a pain to turn all those little lamp sitches on and off - they tend to wear out too. The switched outlets will give you more flexibility - say down the road you decide you want a wall sconce or some other permanent fixture - you can easily have an electrician tap into one of the outlet boxes to run up a switch leg to power the light. I had the elecricians add a number of what I call half-hot outlets. This is simply a a duplex wall outlet that is wried so one of the plugs is always hot and the other plug is tied to a switch. I put these to the left and right side of each bed location, in corners where we might want table lamps, etc. Now when I enter a dark bedroom, I can flip on the switch at the entrance and the bedroom table lamps turn on. Since your DH is a geek - and so am I - I recommend that he check out www.smarthome.com. They sell a product line called Insteon which I have installed a bunch of into my new home. These are radio controlled dimmer switches and outlets that allow you to add some automation (maybe just a little) into your existing electrical system without re-wiring (what I mean is that you need to replace outlets & switches - but do not need to run new cables.) After we moved into our last house, we quickly discovered that the wiring was not done to support the way we lived in the house. For example - the house was wired assuming we would always enter through the front door - which we rarely did (used the garage entrance instead). Unfortunately - there was no way to turn on the kitchen lights when we came in through the garage - try that at night when it is pitch black inside. AFter many toe stubbings on the kitchen table - we needed a solution that was non-invasive and low cost. I started using remote controlled dimmers and switches to fix these problems myself - and saved a boatload of money by avoiding re-wiring. I simply added a contoller at the garage entrance (taped into an outlet and added a box to house the controller) and then could remotely turn on and off kitchen and other house lights where I installed the remotely controllable dimmers. DW loved it. In my new home, I went crazy with the Insteon products so that not only can I control just about every light in the house remotely - I have programmed scene's (hit one button for the TV viewing scene). I had to do this (this is my story and I am sticking to it) because we have an open floor plan with a lot of lights. For example - our family room has 4 different light circuits - recessed, ceiling fixture, low voltage cans, and floor plugs for table lamps and then 3 different ways to enter and exit the room. Instead of having 12 boxes (4 switches x 3 locations) - I installed 4 remote control dimmer switches and 3 scene controllers. Now when you enter the room you hit one of 6 buttons which will dim all of the lights to preset levels. It was a lot cheaper to wire the house this way because every 3way or 4way circuit is hefty upcharge and every additonal switch is an upcharge. Using the remote control approach in my family room - I had zero 3way/4way cabling, 4 switches, and 3 outlets (where I installed the controllers). I realize that this might be way beyond what you want - just wanted to give you an example of how you can add in this type of automation after the house is done. Best of luck with the plan.

You'll need to get power to the cameras and also be concerned about whether it will be convenient to place the receiver where it will pick up a good signal from all cameras. Why not go with a hard wired system while you're still in construction. JM$.02W

I have to say...does not look like a cat kill to me...we have a good population of feral cats here, and they get moles, mice, chipmonks...every single time I've seen a cat kill, there have always been teeth marks on the neck...not little ones, very obvious teeth gashes... the fur peeled back on that mole is very odd...no cat I ever saw does that...a weasel might, but then again, you'd see the marks on the neck. I wonder about some kind of bird...hawk, owl...etc...this is the time of year when babies practice and learn...the only animal I've seen pluck fur like that was an eagle on a video cam of the nest...it plucked the fur off of a rabbit for it's young...reminds me of that. We have Blue Herons here, and I know when they bring the babies to "learn", because I find dead fish with a single hole through them...herons spear their prey...that's why I think it's a bird learning..

Depends on if you want to go with a Pro system or a DIY system. If you want to go Pro, I can recommend DSC. They have a proprietary wireless tech that can reach up to 1/3 of a mile. They can also do a combination of wired and wireless. If DIY then +1 on Simplisafe. You can also look at Nest. If you are still framing however, why are you no pre-wiring for security? That would allow you to have flush mount contacts on your window and doors that fade into the background rather than having larger wireless pieces stuck on top of your windows.