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Home Security for a New Build: What to Wire In Before Drywall, Wired vs Wireless, Monitoring, and What the Insurer Pays You For
Finishes and upgrades Security From a builder
Home Security for a New Build: What to Wire In Before Drywall, Wired vs Wireless, Monitoring, and What the Insurer Pays You For
A security system in a finished house is batteries, stick-on sensors and a Wi-Fi camera that drops out when the microwave runs. A security system in a house under construction is a few hundred dollars of wire and a weekend of the electrician’s time, and it works for thirty years. The difference is one phone call before the drywall.
Short version: Before the drywall, run wire to every exterior door and ground-floor window for contacts, to two or three motion sensor corners, to the panel location in the mechanical room or a closet with power and the internet feed, Cat6 to each camera and doorbell position under the soffits and at the garage, and sensor wire to the sump, the water heater and under the laundry for leaks and to a cold spot for freeze. Wired sensors never need batteries or Wi-Fi; wireless is the retrofit answer. Choose a panel that communicates over cellular as well as internet, and monitoring if you travel (the insurer usually gives 5 to 15 percent for a monitored alarm, more with leak and freeze sensors). A wired rough-in in a new house runs $800 to $2,500; a full system with cameras and monitoring $3,000 to $8,000 installed.
What to rough in before drywall
- Door and window contacts: a two-conductor wire to every exterior door and every ground-floor and basement window, into the frame or the jamb so the sensors disappear.
- Motion sensors: wire to the corners that cover the main floor and the basement stairs, at 7 feet, away from the heat pump supply; pet-immune heads if there is a dog.
- Glass-break: one wire per room with big glass, if you want them; motion usually covers it.
- The panel: in the mechanical room or a closet, with a dedicated outlet, the internet feed and a cellular signal; the keypads at the garage entry and the front door.
- Cameras: Cat6 to each position under the soffit (driveway, front door, back of the house, garage interior) and to the doorbell; power over ethernet runs them from a recorder in the mechanical room. How to wire a new house covers the structured wiring panel they share.
- Leak and freeze: sensor wire to the sump pit, the water heater, under the laundry and dishwasher, and a temperature sensor in the coldest room; a motorized shut-off valve on the main. This is the part of the system that pays for itself.
- Smoke and CO: the Code-required interconnected alarms are separate and hard-wired; a monitored system can add its own detectors so the fire department is called when nobody is home. Smoke and CO alarm rules has the requirements.
- Lighting: a relay or a smart switch so the system can turn on the exterior and hall lights on an alarm. The before-drywall checklist is when you confirm every drop.
Wired or wireless
| Wired (new build) | Wireless (retrofit) | |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability | No batteries, no radio interference, no Wi-Fi dependence | Batteries every 2 to 5 years, radio range limits, Wi-Fi cameras drop out |
| Look | Invisible: recessed contacts, flush sensors | Stick-on sensors on every frame |
| Cost in a new house | $800 to $2,500 rough-in, sensors and panel on top | Similar hardware, no wiring; the saving is small |
| Changing providers | Any panel runs standard wired sensors | Proprietary radios tie you to one brand |
| Verdict | Wire everything you can while the walls are open | For the house that is already finished |
Monitored or self-monitored
Self-monitored means your phone gets the alert and you decide; fine if you are always reachable and never on a plane. Monitored means a central station calls you, then the police or fire department, for $20 to $45 a month, and it is what the insurer discounts and what a rural house an hour from anyone actually needs. Choose a panel with dual-path communication, cellular and internet, so a cut line or an outage does not blind it, and a battery backup. Video verification (the station sees the camera before dispatching) cuts false alarms and the municipal fees that come with them.
What it costs in 2026
| Ontario range | |
|---|---|
| Wired rough-in during construction (wire, boxes, labour) | $800 to $2,500 |
| Panel, keypads, contacts, two motions, siren, installed | $1,500 to $3,500 |
| Four wired PoE cameras, doorbell camera and recorder | $1,500 to $4,000 |
| Leak sensors and motorized shut-off valve | $600 to $1,500 |
| Monitoring | $20 to $45 per month |
| Insurance discount | Typically 5 to 15 percent of the premium for a monitored alarm; more with leak and freeze protection |
Home insurance for a new build covers the discount and the winter-away clause that a freeze sensor and a connected thermostat help you satisfy; smart home planning covers the locks and the rest.
What goes wrong
- Wireless cameras on the soffit with the router in the basement.
- Motion sensors facing the heat pump register or the south window; false alarms until someone unplugs it.
- No cellular path; the first outage disarms the house.
- The panel in the garage where it freezes and the installer cannot reach the internet.
- Nobody told the electrician, so the contacts are stick-on in a $900,000 house.
- A system nobody arms because the keypad is in the wrong place; put it where you leave, with a fob or an app so arming is a habit.
Related guides on this site
Sources and further reading
Questions people ask
Should I wire a security system during construction?
Yes. A wired rough-in during construction costs $800 to $2,500, hides every sensor in the frames, needs no batteries or Wi-Fi, and runs any standard panel for decades. Wireless is the retrofit answer for a finished house.
Wired or wireless security system?
Wired in a new build: more reliable, invisible, no batteries, not tied to one brand. Wireless when the walls are already closed.
Does a security system lower home insurance in Ontario?
Usually 5 to 15 percent of the premium for a monitored alarm, with further discounts for leak detection with an automatic shut-off and freeze sensors; ask the broker what they recognize before you buy.
Do I need monitoring?
If you travel, live rurally or want the insurance discount, yes: a central station with dual-path (cellular and internet) communication, for $20 to $45 a month. Self-monitoring to your phone is fine for someone who is always reachable.
Have a plan already?
Send it to ICFhome.ca and we will tell you what it costs to build and where the drawing is spending money you may not want to spend.
Reviewed and updated October 2026. Costs are Ontario ranges, not quotes; code references are to the Ontario Building Code in force at that date.
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