"It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future". So the saying goes.
Your own changing needs , and technological developments, will most likely render future gazing useless. There will always be stuff you wished you had done.
Have a vision for your lifestyle going forward, and concentrate on good quality materials, and high standard of workmanship.

What about a conduit with a drawstring in going from one end to the other and keep a record of where it is?
Although this could be overkill if you can't think of any possible future need for it.
When we had the upstairs bathroom floor up in the farmhouse we put a larger water supply pipe from one side to the other, in ready for future unvented system with GSHP. A bit of good advice from the plumber, it will enable a less circuitous and larger bore route from the stop tap in the kitchen below to the current boiler room that will be the future plant room. I insulated it with top quality insulation as well so its good to go when the time comes, which could be a few years off yet.

While the floor was up in the barn I put in a cable (in conduit) and a water supply all the way to the outside end wall, either for an outside tap, outside socket, car charger, or in case of future extension on that end.

Posted By: Peter_in_HungaryMost things today seem to be going wireless

But things still need power ... (and batteries are annoying ...) ...

Posted By: Dominic CooneyWhat about a conduit with a drawstring in going from one end to the other and keep a record of where it is?

Excellent suggestion. But where exactly should the conduit run from and to? That's the question.

I have put cat 5e cabling to every room into 2 opposite walls. Each room has one or 2 satellite cabling I prefer Freesat as I can get any region in the UK and have multiple ANB. Don't forget wiring for fire alarms. Also have wifi in the house and around the outbuildings in places in the house wifi does not get through the stone walls. Are you going to go for a SMART house, maybe speakers in the ceilings?.
Will you be having powered blinds or curtains so power output in window reveals.
For future proofing cable runs consider a dry riser from your utility room or wherever you have you consumer unit and services connecting to 1st floor and loft with access panels at each level.
Will you have a wired burglar alarm wired cameras even if not planned cabling for future would be something that would be cheap to do.
Because our build was a major rebuild and extension all my services come in under ground in conduit so future proofing any upgrades in services. Probably you are not going that far?
Laundry chute to laundry room?

3core+earth circuit to interlink all the smoke and heat detectors (requirement in Scotland, can also be done by radio but more expensive)

Piping for fire sprinkler system (doing this already in Wales?)

Run neutral core in the droppers to all light switch positions (not just usual live + switched-live) - future smart switches often need a neutral


Recommendation for TP-link mesh WiFi system - we have a node where the fibre comes into the house and two more in the apex of the roof, beams 1Gb internet down into every room and round the garden despite 2ft stone internal walls. No need for data wiring.

Posted By: WillInAberdeen3core+earth circuit to interlink all the smoke and heat detectors (requirement in Scotland, can also be done by radio but more expensive)

Yes, wiring the smoke & heat detectors is good. We have four wired, plus each has a ten-year lithium battery (which actually lasted about five years )

Piping for fire sprinkler system

That's a good idea which I wish I'd done. The modern misting systems are pretty good. A water supply is the main issue.

Run neutral core in the droppers to all light switch positions (not just usual live + switched-live) - future smart switches often need a neutral

We have them because of the way our circuits are wired. But if I was looking for smarts in lights, I'd be looking to put the smarts with the lights themselves rather than with a switch. And the kinetic no-wiring, no batteries switches work very well for simple on-off control.

Recommendation for TP-link mesh WiFi system

Ah, that's interesting. It's been a while since I looked. But I don't think I have any devices that do 6 GHz; indeed a lot still only do 2.4 GHz

Provide way more internal lighting points than is necessary, is easy to blank them off

Haven't found the need myself, but I do have some power cables and some switch cables run from the CU to various points for potential future heating requirements. I don't mind having blanking places at strange places in our house but some might. As well as fixed lights we use a number that are plugged in to regular sockets.

Main point of Mesh WiFi for us is it gives reliable 5GHz in rooms that previously had patchy 2.4GHz, or none, because of stone walls. We would have had to run network cables through the house to those rooms, but the wireless mesh avoids doing that.

TBF for most iot devices it doesn't matter whether it's 2.4 or 5Ghz, but laptops and consoles with big software updates do work much better on fast 5GHz. Our oldest laptop and R-Pi have 5GHz dongles and an older TV has a streaming stick to upgrade their connections.

6GHz WiFi is apparently going to be faster than ethernet, just need fibre broadband fast enough to utilise it!

You could prepare for a possible collapse of the worldwide economy, through climate change, industrial or political unrest, and a return to a more basic lifestyle.
Diversify energy sources - gas, electricity, wood, parafin for lamps, should be a basic starting point.
If the electricity went off, as happens frequently in a lot of the world, it would be silly to have to sit in the dark unable to boil a kettle.

Whatever you do or don't install, drill straight runs of 25mm holes near the ends and centre of the joists so you've a future cable/ pipe route for anything you've forgotten. It's fairly straightforward to drag cables through pre drilled holes using electricians fishing rods