Question : New Construction Home Wiring

I need information to as where I would start to  wire the whole house.

1.  Can CAT5 cable be used as telephone wire(just making sure, I would have to yes it can be used)
2.  Where can I get good pricing on products I can buy.
3.  Is there a check list I can use to accomplish this.

ANy more pointers would be great.

Thanks.

Answer : New Construction Home Wiring

If there are no walls in place yet, they you have it really really easy for wiring.  I will suggest you might want to think about smurf tubes if the drywall hasn't been put up yet.  Smurf tubes are just pvc tubing that runs through houses, nick named smurf tubing bc it is usually smurf blue.  You can get it professionally installed for about $500-$1000 and I would think it would be cheaper if there aren't walls up yet.  
Hard wiring is the better way to go than wireless.  It is way more secure, you don't have to worry about interference, and also...if the house is still being built....you have no idea how well wireless will run through your house.  I have tried wireless, but was limited to only 1 floor, so I just ran wires alongside the air ducts.
I would definately suggest cat5e wire at minimum.  Cat6 would be the better choice, but it is slightly more.  A Few places to get wire kinda cheap is:
Micro Warehouse (www.warehouse.com)
Home Depot (www.homedepot.com)
Grainger's (www.grainger.com)

You can use cat 5e or cat6 for phone wiring without any problems.  I don't know how sophisticated you are getting, but if as i mentioned before...the smurf tubes run through the house and usually have a wiring cabinet in the basement...so you can run your phone, computer, cable, fire alarms, stereo, and etc through your entire house.
You'll want some jacks and rj45s for your wire to(make sure they match your wire....IE CAT6 wire and CAT6 jack for performance).  Also if you want wire raceway, check out Hubbell (www.hubbell.com) and you can purchase any of there supplies through Graingers.  You can also pick up the jacks and rj45's at radioshack, home depot....  I would suggest sticking with someplace like Micro Warehouse or Graingers.  If you go to a store, stick with home depot or something similar.  DO NOT GO TO COMPUSA FOR NETWORK WIRING, OR RJ45's.  IT IS WAY OVER PRICED!  Buy Bulk, and you'll SAVE alot of money.
I also forgot, you can buy shielded CAT wire, it is more expensive, but you are guaranteed no interference.  BUt as long as you keep the CAT at least a few inches away from any AC current you most likely won't have a problem.
You might want to talk to the telephone company to see what they are installing in your house, because with the newer equipment, you will be better off putting in the CAT5/6.  You will have more options on stuff to do with your phone lines...etc

equipment that will be essential if you are installing this is:
RJ45 Crimpers
Punchdowntool(if your are installing jacks on the walls)
I would suggest:  
Ideal's Ratchet Telemaster Crimper
and
Idea's  
Telecom Impact Punch Down Tool
I Use those tools, they are fairly cheap and I havn't ever had any problems with them.
You can find these at any of the places I mentiioned, there are cheaper tools but I have had bad experiences using cheap tools before.  
If you buy any routers or hubs, linksys are cheap, easy to use, and work well.  You can buy more expensive stuff such as 3com or cisco, but it costs more...  If you go with a linksys stuff, check out the ads in the sunday paper, because that stuff is always on sale somewhere with a nice rebate.  Also, check out www.newegg.com for any computer hardware or software you need.  that site is awesome for pricing.
good luck