Smart Home Wiring

Hardwired, not battery

Many video doorbells and cameras can run on batteries. Nathan’s advice is the same as for smoke detectors: hardwire them. That goes double when a camera is mounted high, or changing batteries is hard for whoever lives there. On a house that’s already built, hardwiring is still the better option unless the cost is out of reach.

Switches, dimmers and thermostats

We also install smart switches, dimmers and thermostats, and connect them to their apps the same way.

One house

On a new house we wired and installed a Ring doorbell and five Ring floodlight cameras. Then Nathan worked with the owner in the app, connecting each one, so he could see them on his phone and his computer.

The same house has 14 motorized blinds, run from a phone app with schedules and scenes. Before the walls were closed, we ran the low-voltage wiring for every blind back to its power supply and installed the power supply. The blind installer made the final connections when he hung the blinds.

Plan it before the drywall

On a new house, this is the time to decide. In Nathan’s words: “Think about these things ahead of time, rough them in. That’s the least expensive time to put it in.” Running a wire to where a camera or blind might go costs little with the walls open, and a lot more once they’re finished. More on our new construction page.

Network and speaker wire

Most devices are wireless now, so houses need less network cable than they used to. Where you do want it, we run Cat 5 or Cat 6 and terminate it at a rack or wall jacks. We also run speaker wire through ceilings during construction.

These systems are usually designed by someone else, such as the blind company or an audio installer, and we install to their plan. We don’t design them ourselves.

We don’t wire it and walk away

Some owners set their devices up themselves. If you’d rather not, we’ll do it with you once everything is installed. We do the same with EV charger apps.