The Community Guide

c/alarm-system-installers

26

drew_thomas9•6d ago

Overheard a customer say my quote was 'double the competition'

I was at a supply house in Cleveland picking up some DSC panels and heard a guy telling the counter guy he got a quote for a full hardwire job at $800. I mean, for a 3 bedroom house with 4 doors and 2 motion sensors? That's way under what I'd charge for materials alone. Am I the only one who thinks these lowball guys are hurting the whole trade?

20

stella_foster•6d ago

That moment I realized I was drilling into a live gas line

I was installing a wireless alarm panel in a basement remodel in Chicago last month. The homeowner said the wall was clear. I used my stud finder to check for wires and pipes but it didn't pick up anything. I drilled right into a 1/2 inch black iron gas pipe. The hissing sound was immediate. Now I always use a high quality pipe detector before I drill into any wall, even if the customer says it's safe. Has anyone else had a close call like this?

21

harris.aaron•8d ago

The week from hell with a faulty wireless receiver

Last Tuesday I spent 3 hours on a residential install in Portland. Every time I paired a sensor it worked for about 10 minutes then dropped off. I replaced the batteries twice before I figured out the receiver was mounted right next to a metal duct in the attic. Moved it 6 feet away and everything locked in solid. Ever had a signal issue that took way longer than it should have to figure out?

4

dakota_king80•8d ago

A customer told me my alarm panel wires looked like spaghetti and I actually listened

I had this job over in Oakdale last month where I ran all the wires behind this big residential panel. Customer walks in while I'm finishing up and says 'man, that looks like my kid's art project back there.' Felt a little burned at first but I looked at it again and she was right. Now I spend an extra 10 minutes per job using those little wire keepers to bundle things clean. Has anyone else had a customer turn out to be your best quality control?

29

the_kai•10d ago

I finally found a trick for hiding alarm wires in brick walls

Picked up a masonry bit set last month and drilled through the mortar instead of the brick itself. No more visible conduits on this 1920s job in Baltimore. Anyone else got a go to method for keeping things clean on old exteriors?

26

tessa_rivera•14d ago

Compared a wired panel against a wireless one on a big house last week

The wired setup took me an extra 3 hours to run cables through the attic but the signal never dropped once. Has anyone else found wireless panels just don't hold up in big homes with thick walls?

1

wren_brown•15d ago

Had to pick between a wired panel in the basement or wireless in the hall closet

Got a call to install a system in a split level house in Denver last Thursday. Basement was a mess of exposed pipes and damp concrete, but the customer wanted the panel hidden. I told her wired down there would mean running conduit through the drop ceiling and fighting spider webs for 3 hours. She chose the hall closet, which was tight but dry. Now I'm wondering if anyone has ever had a panel fail from humidity in a basement setup.

8

richard_kelly54•18d ago

Rant: That conversation with a stubborn homeowner changed my approach to alarm placement

I had a job last Tuesday in a 1970s split-level where the homeowner kept arguing against putting a motion detector in his open hallway. He said it was ugly and blocked his decor. I let him talk me into skipping it, then two days later he called saying a window sensor got bypassed and someone walked right through that hallway. Now I don't back down on sensor placement even if the customer hates it. Has anyone else had to fight a client over basic security logic and then watch it backfire?

2

ryand26•18d ago

Just learned Honeywell Vista panels can fail from lightning strikes through the phone line

Was reading a tech bulletin last night and it said 1 in 20 service calls for dead Vista 20P's are from lightning hitting the telco line, not the AC power. Anyone else run into this or just me?

37

emma_perry•18d ago

Hardwired vs wireless sensors on that big Victorian house - I went hardwired and regretted it

Had this three story Victorian in Portland last fall, all thick plaster walls and no attic access. Ran 200 feet of wire through crawl spaces and still had a sensor fail in the parlor cause a rodent chewed through it. Would wireless have been less hassle or am I missing something with reliability?

7

barbara_butler•19d ago

TIL the hard way that drilling into a hot wire changes your whole approach to live testing

I was at a job last Tuesday in a old house in Phoenix, wiring up a Vista 20P panel. I thought I'd save time by not shutting off the breaker for a zone expander install. Drilled right through a 120V line feeding the smoke detectors and blew a hole in my bit. Spark flew, customer yelled from the kitchen, and I sat there shaking for a good minute. That one mistake convinced me to always use a non-contact voltage tester before I drill into any wall, even if I think it's empty. Anyone else ever get burned by rushing on a panel install?

14

fiona130•21d ago

Serious question, how do you handle retrofit jobs in old plaster walls?

Honestly, I had a job last Tuesday in a 1920s house in St. Paul, Minnesota. The plaster was 2 inches thick in some spots and my drill barely got through it. I spent an extra hour and a half just trying to mount a panel and run wires without cracking the whole wall. Has anyone else dealt with this and found a bit or tool that actually works without blowing out the plaster?

3

alice_hall•22d ago

That moment I had to pick between wireless and hardwired for a tricky retrofit

I had this job last month at a 1920s house in Oak Park where the walls were all plaster and lathe. I sat there for like 20 minutes trying to decide between running new wires (which would've meant cutting into that beautiful old plaster) or going with a wireless panel and sensors. I went with the wireless setup because I just couldn't bring myself to mess up the historic stuff. Honestly? It went way smoother than I expected. The signal strength was solid through the thick walls and I only had to replace one sensor battery during setup. But now I'm wondering if I should've run a few wires while I had the basement access open - has anyone else had regrets about going all wireless on an older home?

17

elizabethhart•22d ago

Spent a whole afternoon chasing a false alarm that was just a spider web

Honestly, I got a call about a motion detector going off every 20 minutes at a house in Arlington. I figured it was a bad sensor or maybe a wiring issue, so I spent like 3 hours pulling covers off and testing voltage. Turns out a spider had built a web right across the lens and the reflection was setting it off. I blew it out with canned air and the system has been fine for 2 weeks now. Has anybody else run into a simple fix like that that took way too long to find?

10

emma_perry•22d ago

That cheap wireless keypad I installed last year just cost me a service call back

I used to throw in those $30 wireless keypads on every residential job to save customers money. But after a storm knocked out signal on three different systems in one neighborhood, I had to drive 45 minutes each way to swap them out. Now I only use hardwired keypads or the higher end wireless units with battery backups. Has anyone else had reliability issues with the bargain wireless stuff during bad weather?

6

river_jones•23d ago

Took me 6 hours to fix a false alarm loop on a DSC panel last Tuesday

I had a customer in Austin whose system kept going off at 3 AM for no reason. Turned out a rusty reed switch on a basement door was sending intermittent signals that the panel interpreted as a valid opening. Has anyone else spent that long chasing a ghost problem like this?

7

angela_kelly•25d ago

TIL hotel lobbies need way more sensor coverage than I thought

I did a site walk at a Marriott in downtown Nashville last week and saw how they had their alarm zones laid out. The lobby had something like 15 glass break detectors because of all those floor to ceiling windows. It made me rethink how I scope commercial spaces for coverage instead of just throwing one sensor per wall. Anyone else find that open areas with big glass need a totally different strategy?

19

kaiharris•26d ago

Just saw a home theater setup with no wall sensors at all

I was at a friend's new house in Phoenix last weekend and he had a full alarm system but not a single shock sensor or glass break on any of his giant windows. Has anyone else run into homeowners who think motion detectors are enough for rooms with first floor windows?

18

jesse_burns8•27d ago

Tried using a 3D printed bracket for a motion sensor in a client's garage and it melted from the summer heat in Phoenix.

I learned the hard way that PLA filament has a low glass transition point after the sensor fell off the wall and triggered a false alarm at 2 AM, so what materials do you guys use for custom mounts in hot environments?

16

the_andrew•27d ago

Spent 4 hours trying to find a bad zone on a DSC panel yesterday

I had a customer in Denver whose backyard sensor kept going off at 3 AM. Turned out a mouse had chewed through the wire inside the wall, and it took me four hours to trace it because the break was hidden behind insulation. Has anyone found a faster way to locate wire breaks without pulling new cable?

8

keith943•27d ago

Vent: A crawl space job in Portland turned into a wiring nightmare

I was under a house running wire for a new panel when I hit a nest of old, unmarked cables. My drill bit caught one and sparked, killing power to half the system. I had to trace every line back with a toner for three hours in the dark. The homeowner was cool about it, but I lost a whole afternoon. Anyone have a better way to map out unknown wiring before you start drilling?

24

jesse_burns8•28d ago

Thinking back to a job in a 1920s house in Cincinnati that changed my whole approach

I was running wire for a new panel in this old brick place, feeling good about my plan. Then I hit a solid brick wall behind the plaster that wasn't on any blueprint. My drill bit just snapped. The homeowner, an older guy who'd lived there forever, came down and said, 'Son, they didn't build these to be opened up again.' That one line stuck with me. I spent the next two hours with a borescope and a fishtape, finding a cold air return chase to use instead of fighting the brick. Now, before I even pull out a drill on any house built before 1950, I spend way more time looking for the paths that are already there. What's your go-to trick for dealing with surprise solid walls in old buildings?

14

charlesb42•29d ago

Rant: Tried using a new wireless sensor adhesive on a brick wall

The label said it was for 'all outdoor surfaces', but the thing fell off after two days of rain. I learned to always test a small patch first, even if the product claims it's fine. Anyone have a go-to adhesive for rough brick that actually holds?

8

kai818•1mo ago

Honestly, my old foreman in Phoenix swore by using a 3/8 inch drill bit for every single sensor mount

Tbh, I followed that for a year until a retrofit job on a brick building showed me it was way too sloppy. Anyone got a better go-to size for mixed materials?

18

the_lee•1mo ago

Got a weird reading from a voltage meter on a new panel install

I was putting in a Vista panel at a house in Tempe last week, and my meter showed 14 volts on a zone that should have been closed. I checked the wiring twice, even swapped the meter, same thing. Turns out a tiny piece of wire insulation was stuck in the terminal block, making a partial connection. It took me an hour to find it. Has anyone else seen a ghost voltage like that from something so small?