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?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethpalmer28d ago

I had the exact opposite experience in a 1910 bungalow in Chicago last year. I tried wireless first and ended up ripping it out after 3 days because the signal kept dropping every time someone walked in front of the panel. Had to run wires through the basement joists anyway and patch a ton of holes. The plaster was already a mess from the first failed attempt. I think you made the right call with the wireless but I'd never go that route again for old lathe and plaster places. The thickness and the metal mesh in some of those old walls just kill all the signal.

richard11028d ago

Goodness... did you try a mesh system at all?