202 Molasses
Tired of living in a multi-floor house, this “baby boomer” wanted to right-size in a single story home with all the conveniences afforded by modern day devices.
Purchasing a home built in the 1950’s she planned to have the home “gutted” down to the framing members also removing walls in order to open up the home and seeking solutions for acoustic isolation of the master suite.
Rebuilding from the ground up, she wanted heated floors, raised ceiling heights, and replacement of every element of the existing plumbing, heating & air, electrical, and antiquated entertainment.
Aesthetically, her instructions were to maintain the integrity of the home’s “look” from the street view, but wanted a transformative “wow” factor when you entered the house or backyard. She designated various areas with specific elements to be the focal points.
Philanthropically, she used the house to entertain in various endeavors. To that end, she sought a certain “flow” and consistency throughout the home. Being an avid music enthusiast, she had an extensive music collection ranging from vinyl LPs to reel-to-reel tape recordings. Having experienced the conveniences of modern day technology, she wanted to incorporate her old media formats with newer versions.
Familiar with remote control features she was frustrated with multiple remotes and apps of the various systems. She was seeking control consolidation crossing multiple conventional and non-conventional platforms over her “smart” devices and Echo Dot.
Data network speed was important, so much so that she engaged multiple service providers in commercial level service agreements.
Possessing a stained-glass window from her church, she sought ideas in which to display it, triggering an expanded desire to control all lights for scenes and automated functions.
Foresight to address security concerns, she wanted basic home security, as well as outside parameter camera viewing (and recording), and keyless entry.
High on our homeowner’s priority list was security and privacy. Life safety was top priority followed by perimeter’s security and home access. Additionally, our homeowner wanted to monitor and control the home when she was out-of-town. Security initiatives began early in the construction process when her insurance underwriters sought fire monitoring, followed by the theft of copper in the electrical cabling.
The homeowner expressed that lighting control was integral to her security and privacy. Although fenced, the size of her lot would make it difficult to see her dogs roaming away from the house at night. Motorized window treatments would provide the level of privacy she sought, particularly in areas visible from the street and via creek access. She was also interested in how such a system could simplify her lifestyle.
Being averse to replacing batteries, only under exceptional circumstances would we be permitted to use these type devices. This directive became centric in the design of the access control system where her functional desires dictated a more robust access control system allowing varying levels of entry by fob, key-code, control system, or traditional key.
As with most every home encountered, there were several aesthetic items to address, all of which had contrary objectives to the mission at hand. The first floor had several focal points. Every security device had to be hidden or blended into its surroundings. Anything outside of the house had to be discretely placed.
She wanted to view perimeter cameras via her network devices (computer, iPad and iPhone) as well as on her televisions. There are nine IP-based CCTV cameras connected to a 4TB NVR, the output connected to the HDMI matrix switcher for distributed TV monitoring.
Our homeowner’s travel schedule necessitated her request for remote, live CCTV monitoring the home and security system control.
A solid scope of work, supported by drawings, floor plans, riser diagrams, schematics, and other supporting documents were developed. These documents, the use of the “Slack” app, and great communication enabled the project to stay on course. “As built” drawings, panel configuration, and system power calculations were provided to the homeowner at project’s end and placed inside the “secured” security panel cover.
Four security systems were designed under distinct sets of protocols; burglary, life safety, access control, and CCTV. The burglary system encompassed perimeter and interior sensors and detection devices. The life safety system addressed building code smoke requirements, heat, and CO detection. The access control system addressed multiple security levels and ease through which to manage the users. The CCTV system provided distributed viewing and recording of the homeowner’s areas of concern. Separate backup power supplies were supplied for each of the four systems.
Customized system features included integration with other systems and device feedback and control at keypads, touch-panels, and other smart devices. Through these interfaces, she was able to locate her dogs by turning on two 7,800-lumen backyard floods from her iPhone.
“Home”, “Away”, “ALERT”, “Goodnight” and other traditional room lighting scenes were identified early in the project allowing us to incorporate them into other control systems functions. For example, a GOODBYE button press would trigger an “ALL OFF” command to the entertainment system, “OFF” to the gas fireplaces, a security system “ARM” command, shades closures, and lighting control “vacation” scene appropriate for the time of day (or night). Astronomical timers, light sensor, and other system interface events executed various lighting scenes (including shades) providing a greater level of security and privacy from the outside.
Lastly, the commercial level access control system allowed motorized mortise door strikes and homeowner PC interface for user management and system reports.
202 Molasses
Category
Project > Integrated Security Project of the Year
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