Why We Use One 200ft Cable Instead of Piecing Together Shorter Runs Large projects start with a lot of small decisions that never make it into the final walkthrough — decisions that don’t show up in the finished result, but shape how well that result…
The Cabana Wire Pull: How It Actually Ended (Episode 3) Three episodes ago, this started as a simple idea: pull a cable from the house to the cabana. It didn’t cooperate on the first try, or the second. Here’s how it wrapped up. Finally Through…
Everyone Sees the Finished Result. Almost Nobody Sees This. A finished project is easy to admire — the clean install, the system that just works, the space that looks like it was always meant to be this way. What’s almost never shown is the document…
Nobody Posts the Hours That Go Into This — So We Are Most home automation content — ours included, most of the time — shows the moment everything works. The lights come on with one tap, the screen slides into view, the system just performs.…
When the Client Changes the Plan Last Minute: A Real Example Plans change. On a long enough project, they almost always do — and how a job handles that moment says more about the quality of the work than how smoothly everything went before it.…
SR-260 vs. Neeo vs. Halo: Which Control4 Remote Is Actually Right for You? Control4 has put out three very different remotes over the years, and homeowners setting up or upgrading a system often ask the same question: which one should I actually go with? Mark…
The Real Cost of Retrofitting Home Automation (vs. Planning Ahead) We’ve talked before about why automation should be part of the plan before construction starts. Here’s the flip side of that conversation: what actually happens, cost- and capability-wise, when it isn’t. What Retrofitting Actually Involves…
Running Power to a Cabana: The Real (Unedited) Process Most home automation content shows you the finished product — the clean rack, the perfectly mounted TV, the system that just works. What it usually doesn’t show is everything that happens before that moment. We’re doing…
If automation isn’t part of the plan before the walls go up, you’re already limiting what’s possible. That’s not a sales line — it’s just how wiring works. Once drywall closes over a wall, every decision about cable runs, panel locations, and speaker placement gets…
The interconnection between your Smart phone, car, home (heating systems, alarm, door locks, sound system), baby monitor, garage door opener, and pretty much anything electric is becoming more and more a part of what drives our lives. The idea behind this shift is that by…
Usually when I tell people what I do, I get the smile and nod or I get asked “what is home automation?” and “what makes a smart home so smart?” The answer is never simple. So I figured for my first post I would start…
When it comes to wire, don’t skimp out. If you’re building a new house don’t let wiring up your systems be an afterthought. You can never put too much wire! Preparing for the future is a must nowadays. Technology is moving faster and faster so…
