I have a house that I need to retro fit for a security system. I'm pretty handy when it comes to running wires, but I wanted to get people opinion on "best practices".
I have a split level home with a crawl space under and attic above the main (middle) living portion of the house. The two story portion of the house obviously has attic access above. I've already wired the bottom story which is on a slab. We were remodeling that area last year and I took that opportunity to run wires under the new sub floor. So to make a long story short, I have attic access to all areas that need wires, and crawl space access to most of the area that needs wire as well.
So how do most people retrofit security wires - specifically window and door contacts? Do most drill down into the crawl space or do most drill up into the attic?
How do most people drill? I have several of those long flexible bits (30-36" long) that I've used in other HV wiring projects. I've always thought I would get another one with as small a bit as I could get - perhaps 1/8" and use that to drill into the crawlspace or attic. I've also thought that I would have to take off the interior trim for the windows and doors to gain access to the side of the window/door. I figure there is enough space where the window is installed between the studs (where they shim the window to make it level and plumb) to run my wires next to the window/door. I'd drill at the top or bottom of this small gap to run the wire through the wall to the attick/crawlspace. Is that what most other people do?
Where do most people put their door sensors? Near the top or bottom of the door? I guess it depends on which direction you are drilling, but what is the concensus?
What about window contacts? I have double hung windows where there are two windows (top and bottom) that slide up and down next to each other. Obviously for the best protection you would put a sensor on each part. My thought has been to look at those tiny "pill" reed switches and see if they would fit in the track of the window. That way I don't have to drill into the window frame except to run the actual wire. How are other people doing it?
OK, that is probably enough questions for one post. I've read lots of stuff like the Wiring How To, but most of the stuff is designed for new construction, or just tells you what wires to run, but not how to run them.
Thanks,
I have a split level home with a crawl space under and attic above the main (middle) living portion of the house. The two story portion of the house obviously has attic access above. I've already wired the bottom story which is on a slab. We were remodeling that area last year and I took that opportunity to run wires under the new sub floor. So to make a long story short, I have attic access to all areas that need wires, and crawl space access to most of the area that needs wire as well.
So how do most people retrofit security wires - specifically window and door contacts? Do most drill down into the crawl space or do most drill up into the attic?
How do most people drill? I have several of those long flexible bits (30-36" long) that I've used in other HV wiring projects. I've always thought I would get another one with as small a bit as I could get - perhaps 1/8" and use that to drill into the crawlspace or attic. I've also thought that I would have to take off the interior trim for the windows and doors to gain access to the side of the window/door. I figure there is enough space where the window is installed between the studs (where they shim the window to make it level and plumb) to run my wires next to the window/door. I'd drill at the top or bottom of this small gap to run the wire through the wall to the attick/crawlspace. Is that what most other people do?
Where do most people put their door sensors? Near the top or bottom of the door? I guess it depends on which direction you are drilling, but what is the concensus?
What about window contacts? I have double hung windows where there are two windows (top and bottom) that slide up and down next to each other. Obviously for the best protection you would put a sensor on each part. My thought has been to look at those tiny "pill" reed switches and see if they would fit in the track of the window. That way I don't have to drill into the window frame except to run the actual wire. How are other people doing it?
OK, that is probably enough questions for one post. I've read lots of stuff like the Wiring How To, but most of the stuff is designed for new construction, or just tells you what wires to run, but not how to run them.
Thanks,
