High wire act: an installer can help juggle electronic systems and specialists

Residential Architect, Sept-Oct, 2003 by Scott Gibson

Just about any custom builder will tell you the days when new-home buyers were satisfied with a television in the den and a stereo in the living room ate long gone. Clients planning custom homes ate now likely to ask for a variety of electronic upgrades, from waterproof speakers in the shower to a dedicated home theater. Staying ahead of that technological wave during an extended design and construction schedule can be a challenge, requiring builders not only to know the right specialists but to keep track of what they're doing as well.

Home systems often include plasma televisions, complicated controls for lights and mechanical equipment, wholehouse sound systems, and home offices complete with local area computer networks. Some features require complicated custom-made cabinetry, and linking all these components together requires enough cabling to leave even experienced designers agog. Minnesota-based architect Dale Mulfinger of SALA Architects is still amazed at how much extra wiring is required even though complex electronic systems ate now routine. "The amount of spaghetti is truly amazing" he says.

Builders and architects can feel lost when it comes to recommending an installing the kind of hardware that buyers ask for. As a result, system installer are often invited to join the planning process, ideally before construction has actually started. These specialists can offer valuable advice to clients while overseeing the installation of special cabling and hardware. But with construction often taking year or more, good communication, detailed planning, and clearly defined roles for everyone on the jobsite are essential for keeping problems at bay.

Start with a plan

Builders, architects, and installers them selves are universal in suggesting that planning for electronic systems star early. "The biggest thing is that you need to get in on the ground floor, in the beginning, because all that pre-wiring needs to go in when the house is being wired," says Joe Stanton, a Rhode Island custom builder and owner of JMS Builders. "It's much cheaper to go in and pre-wire rooms than it is to go back in and try to retrofit something later. So even if the people didn't think they wanted to have the latest and the greatest for networking and computers, it's much easier to run big cable and have the option to do all that."

Even when clients don't appear interested in extensive home entertainment systems or lighting and HVAC controls, installing the cabling allows them to change their minds later. And it probably will make the house more attractive when owners want to sell.

Stanton connects his client with a specialist he knows he can count on, then suggests that his clients sign a separate contract with him. That saves Stanton from fielding weekend calls later about a balky television of light control panel. "I make the connection and I recommend who they could use," he says, "but they write their contract direct and I stay outside of it. It's no different than me recommending an appliance store where they can pick out their appliances. They don't actually buy them from me."

Other builders may sign on a specialist but still prefer a closer connection with the work. For example, Matthew Beardsley, a custom builder in Bozeman, Mont., relies on an outside specialist for the installation, but wants to handle any trouble calls once the client has moved in. "We typically do everything," he says. "If the client has a problem, they call us, and we then contact the appropriate person, It's part of our way of keeping the client happy." One advantage of his approach is that it makes it easier to spot areas where planning or construction could be improved next time.

From the builder's point of view. shifting responsibility for these complex systems to another vendor may make sense. But it also increases the potential for a communications breakdown that can slow construction and leave everyone on the job with frayed nerves. Bigger and more complicated electronics packages have also increased the number and scale of building components needed to house them. Home theaters are often separate rooms that not only have special lighting and audio needs but features like automatic window shades. Hidden televisions need special cabinetry, and whole-house audio components may have to "home-run" to a central room where system hardware is installed. Unless a systems installer is careful to consult with the architect and builder, jobsite relations can become strained.

Steve Hayes, owner of Custom Electronics in Falmouth, Maine, knows all about ruffled feathers. "One-third of our revenues last year came from projects that other people had screwed up," he says. "Almost always it's about the relationship, and it's about the initial contract that happens between the builder and the architect and the installer and the client. It's who's going to do what, who's responsible for what, how clear ate the expectations, what are the mark-ups that are going to be allowed for management fees--all that conversation."