This should be added to our new website.

We are coming up on 500 pages of this thread. Almost 7000 replies and will soon reach 1 million views.

This isnt a small thing. Its probably helped quality work reach more end user eyes than certain industry organizations. Think about it.

I know its "just" a thread, but to me its a big deal. A lot of the guys here are proud of their work and want to show it off. After all, our ego (at least for me) is one of the driving forces that makes me want to do great work. I want to know if another CI saw my work in the field he would compliment it. Holding to that high of a standard almost always exceeds client expectations. This thread shows that.

I wonder if it should be covered by CE Pro?

well said man! this is awesome and honestly my favorite thread of the site. I always enjoy seeing what you other CI's are doing and what i can do different to make my work one step better then it already is. I also like how alot of us post whats going on in our real lives, makes it more personable

Its also always a pleasure to see Pauls (SBsmarthomes) pictures of the fabulous work he does and the awesome homes he gets to work in, and of course alot of you post some awesome photos :)

Personally i enjoy the racks

that is good to hear, cuz i was starting to wonder about you.  :p

lol!

I think Paul said that he saw the guy's truck or van during the initial visit/installation; either way, pointing out that the job is crap is the right thing to do. What's the worst thing that can happen, guy throws Paul out of the shop?

Wow, I didn't realize there were that many posts.
It's amazing at the amount of useful content in this one post alone.
I've seen threads that have a long life span, but nothing that has much content to it (like the number picture post here on RC).

Brendon, I agree with you. I really like this thread as well.


Well, what can I say about Paul's work other than mesmerizing. The quality of work, the top notch choice of equipment -- and the pictures... damn, Paul takes some awesome pictures.

Thinking about what Brendon said about learning from this site and seeing how others do things dawned on me that I don't know any direct competition I have here in New Mexico?
I don't mean sparky that underbids me and more often than not botches the job.
I mean quality CI guys that I can meet for a pizza at a local joint (pun intended) and shot the shit. 

Anyone knows any resi CIs in New Mexico? Anyone on RC or IP?

Damn it Brandon; you did it man. You gave me the bug to try to get my shit together and clean up my equipment locations.
First on the list is this 42" SMC; a little gem in my office. It houses few wires that run from Kitchen, Dining Rm, Office, and front entrance. From here they either run to my Home Theater (6 coax & 6 Cat5e), or back to main Automation Room (7 Coax & 10 Cat5e). I also have smurf tube running between few key locations that you may be able to see in the back of the SMC.

This is how I was using it for almost 3 years.
5 Port Gigabit network switch.
Few coax wires with barrel connectors to pass CATV and FM signal to rest of the house.



This is what it looks like now.
It took about 20 hours to get to this point.
Several hours were spent tracing some of the unlabeled wires (my then workers didn't know how to follow instructions), and organizing the order of wires (yes, I have some issues).



The coiled wires on top are some of the CCTV feeds that I'm not using. The house is wired to have between 2-3 cameras at each corner of the house; there's got to be at least 15 corners on my house.

Two of my most favorite things, this thread and racks ;p

P.S. Come on stamp, hook it up, I know you want too!

Thanks for the background info on this.  I'd planned to research it, but hadn't taken the time yet. 

Yeah, the guy doing the installation was moving through the process like he'd done it many times before.  He was working out of a hatchback... probably one of the Craigslist guys we've all seen advertise in our areas.

If he was working out of a truck or van that looked legitimate I was going to introduce myself.

I'm not social with any of my local competitors either.  I've tried to reach out a few times (even referring business) and got the cold shoulder.  I'm still the new guy in town and in a really small market, so this might have something to do with it?

It's Sunday, but I stopped by a new construction job this afternoon to meet the client and do a walk through.  I haven't seen the client face-to-face in over a year and hadn't been at the property for around 6 months so a social call was long overdue.

They're about ready for final inspection... I've got to get in there soon to install speakers and keypads.  Picked up 6 different colors of paint so I can get the speakers painted and ended up talking with the client for almost an hour.  He's a great guy and had a nice chat.

This is a fairly simple job.

6 zones of Russound ComPoint intercom
6 zones of Russound distributed audio
4 TVs (one is a 5.1 surround system)
Wired & wireless networking
URC control

This is the third house in a small gated development that I've done.