The problem with many do it yourself projects is, well, you have to do them yourself. That means time, tools, material, mistakes, frustration, and lots of learning. This can be a good thing, of course, but it is certainly time consuming, and you hate to learn on your own house. I took on a tile project in my house once, and learned a lot. A whole lot. For example, I learned that you should screw in the backer board about with screws spaced out no more than six inches. If you don’t, you’ll get lose tiles, cracking grout, and eventually cracks. Great, good lesson learned. And now I have to rip out a bunch of tiles to fix the sub floor.
Same thing for a home security installation job. You’ll figure it out, eventually, and you’ll make some mistakes along the way. Hopefully they won’t be anything that you can’t easily fix, but who knows… Your chances of having a “major” screw up are much, much greater if you decide to tackle a wired system. Wired security systems have the distinction of needing a LOT of copper. They need runs for every window, door, smoke alarm, motion sensor, and so on. That’s a lot of chances to break, cut, smash or ruin something that doesn’t need ruining.
That’s why I sincerely recommend a wireless home security system installation. There isn’t a whole lot that you can ruin. Sure you might ding a wall or scratch some paint, but that’s small potatoes compared to cutting a 110V line or falling through the ceiling (don’t laugh, I’ve done it!).
So think hard about what exactly you’re going to benefit from by getting a wired system. If you’re set on it and can’t be persuaded, make a few phone calls and find a professional installer for a quote. As a matter of fact, find a couple of professional security systems installers and see what they say. You might find a big price difference that you can leverage to get the best price for a new home security system installation.
