Hollanda

Yep, suspended floors on an Edwardian house (see pic). All exposed and in good condition. Only one room has been sanded by previous owner - and some of these sanded and non-sanded floorboards are already up (for the rewire job we had). Thanks @al-yeti good advice. Will keep this in mind. I’ll probably lift a few that are already up and have a nosey

@al-yeti because it’s the weekend and itching to start sanding floors now I also tend to discuss ideas/thoughts with a wider community - good to have multiple viewpoints e.g. one electrician that wanted to do a job said he would have to destroy our cornices to get a wire through, but another electrician said he could get it done without damaging cornices. It’s obvious who got the job! So it was good to discuss it with multiple people to understand the work/options etc. Anyway I’m finding this a great place to learn about security related decisions. Everyone has been so helpful, so I guess sometimes I get carried away!

@MrHappy I didn’t really understand - is this a trademark rant? Going back to hardwiring - when you folks run security cables under suspended floors, do you need to lift all the floorboards or just a few? We have a few of our pine floorboards up already, but trying to understand how many more will need to be lifted. Also assuming you drill through the joists and run the cables through there? I need to sand my floorboards down so trying to figure out how to organise sanding with the wiring. I’m happy to delay the sanding but ideally I’d get on with sanding before the cables are even run

Thanks folks. I’m looking for a balance - reasonable quality but not paying over the odds and not over engineering something simple. I’ll have a look at what you’ve suggested

@al-yeti I didn’t know PIR cameras exist thanks for this. What models do you reckon I should look at? For context it looks like pretty soon I’ll have a HKC system installed (thanks for turning me away from Pyronix)!

Hi all, Now that an intruder alarm is in the pipeline (thanks to all your help), I’m looking into other aspects of security, and wondering if you could share any tips/experiences on the following. What’s a good budget indoor camera and NVR bundle? I want the NVR to have enough storage for around ~28 days of 1080p footage from 2-3 indoor cameras. The indoor cameras can be wireless. In the future I may want to integrate 1-2 external PoE cameras to the NVR. Alternatively it seems a lot less hassle to buy 3 Ring indoor cameras and rely on the home subscription bundle to store videos in the cloud (with microphone muted ) I did look at Eufy but feels very limited and I’ve read something about having to expand HD storage myself. Other things I’d consider are a Reolink Hybrid or Lorex bundle but I haven’t looked at the prices for these yet. I plan to point these cameras at the entry points that have wireless shock/contact sensors (my way of sussing out a false alarm when I’m not home).

Thanks @PeterJames this has already been very helpful, and now I know about HKC! (very happy to have stumbled upon this community - you’ve all been very helpful and already a fan of @MrHappy )

Thanks to all the collaboration/help here, I have a few more things to look into (HKC, SIM modules) so it’ll stall my plans for a little while. I’d be delighted to get some recommended HKC installers for the South London area (my Wife will insist on NSI/SSAIB registered installer as it will give peace of mind for future requirements or changes ).

Of If I opt out of a sim during initial installation, is it fairly straightforward to retrofit a sim later? I imagine it’s some “plug-in” sim module I can add later?

Hi @james.wilson thanks for the info. What’s a solid alternative to a 4G router as a backup WAN? I’ve heard that these security systems (Pyronix etc) can have GPRS modules, but not sure what these are nor where to start! I’d be happy to have recommmendations

Thank you. HKC seems a good one to explore. Are there many people on this forum with HKC systems? Wondering what the community is like. (actually would be a good thing to see what systems people in this community have).

@MrHappy that sounds like a disaster what would you folks recommend then? I really do want minimal maintenance which is why I’m keen on hardwired system. My requirement is that it should be a Grade 1 system with the capacity to add response monitoring in case I need it in the future. Trying to also future proof in case insurers ask for minimum Grade 1 system in future.

@al-yeti I had a rewire recently and haven’t got round to decorating yet. So some of the suspended floorboards haven’t been nailed down yet which should mean easier access. Open to some additional chasing as long as it’s minimal

cheers mate much appreciated. Out of interest why would you recommend Texecom over Pyronix? @al-yeti suggested the same. Is it just that Texecom has more mature tech/app? For the hardwired option I thought this would be straightforward as I recently had a rewire and thought the engineer could run the 8-core cables along the same path, but looks like they should be at least 150mm apart to avoid interference?

@PeterJames ivery helpful, thanks for this. Is it straightforward for me to change the batteries myself? @al-yeti: x1 wireless control panel with backup battery x1 wireless keypad with prox x5 fobs x2 wireless surface door contact x1 wireless external sounder bell with cover x1 wireless internal bell x6 wireless PIR sensor x1 smartcom above system will be tested and commissioned. I am open to having it hardwired. I’m hoping having suspended floors will mean the job is less messy

Thank you both for your replies. Are you able to recommend anyone that can install a Texecom alarm in South London? I’ve come across one security company that does it but they quoted around 2.2k + VAT for all costs. Would you say that’s average cost? I’m definitely thinking I’m better off with hardwired as I’m a bit worried about the amount of things I have where the batteries need replacing. I may struggle to keep on top of it. I will enquire about a service contract, thanks for the tip.

Thanks @al-yeti what’s included in a service? I suspect different companies will mean slightly different things by a service, but I expect they check the battery, and run a few tests to make sure the system is working? I am actually looking at plugging in a 4G router as a second WAN.

Thanks for your response. I’m not sure, I’ll definitely find out when they turn up for the survey next week. I suspect it’s a Pyronix system as i read somewhere that the Banham app is a white-labelled Pyronix app?

Hello all Hope you’re doing well. My first time on the forum. Finally bought a house after nearly two decades of dreaming. I know I’ll be on here often as I’m very security conscious. Happy to be here and hope to contribute to the community! At the moment, I need your help trying to decide between 3 different wireless intruder alarm quotes. The property is a London home, around 1,100 sqft with hallway, lounge, dining room and kitchen on ground floor. Upstairs there’s a landing and 3 bedrooms. No pets. All 3 proposed systems are wireless and meet Grade 2 requirements (not an insurance requirement - just trying to future proof as I know insurers can be flaky. I actually asked for Grade 1 but all the providers state they’re quoting for a Grade 2 system). The only wired components will probably be the alarm keypad, and I’d like the siren to be hardwired as I’m not keen on climbing up 2metres+ to change the battery. I also like it to be backlit which I don’t think you get with a wireless siren? The alarms I’m considering are: Pyronix. Not sure the model (Enforcer I think) nor the amount of zones supported but I expect at least 32 zones supported. Texecom Premier Elite supporting 64 zones. Banham - supporting 32 zones. They all have the following in common: Price wise they’re not far apart from each other. Similar number of PIR sensors. Similar call-out charges. I’m not subscribing to a monitoring service (although I may in the future when the family grows). Similar number of proposed wireless components. Two providers offers window contacts in the quote. Differences: The company offering one of the systems won’t install the spur for the alarm, so I need my electrician to sort that out first. Questions: Which one would you choose and why? Does anyone have any experience with the features of these alarms that mitigate the risk of RF jamming of wireless components? So far I’ve understood that Texecom uses a ricochet mesh system as well as supervision that triggers the alarm if any “pulse” is lost. Should I consider hardwiring instead of wireless? I don’t like the idea of replacing the batteries for all these components every 1-2 years, but not exactly looking forward to chasing and dust (although we do have suspended floors which might make things easier). What’s your experience like of call-out charges for these wireless systems? How often do you really need these companies to come out and service the alarm? When it comes to moving door/window contacts e.g. if you’re getting a new window, so you do it yourself? One of the security companies said that I’d risk misconfiguring the system, and it’s safer if I call them out to recalibrate the system. Is there a benefit to hardwiring the siren apart from the battery not needing replacing. How often do you get your alarms serviced, and what does a “service” entail for you? Thanks in advance, and sorry if this is not posted in the right sub topic.