Re: Some observations !

[Robert L Bass <sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 19:28:33 -0500, "Robert Campbell"
<ssv554@usa@isp01.net> wrote:

> I am currently staying in a rented home in Panama City Beach, Florida and
> being as it is early in my vacation, I have not yet "decompressed". As such,
> I can't resist making some observations about the difference between the
> house construction here as compared to back home in Ontario ( I know, I
> shouldn't be thinking about business.....:))

Welcome to Florida, Bob.  Sorry I couldn't be there to greet you.

> First and most obvious, there are no basements and as such, standard
> installation practices would have to be quite different here. As near as I
> can see, the panel would have to be hidden in a ground floor closet, with
> all wiring going up into the attic (and I can only guess how hot that would
> be in the summer in Florida !!!!!!) If not, one would have to be very
> creative about hiding wiring behind baseboards. Wireless would seem to be an
> attractive option given the normal difficulty of wiring up through walls
> into the attic. Many homes have two or three stories with doors going out
> into balcanies, which would necessitate wireless components unless labour
> time is of little consequence (yeah, right !!)

Most retrofit jobs in South Florida are wireless, Bob.  You're
right about the wiring on new construction homes.  The master
control panel is almost always either in the master bedroom
closet or the laundry room closet.  Wiring goes up through the
attic and down to the sensors, etc.  Heat isn't as much of a
factor on pre-wire jobs but I'd hate to have to work in a closed
Florida attic.

> I don't get the impression that break and enter is a big
> problem, at least in the fairly ritzy area I am in.  People
> seem to leave valuables such as bicycles out in their
> yards over night with little fear of theft...

My home is in a gated community in Sarasota.  People often leave
bicycles out at night there, too.  With access limited to
residents and guests there is very little burglary though it does
happen.

Outside those gates it's another matter.  Burglary is every bit
as much of a problem as it is in any small city in America.  Like
everyplace else there is a drug problem and where there are drugs
there is crime.

> The only homes with alarms are those privately owned,
> where the home owner is away from the premises for
> long periods of time.

We go away for several months at a time, but there is often
someone else there while we're away.  Several of our neighbors
are snowbirds who fly South for the winter and head back up to
Michigan, Ontario or whatever other God-forsaken place during the
summer.  Most homes in our neighborhood don't have alarms, even
those owned by snowbirds.  The few that do are mostly those crap
systems the fast-buck outfits push via builders.

> I see no small alarm companies present, with most
> alarms installed by ADT, and one other larger dealer
> here in town.

There are several large, in dependant outfits in our area, plus
an ADT authorized dealer in Bradenton (next town north) that uses
the illegal "free system" scam to attract new victims.  There are
also several small, in dependant dealers.  Judging from sloppy
work I've seen, at least two of them don't seem to have a clue
and one is very good.

> With that, I'll sign off and wish you all well....... 75 degrees,
> warm deserted beaches, sunny weather here compared to
> zero degrees, two feet of snow at home, and 40 car pileups
> on the major snow covered highways.

Enjoy your stay, Bob.  It's a bit warmer here in Bahia -- 85-90ºF
days with 2,500,000 Brasileiras on the beaches utilizing a sum
total of six square yards of bikini fabric.  :^)

> Not too hard to take !!

Same here.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

Bass Burglar Alarms
The Online DIY Store
http://www.BassBurglarAlarms.com

--

Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large
groups.