Re: Unbelievable !

["doug" <vssdoug@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Jim" <alarminex@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e4b1b550-db35-41ff-8b88-166202d2de41@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I just got called in to take over an old installation at a residence.

Old Napco 825 control panel which means the whole house is on four zones
with about 20 openings. The owner had a problem with the original installer
after many years because he couldn't stop the false alarms that were
occuring on the system. So I'm checking out the system to do the estimate
.....looking at the wiring in the basement .... doesn't look too bad. Mostly
twisted pair as was common 25 years ago. Ball contacts on the doors. Not a
good thing .... but kinda acceptable... but the windows !!!!!

The old installer had installed roller ball switches on the sides of the
double hung windows. Drilled through the metal track and weather strip .....
cut out the weather strip to accomodate the flange on the roller ball and
chisiled some of the wood away underneath the weatherstrip, so that the sash
wouldn't hit the switch flange when moving the sashes up and down. He did
this on both the tops and bottom sashes. I can't imagine how long it took to
do this on every  window.

The owner just wants me to replace the roller balls with the reasoning that
the original ones ( which were mechanical contacts) lasted 25 years, the new
one's should last longer.

Even though the owners "logic" is sound .... for some reason I just don't
feel comfortable with being associated with doing this .... imagining that
the next installer 25 years from now will be thinking .... what kind of
A-hole would do this?

I still haven't decided on how to "fix" this. If I take the rollerballs out,
I can just drill a hole through the edge of the moulding and run the wire
through the edge of the window and install a surface mount contact with the
splice residing in the old switch hole. And that'll only work on the bottom
sash. On the top sash, I'd have to install a recessed magnet so the two
sashes could pass one another with out knocking off the magnet. Another part
of the problem is ..... I'll have two big gaping 3/4 inch holes on each
window to fill. And ...... With what? And I'm afraid that with the absence
of the roller ball, the weather is going to come in through where the
switches used to be. To me ..... the windows were ruined by the alarm
installer.

It's amazing that the old switched have survived the exposure to the weather
all these years.

Any suggestions?????

Walk away

Doug