Thanks!

I've seen several posts where people mention it being "cheap" to install a wired system in new build, and places like KB home throw it in for free, so I'm surprised it is even that much.

What is considered a good basic system would be wiring all windows and doors and then motion detectors on each floor. No KB home system wires all the windows.

Cheap of course being relative.

Cheap of course being relative.

d_c : Would wiring just the first floor be more budget prudent or just a stupid idea?

They would want to run out the front or back door if they could

As far as the other suggestions on wiring windows and such, I think its easier said than done. Now a days most companies don't want to wire windows as they don't want to be responsible for voiding the warranty on the window. Our builder did not even offer this as an option for that reason. I would also suggest to throw in a wired smoke detector on each floor as it should help lower your homeowners insurance on top of having the alarm as well.

You do have the option of putting in the alarm after the build which will be more expensive because you will be going wireless vs wired. They do offer wireless window sensors and YES you guessed it, they are expensive compared to wired. I won't even get into that debate of wireless vs wired but my thought is if I can have something hardwired & for less money, I will always take the hardwired route.

Deciding on which alarm to purchase after the pre-wire will basically depend on your needs and what you want it to control. Once we move in I am looking for a system that will do security as well as home automation so I am going to purchase an ELK M1 gold system. Elk and HAI offer the option of professional installers and also are DIY friendly companies that will offer support as well. There are other security/home automation systems which are more dealer oriented such crestron, contrl 4, savant, etc but it just all depends on what your budget is and what you would like to spend. If you just need secuirty you could always pay an ADT or said company that will come in and give you the system for free but then you are stuck with their monitoring system contract and high monthly fee as well. I chose to pay for my system up front which will probaly be about $650 or so to start and I can add to my system (lighting, audio/video, HVAC, sprinklers, blinds, etc)when I choose and can be controlled from any computer or my phone. I also like the fact I can select my own monitoring service. We have a company here that will monitor your system monthly for $9.95 month.

Hope that helps!

On the difficulty level - it does depend on the window type and your comfort with drilling into a window (and voiding a warranty most likely). But hey - I had my first warranty claim after 3 years and no one checked or asked if the window had been drilled. It was a 2nd story window so it was untouched.

On cost - the wires are particularly cheap (and you thought cat5 was cheap) and the sensors are in the $3 range. I would suggest that if you are doing your cat 5/6, then security is in your realm. The most difficult thing of all is terminating the cat 5/6 (and that isn't bad either).

I am still so proud of my wiring the door locks. Very few people have heard of that and no thief with think of it either. When we go to bed, if I forgot to lock the basement, it will tell me. We have an unusually high number of exterior doors - 7 and it is much easier to check the keypad than 7 doors. Also - door sensors can be bypassed by a sophisticated thief - they would just use powerful magnets to throw them off.

I'm not sure about drilling into windows though (I guess we didn't think through how this would work) as we are buying either vinyl or fiberglass.

We are looking for a DIY home automation system, I've played around with the Control4 system and really liked it, but we do need something that is more DIY.

How do you wire the locks of doors? We will have 6 doors on our main floor as well, and would love a solution to be able to check and see if they are locked. I've looked into some of the automatic locks as well, but those won't work on all the sliding doors (there are 4).

The magnet is on the window and it about the size of 2 dimes put together (ie thicker than a single dime) and you need to screw into the window to install. So drilling is a bit of an overstatement. It is a 1/2 inch long screw.

The door lock sensor is a push sensor (mechanical so less than ideal but no failures in 3 years). I just drilled it into the jam where the deadbolt goes. So they are deadbolt sensors - but we have deadbolts on all exterior doors. I can't imagine how to do a sliding door.

I'm feeling much better about this now. Now if only I could find a way to knock down some of the other allowances so easily ;) (the builder had included $7000 for our 3300 for security and cat5 or 6).

Because, you rather they stay out all together in the first place then already be inside.