I am getting ready to move. I currently have a 2Gig system monitored by SecurityCam, which I am very happy with. While I feel confident in maintaining my 2Gig system and adding alarm and zwave components, I want a professional (i.e., not a dilettante like me) to do the original conversion/installation. The new house has an old DSC wired system, some components of which will have to be repaired or replaced (e.g., very old smoke detectors, a few non-functioning sensors). I want to convert the system to 2Gig and SuretyCam monitoring. This is, in fact, what I have had done twice before with great results. The company I used in the past appears no longer to be an option. Are you aware of any competent installers in the San Antonio, Texas area I might be able to use?
We do not work with other dealers, but you might try the Alarm.com site’s dealer search feature. If you fill out info it will generate responses from selected dealers, but may be useful to find names of companies that are familiar with installing the equipment.
Thank you, Jason. I did try that and found it, frankly, unhelpful. Most of the companies offered were strictly monitoring companies. I am following down one, however. Although a number of the others were monitoring companies relying on self installation, SuretyCam was not among them. You handle several systems for me in San Antonio and South Texas and do a great job. You might be missing an opportunity here.
You handle several systems for me in San Antonio and South Texas and do a great job. You might be missing an opportunity here.
We appreciate the compliment! We like to ensure top quality customer service and troubleshooting for our DIYers.
The search feature is used typically for active phone sales teams to reach out to individuals interested in the products to offer competing quotes for installation and monitoring. As a fully e-commerce provider, we do not quote for individual systems and all orders are through suretyDIY.com. We do welcome all suggestions though!
If you wanted to tackle the installation, we would be of course happy to assist with walking through any setup questions in detail on the forum.
Have you cast a wide Google net and searched for Security Installer “city name”? A lot of ads will populate the first page or so, but it should give some alternative options further down.
This seems to be a catch-22. The only companies I have found that will do an installation without monitoring will only do it if I buy the equipment from them. Their prices are literally three times the SuretyDIY prices for the same equipment. What am I missing here?
The new house has an old DSC wired system, some components of which will have to be repaired or replaced (e.g., very old smoke detectors, a few non-functioning sensors). I want to convert the system to 2Gig and SuretyCam monitoring.
Why not just DIY it and get Surety professional monitoring?
If it were me, I would simply rip out the entire existing DCS system, and replace it with wireless (and if you have an existing 2GIG system, simply take it with you, and reinstall it at the new location).
There is likely no installation company that will install/convert a system without wanting you to enter into a monitoring contract.
I am thinking, what, the average installation will run around 3k-5k or so if you pay outright for the equip/installation/labor without a monitoring contract obligation (or will run you approx $500 to 1k or so for equip, with something like a 36-60 month contract at around $60-$70/month).
In the end, it is cost effective to ‘do it yourself’ over the course of a single weekend. It is not difficult. Consider it a manly home improvement project, and impress the wife.
If you haven’t already tried… call QSI Security. They are out of San Antonio, but were also moving into the Houston area last year when I was looking for an install (I’m in Houston). Roy with QSI was good to work with and actually listened to what I wanted instead of trying to force-feed one of their packages down my throat. I wanted them to install the security system and give me the freedom/access to add to the system as I wanted. Right now, my monitoring is through them, but they’ve given me the freedom to add to the system as I want - which means a lot of additional z-wave switches and other components that I purchased myself and added to my panel and ADC (which means I didn’t have to buy them through QSI and pay their up-charge).
Not sure if it’ll meet your specific situation, but it’s worth a try…
Just as a follow up, I ended up using an electrician I have used before for non-alarm related issues. He did an excellent job. The installation cost was less that the installation charge quoted by any local alarm co. And I was able to buy the equipment myself, which meant the equipment cost was literally 30% of that quoted by the local companies. If anyone in the SA area needs install help, I would be glad to recommend him.