Security Camera Installation on a 2 Storey House - after Completion

• 

  jason101 on 20/04/2021 - 10:35

  +2

  Just ask for non terminated network points (ie wire hanging out of the ceiling) at positions in the ceiling all running back to a central location - then organise the rest yourself once the house is built. I love my menagerie of wireless and smart cameras etc - but nothing beats the reliability of a wired poe system like a hikvision. I reboot the system once every 4-5 months and that's it - they are rock solid.

• 

  iampoor on 20/04/2021 - 10:39

  +1

  We organised everything post handover, while we had ethernet points to every room we didn't provision one specifically for the CCTV.

  Technician spliced an existing network cable in the roof space and connected it to a switch.

  Switch was then used to link up the cameras and recorder, no issues at all.

  Didn't install a doorbell, using an EUFY 2K doorbell, very happy with it.

• 

  BryceW on 20/04/2021 - 11:15

  +6

  Expert in this area.
  $3600 is way high, that’s the realm of commercial grade cameras (Axis/Bosch) which you won’t need. Hikvision/Dahua would be perfect and a 4 cam setup can be done $1000-1500 for cams and installation (depends what the cams are of course).

  It’s not impossible to add cabling after. Electricians do it all day every day, but running wires through the walls while the plaster is off is obviously a lot easier.

  You can ask them or get your own sparky to run the cables near the locations you want them. Pro tip: don’t install them on the eaves on the top floor. It’s too high to see faces (a baseball cap would defeat it). Put them on the first floor eaves. 7-9ft is the optimal zone for faces.

  Builders take advantage of your lack of knowledge in the area. And take advantage of the whole “I’m already spending $600,000 for my house, what’s an additional $3600?”
  Shop around, find what they’ll do it for, shop that price too. Don’t get ripped off.

  • 

    dshamim on 20/04/2021 - 14:37

    Yea, exactly, checking online you can get a decent system for under 2k for 6 cameras
    I actually did ask them for provisioning for the cameras, they said they don't do it - either that or their electrical consultant was hell bent on selling their camera setup

    appreciate the suggestions here -

    we'll opt out of that

  • 

    listentomystory on 20/04/2021 - 16:29

    No way you could get a 4ch Hikvision systems for $1500 plus installation. It is possible with Dahua and UNV since they have low end camera lines. But there's not gonna be much 'fat' for labour cost which is why I think $1500 is almost impossible.

    I would say $3600 is a sweet spot if it the gear being quated is a Hikvision system.

    Edit: Just want to add that the quoted price is even better if they include the cost of cable run.

• 

  godofpizza on 20/04/2021 - 11:33

  $1000-1500 price before or after handover? I was wanting to have them installed in an existing home or future build. I am lost on what to shop for. any tips?

  • 

    iampoor on 20/04/2021 - 11:45

    +1

    After handover. as BryceW said Hikvision/Dahua are good for normal home users, depending on your house layout 4 cams are usually fine.

• 

  thatonethere on 20/04/2021 - 11:52

  Usually builders charge a premium for changes during the build hence the high price. You have to do some economics in your head to see if it is worth it.

• 

  Porker on 20/04/2021 - 14:37

  +1

  Also depends, in my experience, on your house design and if you can conveniently place the network/cables where required.

  On one of my two storey builds, I had the builder install security cameras, 4 cameras POE for only $800 including the unit cost. Builder simply just had their electrician come and do the work and timing was great as plasterboard had not gone up yet so was much easier, this property had eaves on the ground floor.

  My current two storey has no eaves on the ground floor such that it's a lot harder now to retro-fit cameras, with little to no access to the ceiling on the ground floor.

  Also, with 'smart' bell, you'll need power too unless you're prepared to continually change over batteries. Perhaps consider a very basic bell during build or have them include wiring for it.

  • 

    godofpizza on 20/04/2021 - 14:50

    if you had a balcony instead of eaves on the first floor, would that help with camera placement?

  • 

    dshamim on 20/04/2021 - 16:10

    yes, that's the reason we added a basic bell - just for the wires, at the moment I'm looking at eufy wired doorbell (provided they later provide the ability to connect to homebase later) will probably get that once we get the house handed over

    we don't have eaves on the ground floor so PoE camera placement was worrying me - other option would probably be to go all wireless and charge them every 6 months or so

    • 

      listentomystory on 20/04/2021 - 16:34

      +1

      FYI big name like Hikvision, Dahua, UNV etc offer smart bell too, which can be integrated to your NVR for recording purpose.

    • 

      BryceW on 23/04/2021 - 14:35

      If there is no eaves on the ground floor then they can often drill through the brick or run conduit. Its harder to do but they'll be correctly positioned.
      I have all wired POE cameras, but my front doorbell is a Eufy 2K Wireless battery which I really like. Looks like I am going to get 3-4 months out of its battery despite it being on the highest power usage (better detection but doesn't preserve battery as much).
      When that happens, I'll use the little key to take it off its mount, charge it for a few hours via micro-USB one night and stick it back on before I go to bed. Then get another few months out of it.

      I'm really happy with it, and security cameras is my area of expertise.

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  cezasu on 23/04/2021 - 22:27

  +1

  don't tell them u want cameras installed, they will rip u off!

  one way to do it is to ask them to install the standard cheap lights at where you want the cameras at maybe around $50 each location ?

  once handover, using the existing light cable as your lead in cable, you can pull out and replace the existing light cables with lan / poe cables and install the cameras this way.

  Cameras should not be placed on the eaves of the double storey house.. can only see hoodies and caps.. it should be place midpoint if want to see face….

  if u go dahua/hikvision these are pretty much waterproof so does not matter whether they are shaded by the eaves or not.

  • 

    dshamim on 24/04/2021 - 09:40

    well, too late for that now, anyway but wired cameras are always PoE (power over ethernet) - so its not electrical wiring, but data cabling wiring
    even if you don't tell them it's obvious