Thursday, January 10, 2013

Guardian Meeting

Well yesterday was our meeting with Guardian. They were very pleasant (not pushy at all). Jim asked about what items we were interested in. I told him off the back that we only needed the phone/cable jacks and possibly the alarm package. He didn't push anything else on us. He just told us about those products.

PHONE/CABLE JACKS

As confirmed on the other blogs, the price was $125 per jack.

We agreed to the following:

  • 1- phone jack
  • 6- cable jacks
  • 1- data jack (in bonus for the Xbox/Wii)
The house came with 2 phone and 2 cable. He allowed us to change 1 of the phone jacks to a cable jack. I kept one phone jack just in case one day I switch from Time Warner phone to another provider. Therefore, we only had to pay for 4 additional jacks. 

We like the control box that goes in the closest.

ALARM SYSTEM

Initially, I thought I would go with an outside provider since it would probably be cheaper....NOPE! 

Packages started at:
TWC-33.95 (wireless)
Vector- 44.95 (wireless), 39.95 (wired...but Ryan is not going to let Joe Blow come wire the house)
ADT- Not if they were the only people on this earth

I was really drawn to the fact that the system would be wired. In my last house, dealing with a wireless system meant that when my modem went out...so did my alarm. We had several nights when the siren went off because the modem went out. Since it appears that their pricing was aligned with others, I decided to go with Guardian. They give you the first 6 months for free, which basically means they cover the price of installation ($250)! Additionally, they can't raise the price on your package for 3 or 5 years...whatever you choose. All in all I am happy with our decision. We also added an additional keypad upstairs.

What's included in the standard package for 39.95 (if you have a land line):

1- Standard Key Pad
1- Motion Detector
1- Control Panel (in the closet)
1- Siren
3- Door Contacts
1- Voicelink- two way speaker if your alarm goes off


I would recommend scheduling this meeting after your flooring. This allowed me to place a budget on what I was going to spend here. You definitely want to spend more money on the visibile things that you will receive from Rite Rug. The items from Rite Rug adds more value to the home.

FYI- Jim was VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT IT ALL.

7 comments:

  1. Hi, congrats and good call on the no frills with Guardian. Those companies totally take advantage of you because they have no competition in the build process. Right after the pre-drywall we had a large amount of wiring installed and hidden and placements measured--the drywallers will cover it up, pull the measurements and retrieve the wire after you close. Re: Tray ceiling...the framing for the octagonal studs are cut at a 45deg angle, to add crown (our next reveal) those are cut at 22.5deg or half of the 45. I suggest renting a compound miter saw from HD if you dont have one. There is a special technique for cutting internal corners for crown, google "install crown molding".

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    1. Please tell me about the wiring you had installed. Did Ryan do it? Did you have a professional come out and do it? Great thanks for the information. We have the miter saw and air compressor for the nail gun.

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    2. Hi, hit us up on email in our profile :)

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  2. You must be in Charlotte...my Guardian rep was Jim as well and I agree (if its the same Jim) he was not pushy at all. I chose to stick with the basics as well...alarm and cable outlets.

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  3. We were charged $150 per line plus had to pay extra for upgrading to CAT-6. Guardian is really taking advantage of the situation. I wish Ryan Homes allow the customer to pick a wiring company or let us do it. For $100, I can wire my whole house.

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  4. Meeting with Guardian has been the worst part of the process so far.

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  5. Meeting with Guardian has been the worst part of the process so far.

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