Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Process

Our process

How a smart home gets built properly.

Six stages, the same on every project, whether it is a lighting retrofit in the Gables or a waterfront estate from the permit set. Each one ends with something you can hold: a scope, a drawing, a test report, a walkthrough.

Start at stage one

The six stages

01

Discovery

A walkthrough of the home or a review of the plans with a system designer. We talk about how you live, who is in the house, what you already own and what frustrates you. For new builds we meet with the architect and builder, and we ask for the electrical and lighting sets.

Week 1 · 60 to 90 minutes

You receive

  • Written notes on priorities and constraints
  • A list of existing equipment worth keeping
  • A rough budget range, so nobody is surprised later
02

Design & proposal

We turn discovery into a scope: systems, room by room, with the equipment specified and the reasons explained. Where it matters we present good, better and best. For new construction we produce the low-voltage drawing set, coordinated with electrical and HVAC.

Weeks 1 to 3

You receive

  • Itemized proposal with options
  • Low-voltage drawings (new construction and major renovation)
  • Keypad and shade layouts for designer review
03

Prewire & rough-in

At framing, before insulation and drywall. Cat6A, fiber, speaker, shade, camera and intercom cabling, keypad boxes, conduit to key locations and the rack room. Every cable is tested and labeled at both ends before the walls close. In retrofits this is the day we fish cable and confirm wireless coverage.

Framing stage · a few days on site

You receive

  • Cable certification report
  • Labeled terminations at the rack
  • Photo record of every run before drywall
04

Installation & trim

Once finishes are in: rack build, network, cameras, speakers, keypads, shades, displays and processors. We coordinate with painters, millworkers and the electrician so trim happens once and looks like it was always there.

Finish stage · 1 to 6 weeks depending on scope

You receive

  • Equipment installed and powered
  • Shades measured, hung and aligned
  • Network live and segmented
05

Programming & commissioning

The part most people never see and the part that makes the difference. Scenes, schedules, remotes, touchscreens, the app for every family member, camera analytics, voice, and the integration of every system into Control4. Then we test all of it, room by room.

Before move-in · 1 to 3 weeks

You receive

  • Scene and schedule programming
  • Calibrated video and audio
  • A commissioning checklist, signed off
06

Handoff & support

A walkthrough with everyone who lives in the house, a printed quick guide, and the documentation: as-built cable map, network credentials, equipment list. Thirty days later we come back and adjust the programming to how you actually use it. From then on, remote monitoring and support.

Move-in · then ongoing

You receive

  • Owner walkthrough and training
  • As-built documentation package
  • 30-day tuning visit and remote support

Working with your team

We are used to being one trade among many.

On a new build we attend coordination meetings, share drawings with the electrician and HVAC contractor, and keep the superintendent's schedule. On a renovation we work around your designer's finishes and your family's routine.

Builders

Drawings, submittals, a schedule we keep, and a low-voltage sub who does not generate callbacks.

Architects

Rack rooms, conduit and keypad locations on the set early, and hardware that disappears into the design.

Interior designers

Keypad finishes, grille colors, shade fabrics and fascias, sampled and approved before ordering.

Electricians

Coordinated load schedules for lighting control, shared box locations and a clean division of scope.

Stage one is a conversation.

Book a walkthrough or send your plans. There is no charge for discovery and no obligation after it.

Book discovery (310) 339-3859