$20M Project: Come See the Finished Home

If we decide to do this each dealer will write their own review and it will be posted complete, with all the warts and diamonds of the project seen through their eyes.
I’m not looking for fanboys, not looking for someone who has already made up their minds or has an agenda.

I will ask around about people who apply.  There isn’t any pay involved except for maybe the weekend vacation at a resort in Arizona.

While the house will be the focus, we’ll find time to squeeze in a little fun.

I am the owner of Sound Effects. An audio/video integration company.  I have met the owner a few times and have always wanted to see this house.  Been following it from day 1 and would absolutely love to see the finished product and get an understanding on what and why certain products were used.

Co-owner of Electronic Lifestyle Associates in Elmhurst, IL… never have I been shy about offering my opinion.  Good integrators think about those things all day and everyday.  As we say around here, it the last 10% that really counts.

After you post on here, on the CEPro article send me an email with your company contact info so I can reach out.
Use .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) as the contact email.  Send anything you want me to know about your business like what products you use for control and anything else you think I should know.

This might turn into something that dealers can use.  Constructive criticism can help people and businesses grow.  What we have all experienced over the last two years might better be labeled destructive comments.

If I was looking for people to only say nice things, this series of articles would have ended after the first one.

There are going to be areas that we will be challenged on, that’s the point, how could we do better and what did we do right.

In the end it all comes down to the client, are they happy with how it works?  Does it do what they want?

After posting here contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your company contact info.

This should be fun.  I think we will all gain from it, but ouch.  It is kind of like requesting people to critic your wife.  You might now want to hear what they have to say. 

Overall, i think it is a great idea and look forward to showing it off.

I’d like to come, but only if laughing is allowed.

I would love to tour the project if I had time. Two main reasons are I want to see how well Control4 handles a home that size and that awesome fireplace has me thinking this will be one of the coolest houses I’ll ever see.

The delay on posting comments is starting to #### me off.  I might see something post in minutes or hours, darn trolls making it hard for the rest of us.

Stamp, if I cut you, it would bleed Crestron blue, but you are still a likely candidate.  I think you would be fair but not in the tank for either side.

Looks like some interesting choices to pick from.  Might pick a local company too as I won’t have to pay for airfare or hotels in addition to the two other companies we select. 

OK people, the more responses, the more likely we do this, sign up now for the Mark Sipe dunking tank.

Good morning Mr. Sipe,

My wife and I own an integration company in Canada, Started as a security company 23 years ago, and over the last 15 years thank goodness made the transition to a full blown a/v and automation company. Our specialty is new home construction, and we are know as a leader in our industry. We serve about 80% of the market here, however the vast majority of our projects are 5k to 60k, however as technology becomes more mainstream, we are doing several 100k plus. Currently we are in the middle of our first ever 300k plus project. It has been in production for 1.5 years and coming to completion in the next few months. We would love the opportunity to see and compare your project up close and personal. We can offer alot in opinion in the design and function field, but also personally learn from your experience.

Laurence & Elizabeth

Laurence Buddy, Wesley, Bradley,

You all have a compelling story, I’ll add your names to the list, next to Stamp.

This is turning out much better than I thought, with too many good choices.  Depending on how well I sell my vendors on this we might have to increase the number of attendees. 

With such interesting people stepping up, the plot thickens.  I can hardly wait to see who throws their hat in the ring next.

Yeah, sorry we have to moderate the comments, but at one point we were getting 200+ spams a day. A person only needs so many Rolex watches.

Mark,
I would love to come and see the house.  I have a company in Phoenix, and I have been watching this since day one.  One of my clients was going to build on that lot, but was transferred to Seattle (Microsoft), so they sold the lot and I watched the rest.  One of my associates is the one who did the fireplaces there and we have talked about it for a while. Let me know..
Thanks.

For those who truly want to be looked at to review the project please send me an email, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) . 

The email should contain contact information and something about your experience as to why you think you have the experience and understanding review someone else’s work.

Just a paragraph with your experience, based on years and products lines, anything that would show us you could represent a segment of the readership.

Do what so many would like to do, and take this project apart piece by piece.
Nothing you share with us will be used in any of these articles unless you expressly authorized us to do so.  I will want to use your name and company name, but anything beyond that will be at your discretion.

Hey Mark, I sent you an email earlier; would love to come out and kick those tires a little bit!