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Neat-O: A Wiring Enclosure Disaster
Port City Sound & Security was called in to fix a wiring enclosure disaster.
If you think this "Before" picture looks bad, you're not the only one.
"It was pretty bad," says Mike Hayes of Wilmington, N.C.-based Port City Sound & Security. "The upstairs was fun, too. Up there, they were using coaxial as speaker wire."
Indeed, this Wallace, N.C. home had seen a hurricane blow through their home. No, really: A hurricane flooded the downstairs. "But after the flood is when someone had come through and really created this disaster area," Hayes explains.
The homeowners, whom Hayes had met at his parents' church, had called Hayes. "They said they were having problems with their picture."
When Hayes, along with his ace technician Gregg Francis, reported to the home, he found the wiring enclosure hadn't even been fastened to the wall.
The job didn't take all that long. "One and a half days," Hayes says. "But we found where everything was going."
Hayes took one walkie-talkie; Francis took another. They split up and searched the house. "We were able to identify every single piece of wire going through that place."
Then, Hayes met an electrician, who provided a proper power supply for the enclosure. "We wired the phone system … We left the cable TV cable available, but took the component out of the loop [because it was not used]. We also brought the satellite feeds that were running across the ceiling into the enclosure."
In the end, the homeowners were pleased to have a functional and attractive system. "I don't think they were anticipating exactly what we were able to do down there," Hayes explains.
"I think they thought we were going to zip-tie everything and shove it back in there."
Following the basement, Port City Sound & Security was asked to tackle additional systems, including the upstairs surround system. "The whole house was kind of a fun little project," Hayes recalls with a chuckle.
Congratulations to Mike Hayes for a Neat-O! installation. We're looking for the tidiest racks, vans, warehouses, documentation and other displays of neatness. E-mail your submissions, with high-resolution images, to Geoffrey Oldmixon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
"It was pretty bad," says Mike Hayes of Wilmington, N.C.-based Port City Sound & Security. "The upstairs was fun, too. Up there, they were using coaxial as speaker wire."
Indeed, this Wallace, N.C. home had seen a hurricane blow through their home. No, really: A hurricane flooded the downstairs. "But after the flood is when someone had come through and really created this disaster area," Hayes explains.
The homeowners, whom Hayes had met at his parents' church, had called Hayes. "They said they were having problems with their picture."
When Hayes, along with his ace technician Gregg Francis, reported to the home, he found the wiring enclosure hadn't even been fastened to the wall.
Neat-O! Tips
- According to Hayes, the most important thing to do when tackling a clean-up job is talk to the customer. "Find out what their needs are," he says.
- Secondly, Hayes says, "Do the job right the first time."
- To Hayes, having the right technicians makes all the difference. The best installers, Hayes says, "go through the exact steps every single time. [They] don't take shortcuts."
"There was an extension cord powering the enclosure, too. So, there were code issues as well," he says. "The labeling was done with Scotch tape."- According to Hayes, the most important thing to do when tackling a clean-up job is talk to the customer. "Find out what their needs are," he says.
- Secondly, Hayes says, "Do the job right the first time."
- To Hayes, having the right technicians makes all the difference. The best installers, Hayes says, "go through the exact steps every single time. [They] don't take shortcuts."
The job didn't take all that long. "One and a half days," Hayes says. "But we found where everything was going."
Hayes took one walkie-talkie; Francis took another. They split up and searched the house. "We were able to identify every single piece of wire going through that place."
Then, Hayes met an electrician, who provided a proper power supply for the enclosure. "We wired the phone system … We left the cable TV cable available, but took the component out of the loop [because it was not used]. We also brought the satellite feeds that were running across the ceiling into the enclosure."
In the end, the homeowners were pleased to have a functional and attractive system. "I don't think they were anticipating exactly what we were able to do down there," Hayes explains.
"I think they thought we were going to zip-tie everything and shove it back in there."
Following the basement, Port City Sound & Security was asked to tackle additional systems, including the upstairs surround system. "The whole house was kind of a fun little project," Hayes recalls with a chuckle.
Congratulations to Mike Hayes for a Neat-O! installation. We're looking for the tidiest racks, vans, warehouses, documentation and other displays of neatness. E-mail your submissions, with high-resolution images, to Geoffrey Oldmixon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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About the Author
Geoffrey Oldmixon, Freelance Writer & Editor, CE Pro & Channel Pro-SMB
Geoffrey Oldmixon is a Massachusetts-based freelance writer and editor. He served as CE Pro's managing editor from 2007 to 2009.
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