Installing your own House alarm

M

MG01

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Hi guys,

anyone ever installed their own house alarm? I would have thought that a wireless alarm system would be relatively straight forward to install - just wanted to see if anyone else has tackled this before. Ideally I would be looking for one which has a dialler with it and sends a text to a bunch of numbers when the alarm goes off sort of thing.

Also does anyone know where you can buy them?

Any advice much appreciated - just bought a house and the buget for renovations is extreamly tight - so the more work I can do myself the better!
 
We recently (as in 10 monts ago) did the same thing (new house bought and no working alarm - just a pretend box on the outside of the house that wouldn't fool anyone). We bought a Yale system and we installed it ourselves. It took the guts of 1/2 day to do it and that was with sensors on all 3 external doors and alsothe movement detectors in sitting room and main downstairs hallway and are now thinking of putting an additional one in the kitchen beside back door. We didn't put them on the windows. It is programmed to dial out to us if it goes off (it has done so once when the contacts at the back door seperated triggering the alarm - because they hadn't been lined up properly on the door).
We have two Yale boxes on the outside of the house as a visual deterrent and overall the system costs nothing to maintain from what I can see. I can't remember how much it cost but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't huge. We would have it on during the day when we are out at work and also most nights (external door alarms on only).
One point is that the external box is vulnerable to wind (seems to have to be coming from a certain angle and over a specific speed) which caused one or two sleepless nights last Winter. So far so good though as we haven't been broken into...
HTH..
 
Thanks for that - where did you buy the alarm? Also do you think it would be easy enough to install the window sensors? I presume you're talking about a wireless system - don't think I'd fancy trying to wire the house myself.
the more info the better - thanks again.
 
I have looked at putting in this wireless system: http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Alarm_Index/Wireless_index/ESP_Infinite_Main/index.html

I have ordered from them before and delivery to ireland £17.40 + V.A.T if less than £250 and free if above.
Just not got around to it yet, but have been asked to help a friend install it in his new house next month. It appears to be the best consumer/pro system available at the moment. I have installed an Aritech wired system before and the above system looks much easer. I know the pros prefer wires, but I don’t want wires all over the place and the technology has improved a lot.
 
Are there any insurance implications if the alarm is not professionally installed?
 
Hi - we bought the system in Homebase there along the Longmile Road. It is all wireless (apart from the main unit that all the sensors are connected to - this has a phone cable connected but I don't think there is anything else - not really the expert on the whole thing in our house so I am unsure of the technical side of the things - husband the engineer is whizz at this type of thing!!!) Re. Window sensors I can't see that these would be a problem to be honest as the rest of the system was so straightforward when installing - but I could be wrong as we didn't go for them ourselves. The sales guy in Homebase was quite informed when asked about the alarm systems they had available. Re cost while I don't know how much it was definitely more than € 250. They have different packs of various cost and you can supplement these packs dependent on your needs and budget e.g. additional alarm box or movement sensors. Maybe give them a call or check the Homebase website to see if they have them listed there.
 
we bought that yale alarm system from argus last year and it works well. We saw it in another hardware shop for about 450 euro but argus had it for 225 euro. I has a guy who instals other alarms look at the system and he thought it was good.
 
CCOVICH said:
Are there any insurance implications if the alarm is not professionally installed?
Click to expand...

There are no implications, as it is not professionally installed with certificates etc. If it was you would get a discount, but if you get the discount, forget to turn it on and are robbed... Well then the fun starts and that €50 discount does not look like value for money any more.

Towger
 
I'm in the middle of installing an alarm at the moment in my house...by no means a big house, I spent about 4hrs yesterday installing sensors for 3 doors & 3 windows...mounting the control panel, keypad & indoor siren. With wired systems be prepared to do a bit of troubleshooting after connecting the wires as I spent almost an hr of that yesterday double checking the wiring after I connected the sensors as they were showing open circuit.

Once I get all the zones wired and verified each window & door activate in the way they should bu sing a continuity tester, I power up the control panel and connect the zones in, one at a time and verify each sensor by walk testing them. Bit OTT, but I don't claim to be an expert in installing alarms, but I know how they operate, so I'd rather take it slow and make sure its done properly
 
I have got a few quotes for installing an alarm in my house and one of the installers told me that it is now illegal to for anybody to install an alarm and that both the person who installed it and the person who owns the house would be responsible!!
 
Thanks for the responses, it would seem that Homebase is the place to go, in relation to the above post - illegal in what sense?? While potentially I could understand that an insurance company may want an alarm installed by qualified people I fail to see how in any other way this would be illegal - maybe I'm missing something?

Just so I'm fully informed and can weigh up the options - can people recommend alarm suppliers / installers who would be more reasonable that say eircom phone watch?

Thanks for all the help - much appreciated.
 
Con said:
I have got a few quotes for installing an alarm in my house and one of the installers told me that it is now illegal to for anybody to install an alarm and that both the person who installed it and the person who owns the house would be responsible!!
Click to expand...

He's referring to the Private Security Services Act 2004, anyone installing CCTV or alarm systems must be licensed under the [broken link removed]. This act "covers persons who provide a security service for remuneration." DIY installation is not covered under this, so you may still install your own system.

There is a register of license holders on the above site, make sure your installer is listed.
leo
 
I also installed the Yale system 2 years ago-and only now is it telling me that batteries in outside box need to be replaced.
Its not too complicated to install for anyone comfortable with electric drills etc. but the instructions in parts could be a bit clearer.
There is the option of connecting to a phone line-it will ring u or other nominated people if there is a break in-but I never got round to setting that up.
I bought in Homebase but I have since seen them in Atlantic.There is a range of extras such as sensors/panic buttons etc.
If Argos have them for E225 then that is a very good price.Yale also have a helpline.
 
Do any of you know how difficult it is to remove an existing alarm? I bought a house with an alarm, however I can't get through to the alarm company's number and I think maybe the company doesn't exist anymore. I don't want to start attacking the alarm and be unable to turn it off if it starts beeping!
 
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