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Hardwired vs wireless zones in old brick buildings - what's your take?
I did a retrofit in a 1920s building in Philly last year where every wireless sensor dropped signal through the plaster and lath, but hardwiring took three extra days of fishing cables. Now I'm on a similar job and the customer wants wireless to save money. Is the reliability tradeoff worth the time savings on these older structures?
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dianahayes2d ago
That plaster and wire lath is brutal on wireless, I ended up putting a mesh node in a hallway closet on my last 1920s job just to get the upstairs sensors to stay connected. Would you consider doing a partial hardwire on the critical zones and then wireless for the less important rooms to keep the customer happy with cost?
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Yeah and the problem with wireless in those old buildings is you never really know until everything's mounted and powered up. I had a job in a similar 1920s place where the mesh network just couldn't punch through three layers of plaster and wire lath. Ended up putting access points in closets and hallways just to get coverage. The customer saved maybe two hundred bucks upfront but then we spent a whole extra day troubleshooting drops. If you can talk them into a hybrid approach - hardwire the main zones like the basement and first floor then wireless for the less critical rooms upstairs - that might split the difference on cost and reliability.
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