The fundamental element behind all home technology is structured wiring [see article pg. 44], which should be accounted for during design. On a recent tract project Sasser worked on, the builder included a single coax cable above the fireplace. “The only thing that coax cable was good for is pulling a real wire. It was worthless. If they would have worked with a technology integrator, the integrator would have put good wiring in for a few hundred dollars, and then the homeowner could do anything he wants to do without tearing up his home,” Sasser says.

A big mistake builders make is not running structured wiring, he adds. “The value in wiring is in knowing what wire to run and where to run it. Too many builders say their electricians and security contractors will do it, and we do not charge more to run speaker wires than an electrician will because it’s a commodity. The difference is, when someone buys a home we wired, the sky’s the limit for what homeowners can do.”