Jason Unger
10-12-07, 10:58 AM
Retrofit Your House: One Installation Story
For her recent home installation, CE Pro editor-at-large Julie Jacobson enlisted Robert Christensen of Magic Homes and Andrew Wiatrak of Sensation Design Group. Here, she shares the story.
I hear dealers and other so-called industry pundits say it all the time: Pick an integrator who has an impressive showroom, and never a solo "trunkslammer" who works out of his house.
I ignored such edicts when I selected the custom installers for my home installation project, going with a two-fer: a one-man programmer, Andrew (Drew) Wiatrak of Minnetrista-based Sensation Design Group, who worked nicely with a two-man installation and integration team led by Robert Christensen of Magic Homes in Oakdale.
http://www.cepro.com/asset/7218.jpg (http://www.cepro.com/article/julie_jacobsons_install_the_retrofit_from_hell/)
There are a wealth of integration companies in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, where I live, including lots of big ones and lots of good ones. Ones with showrooms. Ones with long histories of service and fancy trucks. Ones with litanies of certifications.
Indeed, I interviewed several of them, and liked them all, especially the excellent installer from my old production home—Don Haines and his team at SureLock Homes—whom I regrettably had to nix because they didn’t do Crestron.
Neither did Magic Homes (at the time), but the up-and-coming company had a close relationship with Drew, a Crestron programmer. I was most impressed with the team because of the thoughtfulness they put into the original interview, during which they did a thorough walk-through of the property.
Ours was the retrofit from hell—a one-story 1950 mid-century modern abode with slab concrete flooring, a flat roof, and an exterior that is practically all glass on one side, and brick on the other.
Click here to continue. (http://www.cepro.com/article/julie_jacobsons_install_the_retrofit_from_hell/)
For her recent home installation, CE Pro editor-at-large Julie Jacobson enlisted Robert Christensen of Magic Homes and Andrew Wiatrak of Sensation Design Group. Here, she shares the story.
I hear dealers and other so-called industry pundits say it all the time: Pick an integrator who has an impressive showroom, and never a solo "trunkslammer" who works out of his house.
I ignored such edicts when I selected the custom installers for my home installation project, going with a two-fer: a one-man programmer, Andrew (Drew) Wiatrak of Minnetrista-based Sensation Design Group, who worked nicely with a two-man installation and integration team led by Robert Christensen of Magic Homes in Oakdale.
http://www.cepro.com/asset/7218.jpg (http://www.cepro.com/article/julie_jacobsons_install_the_retrofit_from_hell/)
There are a wealth of integration companies in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, where I live, including lots of big ones and lots of good ones. Ones with showrooms. Ones with long histories of service and fancy trucks. Ones with litanies of certifications.
Indeed, I interviewed several of them, and liked them all, especially the excellent installer from my old production home—Don Haines and his team at SureLock Homes—whom I regrettably had to nix because they didn’t do Crestron.
Neither did Magic Homes (at the time), but the up-and-coming company had a close relationship with Drew, a Crestron programmer. I was most impressed with the team because of the thoughtfulness they put into the original interview, during which they did a thorough walk-through of the property.
Ours was the retrofit from hell—a one-story 1950 mid-century modern abode with slab concrete flooring, a flat roof, and an exterior that is practically all glass on one side, and brick on the other.
Click here to continue. (http://www.cepro.com/article/julie_jacobsons_install_the_retrofit_from_hell/)