Thursday, May 3, 2012

Guardian Gauging

Today we got to pick our placements of cable jacks and phone jacks. I was once again reminded of what a tremendous ripoff it was to be forced to pay Guardian's insane prices for wires.  I am paying $1200 for 10  jacks. Extremely disappointed in this particular part of the build. I don't want to start having someone come in and drill holes after the house is done, so I had little choice. Ryan, this was really unfair.
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15 comments:

  1. KevinCMay 3, 2012 at 8:23 AM

    Sorry to hear about your experience. We had hear about the high prices, and we just decided to limit our choices to the absolute essentials. How many jacks are you having installed?

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  2. StuartMay 3, 2012 at 8:28 AM

    I wanted one in every room. In my current home I had someone install a jack and he drilled through my fish tank stand. I didn't want to screw around with wiring on a brand new house, so I bought 10 @ $125 each. While we were picking the spots I started wondering if I shoulda put one on the stairwell wall which is right at the wiring panel but paying $125 for 4ft of cable is just crazy. I'm anxious to write about this on my survey.

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  3. Sgt.RichMay 3, 2012 at 8:35 AM

    yeah,
    HUGE ripoff. For what it's worth, you could run a smurf tube from the attic or basement to a low voltage box in damn near every room and wire it yourself down the road.
    just a thought.

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    Replies
    1. Mike PMay 3, 2012 at 12:42 PM

      Once you get a cable path to the attic it is easy to drop down into interior walls. The tricky parts are getting cable through insulated (exterior) walls and across finished areas. Any room that I can do myself I am going to, and I used my included drops to have guardian install in the hard places (like finished basement and 1st floor).

      Plus, I paid $250 for a PVC from basement to attic. But a union plumber installed it. Originally it was a bit crooked but at $10/foot I told them it better be perfectly straight. I don't care if it is hidden in a wall.

      Delete
  4. SteveMay 3, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    We had some stealth work done pre-drywall for this exact reason, but it has to be done smart, not just attaching your wires to theirs thinking that they wont remember and connect all of them. They are they default company under contract and they set their own prices, it has nothing to do with Ryan, they do probably get a cut though.

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  5. StuartMay 3, 2012 at 12:52 PM

    All of a sudden the $600 to finish the drywall in the garage seems like a deal, I wish I had done it. At least I can see it, feel it. With the cable outlets I feel like I paid for nothing.

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    Replies
    1. CMMMay 3, 2012 at 2:21 PM

      You have to pay to have finished drywall in your garage? Ours was included. They don't paint it or anything, but they put it up for "free".

      Delete
    2. SteveMay 3, 2012 at 8:13 PM

      ditto

      Delete
  6. StuartMay 3, 2012 at 2:41 PM

    I guess it is one of those regional differences, but yes, here you have to pay for them to spend a few more minutes to drywall the garage.

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  7. CMMMay 3, 2012 at 5:32 PM

    Something to keep in mind, is that those prices also include an installation fee.

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  8. ThomasMay 3, 2012 at 7:40 PM

    I think that there would be more acceptance and understanding if they had more quantity discounts and better bundles. The costs should go down per jack as you increase the number of them. Example being that if you know you have to run 5 lines over to one part of the house you are going to run them all at the same time and therefore have a reduction in labor.

    I feel for you on the cost for sure, but if you know your limitations then it is best "sometimes" to let others do it right. Its sort of funny, but when I have large expenses like this I start thing of $1 items like McDoubles. That is a whole wall of 1200 McDoubles! Sorry for those who do not like MD's, substitute what you want instead.

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    Replies
    1. StuartMay 3, 2012 at 9:03 PM

      Oh they have a bundle, I forgot to mention! Buy 6 jacks at $125 each and the 7th for $60 off!! WOW!!! And I'm more of a McRib kinda guy.

      Delete
  9. Maria@SavingQueenMay 3, 2012 at 8:16 PM

    This is our second Ryan Home. We were sold on many options the first time that we passed up this time. This time, we purchased cable outlets for walls that we would not be able to get to after settlement. My husband is going to run cable to the kids' bedrooms from the attic (one day!). Guardians prices are ridiculous. I look forward to following you. You can follow our progress at: http://ryanhomesjourney.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. StuartMay 3, 2012 at 9:05 PM

      Nice to hear you bought another Ryan! Consider yourself followed.

      Delete
  10. StuartMay 3, 2012 at 8:22 PM

    I spent a fortune in upgrades on this house. I am fine with all of them. I am even happy with my RiteRug decisions, but at least my 3K at RiteRug can be felt by my bare feet on the upgraded carpeting! Anyway I've vented enough about Guardian, and maybe Ryan will take a look at that but it's too late for me. I got my closing date today, so time to move on!

    ReplyDelete

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