Spring Cleaning and Remodel Tips

2/18/2012

Spring Cleaning and Remodel Tips

Spring is almost here! For some of you that probably means getting ready for some pre-season baseball and hoping for some nice weekend weather to play some golf or tennis; or to get outside and play with your kids. In the Audio/Video/Installation world it means it’s time for spring cleaning, remodel planning and time to think about outdoor audio and video upgrades.

SPRING CLEANING:

When I think of spring cleaning there are a few things that come to mind. For dusting, I recommend using Swiffer 360° ™ duster. For screen cleaning a lightly damp (with warm water) microfiber cloth is safe and usually works well; for tougher smudges there are a variety of screen cleaning kits available, but check with your TV’s manual first, as many TV’s have different coatings that can be easily damaged with cleaning solutions (including regular glass cleaner). If you’re cleaning house and end up with a pile of old TV’s, electronics, computers or cables I use and recommend the local branch for the e-waste company Free Electronics Recycling which can be contacted at recycle425@gmail.com. Finally now that everything is cleaned up and ready for spring, the final spring cleaning recommendation I have is to check for any firmware updates for your components and to consider getting your TV and/or Projector’s recalibrated.

REMODEL PLANNING:

As spring arrives I usually get an influx of calls from customers looking at doing small and large scale remodels and additions, following are a couple of quick tips to think about if you’re thinking about making some changes.

1)      It’s never too early to contact a custom integrator. If a large or technologically focused project is in your future meeting with us even before an architect is very worthwhile and can generally saves a customer money (sometimes very significantly by limiting revisions and change orders).

2)      Wire AND Plan for the future. In today’s fast changing high technology world, standard wiring infrastructure practices of today may not meet your needs tomorrow so Planning and Wiring for what’s to come is critically important. Quick Tip: Cat6, 2” Conduit and future access are your friend!

3)      Consider Investing in control systems such as Savant™ or RTI™ that can be expanded to included automated control of your Lighting, motorized shades and climate control systems, as well as audio, video, security and surveillance. Quick Tip: Apple and Android devices make great secondary controllers.

OUTDOOR AUDIO & VIDEO UPGRADES:

Continuing with the spring theme, what better way to garden then with some great music playing all around! Outdoor and Architectural audio solutions have come a long way in the past few years. There are many outdoor rated surface mount speakers available in (paintable) white or black to fit any budget as well as rock, planter and landscape light styled speakers that serve the purpose of filling your space with sound while blending in (in ground subwoofers are also a great upgrade to maximize performance. On the video front, there are flat panels designed to work in our climate as well as outdoor video projection screens that can remain up all year round or removed during the winter months. For control, I recommend RTI’s weather proof U2 remote or URC’s new MXW920 remotes.

For more information, call me today at 425 922 8145 to set up an appointment to check out our showroom or to schedule a complementary in home consult visit.