Alarm Costs For Small House

[Aljrob]

Hi all, this place seems to be a mine of information!

I was hoping that someone might be able to give me the benefit of their experience, as I'm currently in the process of buying my first house. There is an alarm fitted, but I don't really like the look of it - i.e. it's ancient, and I've got no confidence whatsoever that the thing will work!

As such, I'm interested in a new professionally fitted alarm system. The house is a turn-of-the-century two-bed terrace, of about 850sq ft total. There are currently only front and back doors, and we may look to install a french window to the garden in the future. The garden is pretty inaccessible though, as it backs directly onto a (sunken) railway branch line before the line disappears into a tunnel.

My (zero experience) thoughts so far on our needs are as follows, but please feel free to point out anything I may have missed:

* "Bells Only" system, but with a module that would text two or more numbers if alarm goes off (I work only 15min from the new house). Would be good if the controller was one of the new ones that uses secure key fobs rather than / in addition to codes.

* 1 Front Door magnetic(?) sensor

* 1 Back Door magnetic(?) sensor

* Cabling for future installation of a sensor on French Window to rear - should I buy the sensor in anticipation?

* 1 Front downstairs window vibration(?) sensor

* 3 (or perhaps 4) Pet Friendly PIRs (Hall, Reception Room, Landing) - we don't have pets but would like a cat in near future

NB- I would of course check with my insurance company (not yet settled upon) before going with a bells-only system

My questions for you pro's are:

1) Does this seem appropriate? If any changes are recommended, what should they be?

2) Obviously I'm budgeting pretty carefully for buying a first home - any indications of how much this sort of thing (including any recommendations) would cost would really be appreciated (note: I live in London - South East, but fairly central)

3) Is there a monthly service charge for the text-message-sending-thingies?

4) Does anyone know of an NSI (Gold?) approved company who operates in SE London who could supply & install?

Many thanks in advance for any help & advice you are able to offer.

Aljrob

[Guest rjbsec]

My advice would not to be relying on figures and advice in this way - any professional installer should be willing to visit (for free) to survey your home and provide a risk assessment, specification and quotation; there is no substitute for seeing the property and its location etc.

There are a number of installers here who work in and around London, some of whom are SSAIB or NSI approved.

My advice would be to get 2 or 3 installers to come around and provide the above.

[Aljrob]

My advice would not to be relying on figures and advice in this way - any professional installer should be willing to visit (for free) to survey your home and provide a risk assessment, specification and quotation; there is no substitute for seeing the property and its location etc.

There are a number of installers here who work in and around London, some of whom are SSAIB or NSI approved.

My advice would be to get 2 or 3 installers to come around and provide the above.

rjbsec,

Thanks for your comments - I would of course get (no-obligation!) quotes in once the property is mine, however at this stage I'm some way off completion but trying to plan my finances - which being a first-time buyer are quite tight! - obviously though and alarm is pretty high priority, so I'm just trying to get an idea of whether my thoughts on what we'd need are correct, and what the

[Aljrob]

Hi Alrob

Im guessing but expect at least

[Guest]

All pretty much covered as mentioned above get some quotes in, without seeing your property it seems tidy enough.

One thing not mentioned is the costs of a text dialler, you can get pay as you go but make sure you know the service limitations on usage as some will shut down after 6 months of inactivity. The cost will then be per text, which cam be as low as 4p a text dependant on service provider.

[Guest]

One thing not mentioned is the costs of a text dialler, you can get pay as you go but make sure you know the service limitations on usage as some will shut down after 6 months of inactivity. The cost will then be per text, which cam be as low as 4p a text dependant on service provider.

I think the reason it wasn't mentioned is that he will have a BT line on site so it will be just for sending texts over the PSTN network, not over GSM.

[arfur mo]

Pete,

Thanks for the ballpark guesstimate, it's very helpful! I'll bear you in mind when we come to actually do this.

Rgrds,

Aljrob

Any other thoughts anyone?

hi Aljrob,

if you think you will want Police response you will need to get an NSI or SSAIB registered company or one (like me) who can pass you over to one after installation. one problem of delaying the ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre) connection is the regulations keep getting tampered with, so if you delay say by a year or more, your panel may well be to out of date for acceptance for Police Response, make sure you cover this aspect with whoever you go with.

you have to be made aware ARC connected systems will require a reset proceedure if it activates, some can do this by remote, but an opertor error can still be costly - so ask the prices. your eventual insurrance co may not even ask you to fit a system so it becomes a 'peace of mind' purchase, you will encure with most companies an anual maintenance costs (but not with mine as i work differently) which covers you for one anual visit on a siren only system, and the right to call there service dept 24 hours a day for a fault, but beware additional calls are usually charged in addition. expect

[Aljrob]

I think the reason it wasn't mentioned is that he will have a BT line on site so it will be just for sending texts over the PSTN network, not over GSM.

Exactly - though perhaps I was being presumptious in assuming the texts could be sent via a BT line! Glad to hear they can

[Aljrob]

hi Aljrob,

if you think you will want Police response you will need to get an NSI or SSAIB registered company or one (like me) who can pass you over to one after installation. one problem of delaying the ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre) connection is the regulations keep getting tampered with, so if you delay say by a year or more, your panel may well be to out of date for acceptance for Police Response, make sure you cover this aspect with whoever you go with.

you have to be made aware ARC connected systems will require a reset proceedure if it activates, some can do this by remote, but an opertor error can still be costly - so ask the prices. your eventual insurrance co may not even ask you to fit a system so it becomes a 'peace of mind' purchase, you will encure with most companies an anual maintenance costs (but not with mine as i work differently) which covers you for one anual visit on a siren only system, and the right to call there service dept 24 hours a day for a fault, but beware additional calls are usually charged in addition. expect

[james.wilson]

lol.....

Aljrob, there is more to nsi and ssaib than police response, but go for your life