The cost of a smart home project is rarely about the equipment. It’s about the seams between trades — and seams are a function of documentation. Projects that arrive on site with proper drawings come in on schedule. Projects that don’t, don’t.
What proper technology documentation looks like
A Wenner Design Package produces a coordinated set of drawings the trades actually build from. Not “reference documents” the GC cross-references against the architect’s set — the same set, on the same scale, in the same convention.
Specifically, a Premier or Estate Design Package delivers:
- Reflected ceiling plans with technology overlay — lighting fixtures, sensor locations, speaker placement, recessed equipment
- Electrical infrastructure plans — panels, sub-panels, dedicated circuits, generator transfer switches, equipment-rack power
- Pre-wire specifications — every cable run, every termination, every conduit
- Equipment schedules — make, model, location, mounting depth, finish
- Network architecture — switch locations, AP coverage, backbone runs, dedicated VLANs
- Security and surveillance design — sensor coverage, camera angles, monitoring station integration
- Shade and drapery power plan — coordinated with the architect’s window schedule
- System integration diagram — how every system talks to every other
Why this matters financially
Coordinated drawings eliminate the most expensive class of construction error: discovery during finish. When the electrician finds the AV trade hasn’t run conduit for a touch panel, the drywall comes back off. When the lighting designer realises the sconce location conflicts with the speaker grille, the millwork has to be re-cut.
A proper Design Package cost is typically 1–2% of project value. The change orders it prevents typically cost 5–10x that.
Why this matters for the architect and designer
For architects and interior designers, working with a properly-documented integrator is the difference between technology that respects your drawing and technology that overrides it. Our drawings overlay yours on the same scale, in the same convention. Equipment selections coordinate with your hardware schedule. The fixtures you specified are the fixtures that get installed.
Read about Design Packages — Foundation, Premier, Estate. Or start a project and we’ll recommend the right tier.