There is an old adage that applies to the telling of a good joke versus the telling of a bad joke — "timing is everything." That adage certainly applies to homebuilding, but it's no joke. The recent downturn in the housing market is a perfect not-so-funny example of how important timing can be to success versus mediocrity.

Proper timing is also the key to a successful relationship between a homebuilder and his integration partner. That is certainly the situation between RR Builders LLC of New Canaan, Conn., and its integration subcontractor Hometronics Lifestyles of North Haven, Conn.

"I look for someone who will be my partner," says Richard Rosano, managing director at RR Builders. "I want them to bring fresh ideas and creative solutions to the project. I also want a partner who will work on each and every project that I do. When I pick a partner with a particular trade, based on the quality and consistency of their work, they will work on every home I develop."

Typically, RR Builders has three to four homes going at any given time, varying between spec and custom. So Rosano says it's not an option for one of his key subcontractors to work only on a select number of those homes. For consistency sake, it's all or nothing. And these are not run-of-the-mill spec homes. Each project ranges between $5 million and $7 million, filled with home technologies like multiroom video, multiroom audio (including outdoors), multiroom surround sound setups, dedicated home theaters, touchscreen-based whole-house controls, security and more.

To make sure flawed timing is never an issue, Hometronics Lifestyles has honed its processes so that nothing is left to chance, relying heavily on a scheduling and proposal software system from Simply Reliable Software (SRS). With consistency in place, timing amongst the crews is never an issue. That means the partnership between RR Builders and Hometronics can flourish by focusing on introducing and upselling home technologies as opposed to worrying about schedules.

Building $7M Spec Homes

The latest collaboration between RR Builders and Hometronics is an 11,000-square-foot six-bedroom home in New Canaan. It's not just any spec home, it's Rosano's family home. If it were a spec home, it would likely be in the $6 million to $7 million range. The project was started in March 2006 with move-in scheduled (at press time) for June 2007. In all, the home includes multiroom audio, multiroom video, Crestron control touchpanels, 11 rooms with surround sound in-ceiling speakers, structured wiring throughout the home (bundled cable and Cat 5 drops to phones, thermostats, the front door and hardwired and wireless Internet connection points.) There is also a 21-foot by 18-foot dedicated home theater with front projection, in-wall speakers and lighting control. In all there are 17 flat-panel TVs in the home. The finish cost on the project includes about $500,000 worth of technology, while the rough-in accommodates about $50,000 worth.

For his spec and custom homes, Rosano says he does not have a "formula" for figuring exactly how much technology to include. "The standard is that we wire for everything," says Rosano, who was recently awarded the Fairfield County Builder of the Year by the Homebuilders Association of Connecticut. "Then [I have to determine] what level of technology to put in the home to sell it. Several rooms of audio? Two rooms of video? It's a fine line and hard to determine."

His current tactic is to leave the dedicated theater room as a shell. "This lets the customer have fun selecting the finishing features of the wood trims, seating colors and fabrics, carpet color, acoustical treatment patterns, etc. I also will typically leave all the audio/video as an option in the spec houses," he adds.

Even with spec homes, Hometronics typically meets with the eventual buyer, who has a chance to upgrade the electronics. "Because we wire the homes flexibly, it makes it easier for the client. The homeowner may not want a $60,000 touchpanel system in the home, so why force them to buy it? Likewise, if a builder wires a house properly and the house sits on the market, he has the flexibility to start making investments in technology to add to the home to make it more sellable," says James Sweeney, president and CEO of Hometronics.

Must-Have Technologies

What are the "must-have" technologies right now? Rosano says whole-house audio and hardwired and wireless Local Area Networks are today's hot features. He classifies HVAC and lighting control as "nice to haves" but cites home automation as a high-demand amenity these days.

"It's a must-have on these caliber homes. Even on spec houses, we will wire to accommodate most — if not all of the technology — so it is scalable. People are looking for these amenities in these types of homes."

He calls those amenities "solutions to fit a need." As an example, Rosano says Hometronics was able to bring him various systems for multiroom video and whole-house audio, along with options for hiding speakers in rocks or in plaster for the exterior of the home.

To help dance that "fine line," to help Rosano decide on the amount of technology to include in his spec houses, he finds the proper wiring topology to be vital. It has to be flexible enough to allow for plenty of upgrades, but sufficient enough in case the homebuyer does not want additional technology. That's where Hometronics comes in.

"We've been able to integrate home technology into the building schedule. At the rough-in, it has not added any time. In trim-out, Hometronics is finishing the same time the other trades are finishing. But at the end, we usually have to add some time to install all the flat panels. I typically wait on the installation of the flat panels due to security reasons. Also, the entire house has been cleaned at that point," say Rosano. "Technology is not a headache to the construction of a home as long as you manage it properly. You have to do your due diligence in selecting the right contractor and stay on schedule." He adds that it helps if "the subs can work together well."

For example, Hometronics installs security systems, but R&R has a relationship with another security company. So it was important to RR Builders that Hometronics respects that relationship and works well with the alarm subcontractor. Rosano adds that training the client at the conclusion of the job is also one of the keys to avoiding potential problems.

The two companies have been working together about five years. Sweeney calls Rosano "an early adopter to technology" who is "taking it to the next level." RR Builders met Hometronics when the company opened a new technology showroom in New Canaan. Rosano came to the open house and a working relationship started.

Organization Is Key

One of the things that impressed Rosano was Hometronics' project organization.

Being organized right off the bat is a telltale sign that the integrator will not be the sort of subcontractor that delays the construction cycle. That efficiency has been readily apparent in Hometronics' proposals.

Using the SRS software, Sweeney generates an integrated proposal that breaks down installations room-by-room, system-by-system. Each page of a given proposal specifies equipment/parts and labor in the breakdown, and then totals the investment for that area of the home. The structure of that initial proposal helps create the installation schedule, Gantt charts, individual job tickets for technicians each day and more.

Whether to provide customers with product prices is always a big question for integrators. "What I have found," says Sweeney, "is that if you have a good, solid presentation and a good understanding with the client, sharing prices with them just gives them the ability to make good educated decisions." He adds that he is "not afraid to share the prices because the item is not going to work without me. The connectivity is the value-add that we bring to the job."

Sweeney explains the benefits of understandability, noting that "the more information you give the client, it makes it easier for them to figure out exactly what they want." He continues, "When you are talking about proposals that get into hundreds of thousands of dollars, breaking it down by area puts them in control. They can decide what they want. When they remove something, they can understand how it changes the investment and the design."

Rosano's New Canaan home required a 48-page proposal at roughly $10,000 worth of equipment and labor per page. The integrator assigns a project manager and a head technician to each of its installations.

Sweeney's partner, Michael Purcell, takes care of general operations, coordination of the Crestron programming, system design, and lighting control design. From there, the project goes to the project manager and then to the lead technician. On large jobs, there might be three or four lead technicians on the site, but there is always one of them who is assigned the responsibility of the project.

Whenever a Hometronics representative meets with the builder, architect or homeowner, the project manager is on hand. That way, when the builder or architect begin to have questions, some of those answers will be filtered through the project manager so they understand that he has control and knowledge about the job. That pass-off is critical, according to Sweeney.

Organizationally, running a large, long-term job can be complex. For example, the rough-in at Rosano's New Canaan home required four guys on the job at once. In the trim-out phase, two guys were required to put in the speakers, wallplates and finish the wiring in the structured wiring panel. When Hometronics gets to the finish phase, there will be three technicians on site.

"Communication is the key to a good relationship," says Sweeney. "You have to be sensitive to their needs, which typically relate to keeping on schedule with product delivery and installation, and getting the drawings in and out on a timely basis. Timing is the big issue. The builder is running around crazy and they don't want to hear that they forgot to give you two weeks' notice.

The Hometronics project managers monitor their jobs continuously, checking sites weekly, biweekly or monthly, depending on the stage. During the rough-in phase, a project manager might come by once every two weeks. Hometronics has a full-blown operations meeting every Monday to discuss every job, and also has a kick-off meeting for the rough/trim/finish phase of every job.

On the jobsite, the integrator is primarily dealing with the electrician, painter and cabinet designer. As the job progresses, the project manager will meet with the interior designer and the homeowner. Usually, Rosano arranges the first meeting with the homebuyer for Hometronics.

On a big long-term job, the construction cycle is still tight. "At least 30 days out, we need to know if the job is on schedule, ahead of schedule or behind schedule," says Sweeney. "Monitoring the job is vital. We report into our software system daily. At 3 o'clock, the head technician is supposed to report his progress so we can create daily job tickets and plan appropriately for the next day.

"The daily job ticket is a specific task list e-mailed to each technician. The job ticket does not just say, ‘Do 10 wire drops.' It will specifically pinpoint the wire drops for particular rooms in the home with an amount of time allocated for the task. The technicians go straight to the job site every day."